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Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish Religious Radicalism
The Orthodox Jewish tradition affirms that Jewish exile will end with the coming of the Messiah. How, then, does Orthodoxy respond to the political realization of a Jewish homeland that is the State of Israel? In this cogent and searching study, Aviezer Ravitzky probes Orthodoxy's divergent positions on Zionism, which range from radical condemnation to virtual beatification.
Ravitzky traces the roots of Haredi ideology, which opposes the Zionist enterprise, and shows how Haredim living in Israel have come to terms with a state to them unholy and therefore doomed. Ravitzky also examines radical religious movements, including the Gush Emunim, to whom the State of Israel is a divine agent. He concludes with a discussion of the recent transformation of Habad Hassidism from conservatism to radical messianism.
This book is indispensable to anyone concerned with the complex confrontation between Jewish fundamentalism and Israeli political sovereignty, especially in light of the tragic death of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Ravitzky traces the roots of Haredi ideology, which opposes the Zionist enterprise, and shows how Haredim living in Israel have come to terms with a state to them unholy and therefore doomed. Ravitzky also examines radical religious movements, including the Gush Emunim, to whom the State of Israel is a divine agent. He concludes with a discussion of the recent transformation of Habad Hassidism from conservatism to radical messianism.
This book is indispensable to anyone concerned with the complex confrontation between Jewish fundamentalism and Israeli political sovereignty, especially in light of the tragic death of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
304 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
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About the author
Aviezer Ravitzky
17 books3 followersProfessor Aviezer Ravtizky was a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) where he directed the Religion and State project along with Professor Yedidia Stern. His areas of expertise include Jewish thought, philosophy, religion and state, religious radicalism, and Israeli society and ideology.
Professor Ravitzky was born in Jerusalem in 1945. He received his Ph.D. (summa cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Post Doctorate Fellow at Harvard University.
Professor Ravitzky has taught as a visiting professor at leading universities in the United States including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Yeshiva University, Brown University, and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Professor Ravitzky is the Sol Rosenblum Professor of Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has served as the Chair of the Department of Jewish Thought and as Chairman of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University. He has also served as a member of the Israeli Counsel of Higher Education and a member of the Israel-Prize Committee of Judges.
In 2001, Professor Ravitzky was honored with Israel's most prestigious award, the Israel Prize, for his research in Jewish Thought.
Professor Ravitzky has written and edited numerous books and articles, including Is a Halakhic State Possible? The Paradox of Jewish Theocracy (Israel Democracy Institute 2004), The Land of Israel in Modern Jewish Thought (Yad Ben Zvi, 3 Volumes 1991, 1998, 2004), Religion and State in Jewish Philosophy (Israel Democracy Institute 2002), Religious and Secular Jews in Israel: A Kulturkampf? (Israel Democracy Institute 2000), History and Faith (JC Gieben 1996), and Messianism, Zionism and Jewish Religious Radicalism (Chicago University Press 1996).
He and his wife Ruth have four children and reside in Jerusalem.
Professor Ravitzky was born in Jerusalem in 1945. He received his Ph.D. (summa cum laude) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a Post Doctorate Fellow at Harvard University.
Professor Ravitzky has taught as a visiting professor at leading universities in the United States including Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Yeshiva University, Brown University, and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Professor Ravitzky is the Sol Rosenblum Professor of Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has served as the Chair of the Department of Jewish Thought and as Chairman of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University. He has also served as a member of the Israeli Counsel of Higher Education and a member of the Israel-Prize Committee of Judges.
In 2001, Professor Ravitzky was honored with Israel's most prestigious award, the Israel Prize, for his research in Jewish Thought.
Professor Ravitzky has written and edited numerous books and articles, including Is a Halakhic State Possible? The Paradox of Jewish Theocracy (Israel Democracy Institute 2004), The Land of Israel in Modern Jewish Thought (Yad Ben Zvi, 3 Volumes 1991, 1998, 2004), Religion and State in Jewish Philosophy (Israel Democracy Institute 2002), Religious and Secular Jews in Israel: A Kulturkampf? (Israel Democracy Institute 2000), History and Faith (JC Gieben 1996), and Messianism, Zionism and Jewish Religious Radicalism (Chicago University Press 1996).
He and his wife Ruth have four children and reside in Jerusalem.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 18, 2021
It's not an easy read, but does an excellent job of examining different Orthodox communities and their relationships to Zionism, and how that relationship relates to beliefs about the Messianic age.
November 26, 2013
This book does an excellent job of dealing with the various reactions and interactions that different streams of Orthodox Judaism have displayed in their encounters first with Zionism and then with with the concrete reality of the Jewish State.
In Ravitzky's hands, theology becomes far more than a dry philosophical issue- he makes it clear how different positions with regards to the Messiah and Redemption have very real impact on how Jews view themselves and the State of Israel and thereby influence their daily lives.
I would be fascinated to see an updated version of this book that also deals with the Second Intifada, the withdrawal from Gush Katif, the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the other formative events of the last two decades.
In Ravitzky's hands, theology becomes far more than a dry philosophical issue- he makes it clear how different positions with regards to the Messiah and Redemption have very real impact on how Jews view themselves and the State of Israel and thereby influence their daily lives.
I would be fascinated to see an updated version of this book that also deals with the Second Intifada, the withdrawal from Gush Katif, the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and the other formative events of the last two decades.
January 14, 2019
very informational and well researched. will read it again
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews