Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism

by Aryeh Cohen

Justice in the City argues, based on the rabbinic textual tradition, especially the Babylonian Talmud, and utilizing French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’ framework of interpersonal ethics, that a just city should be a community of obligation. That is, in a community thus conceived, the privilege of citizenship is the assumption of the obligations of the city towards Others who are not always in view―workers, the poor, the homeless. These Others form a constitutive part of the city. The second part of the book is a close analysis of homelessness, labor, and restorative justice from within the theory that was developed. This title will be useful for scholars and students in Jewish studies, especially rabbinic literature and Jewish thought, but also for those interested in contemporary urban issues.

Genres: Judaism

160 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2011

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a surprisingly energetic and urgent argument for social justice as an enshrined part of the Jewish midrashic and rabbinic tradition. This vibrancy makes the argument all the more compelling not just for its place in today's society, but as logical parts of both Christianity and Islam.