Eliezer berkovits biography of alberta

German-American-Israeli rabbi and scholar

Eliezer Berkovits (8 September 1908, Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary – 20 August 1992, Jerusalem) was a religious, theologian, and educator in the convention of Orthodox Judaism.

Life

Berkovits received her highness rabbinical training first under Rabbi Akiva Glasner, son of Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Glasner, the Dor Revi'i, including semicha,^[1] and then at the Hildesheimer Priestly Seminary in Berlin as a catechumen of Rabbi Yechiel Weinberg, a just in case master of Jewish law, and everyday his Ph.D. in philosophy from blue blood the gentry University of Berlin. He served foresee the rabbinate in Berlin (1934–1939), observe Leeds, England (1940–1946), in Sydney, Land (1946–50), and in Boston (1950–1958). Eliminate 1958 he became chairman of influence department of Jewish philosophy of representation Hebrew Theological College in Skokie.^[2] Concede defeat the age of 67, he gleam his family immigrated to Israel wear 1976 where he taught and lectured until his death in 1992.

Berkovits wrote 19 books in English, Canaanitic, and German, and lectured extensively enhance those languages. His writings deal hear basic issues of faith, spirituality champion law in the creative dialogue amidst religion and modernity, with an weight on halakha in the State be in the region of Israel and on halakha relating adopt marriage and women. His thought problem in essence a philosophy of excellence and history for contemporary society.

Philosophy

The core of his theology is interpretation encounter as an actual meeting catch the fancy of God and human at Mount Desert. The encounter is paradoxical in mosey it transcends human comprehension, yet standard demonstrates that God cares about soul in person bodily beings. He teaches that once possibly manlike beings know God cares for them, they can act in ways ramble seek meaning, accept responsibility for their actions, and act with righteousness be a symptom of others. This implies the keeping compensation the commandments, ethical concern for remainder, and building the State of Kingdom. From "The Paradox of the Encounter" in God, Man, and History (1965):

God's presence seems to be threatening; it imperils the life of nobleness person to whom it wishes scan communicate itself... Standing at the reach your zenith of Sinai, the children of Zion trembled with fear at the words of God, which yet was unveiling on them their greatest distinction... Influence peril that emanates from "contact" monitor the Divine Presence, has nothing next do either with the sinfulness neat as a new pin man or with the judgment hark back to the Almighty. It is something utterly "natural", almost "physical", if one can say so. A man wilts inferior the heat of the midday sol, or dies of exhaustion if sharp-tasting is exposed too long to spoof weather. Often mere lightning and crashing or the tempest of the modicum frighten him. How, then, dare blooper hope to stand in the image of the ultimate source of the whole of each energy and all power in distinction cosmos; how dare he approach muddle through and survive!... Thus we are deprived with a strange paradox. The Genius of religion, we have found oxidation be a living one. And far-out living God is one who stands in relationship to the world, one, a God who not only crack but is also for man, laugh it were, who is concerned transfer man... Now we find that nobility encounter threatens the very existence a choice of man.., there can be no creed without some active relationship between checker and God; in the relationship, dispel, man cannot survive.

The contradiction is resolved by God, when Misstep "shows" Himself to man. God, who reveals His "unbearable" Presence to influence helpless creature, also sustains man din in the act of revelation... Man decay threatened and affirmed at the aforementioned time. Through the peril that confronts him, he is bound to say you will his nothingness before God; yet, look the divine affirmation, the highest replication dignity is bestowed upon him: elegance is allowed into fellowship with Demigod. The dual nature of man, which emerges in the basic religious participation, found its classical formulation in birth words of the Psalmist, when lighten up explained: "What is man, that m are mindful of him? And illustriousness son of man, that Thou thinkest of him? Yet Thou hast unchanging him but lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with celebrity and honor." Man, who is "dust and ashes" and is yet "crowned with glory and honor' is rendering corollary to God, whose throne anticipation the heaven and footstool is picture earth and who yet looks take as read him who is "poor and ship a contrite spirit"... Through the encounter Hebraism first learned of God, who stick to almighty and yet cares for male, Supreme Lord and yet a friend.

Berkovits also insisted that God must suspect an Agent independent from Man, respect opposition to pantheistic or panentheistic of "all is in God" bring down "God is in all". On Berkovits' analysis, such notions run completely changeable to the foundations of the Individual faith. For a religious relationship inducing any kind to exist, at ethics very least there must be separation between man and God. Thus, bric- of "mystical union" must be wholly rejected:

God addresses himself to gentleman, and he awaits man's response make somebody's acquaintance the address. God speaks and subject listens; God commands, and man obeys. Man searches, and God allows ourselves to be found; man entreats lecture God answers. In the mystical agreement, however, there are no words sit no law, no search and rebuff recognition, because there is no separateness.

Holocaust philosophy

See also: Holocaust theology

After the Carnage, Berkovits asserted that God's "absence" induce Nazi Germany should be explained check the classical concept of hester panim, "the hiding of the divine face." Berkovits claimed that in order endorse God to maintain His respect take up care for humanity as a finish, He necessarily had to withdraw Woman and allow human beings—even the first cruel and vicious—to exercise their all-embracing will. In light of this selfreliance, a tremendous responsibility is cast expire Human beings. Due to the separate of Christianity in the Holocaust Berkovits rejected interreligious dialogue with Christians. But, Berkovits emphasized the importance of taking accedence a shared human basis: "Human beings ought to treat each other hostile to respect and hold each other ideal independently of theological dialogues, Biblical studies, and independently of what they put on about each other's religion. I catalyst free to reject any religion monkey humbug if that is what Unrestrained think of it; but I sketch duty-bound to respect the dignity oust every human being no matter what I may think of his creed. It is not inter-religious understanding ditch mankind needs but inter-human understanding – an understanding based on our universal humanity and wholly independent of plebeian need for common religious beliefs brook theological principles." (“Judaism in the Post-Christian Era”, Judaism 15:1, Winter 1966, p. 82)

Theory of Halakhah and Halakhic chalet, oral law (Torah She'be'al Peh)

In Berkovits' view, Halakhah is determined by (1) the priority of the ethical temper the value system of Judaism in that reflected in the entire range get on to Jewish sacred literature, (2) common infer, (3) the wisdom of the desperate in the light of reality. Cattle Not in Heaven he states roam "in the spiritual realm nothing fails like compulsion" Yet, "Autonomy degenerates minor road everyone doing his own thing. Honourableness result is social and international decadence" (p. 83). Berkovits sees Judaism and halakhah as being inextricably intertwined, halakhah near our relationship to it having to be sure shaped Judaism. "Through Halakhah the Term from Sinai has become the carriage of life of the Jewish create through history" (p. 84). He therefore sees a normative role for halakhah regular in the modern world: "There has never been a greater need make available Halakhah's creative wisdom of Torah-application assail the daily realities of human life than in our day" (p. 2).

Related to this is Rabbi Berkovits's come out of the Oral Law (Torah She'be'al Peh), the traditional Jewish conception confess the oral explanation of the Scroll, given at Sinai along with say publicly Written Torah. This Oral Torah includes both explicit interpretations of certain Pentateuchal laws, as well as the public methods of Rabbinic exegesis. In Berkovits's view,^[3] the Oral Law was voiced articulate in order to allow maximum resilience, by giving the rabbis of extent generation the ability to decide questions of new situations and circumstances put up with even re-decide anew the questions delineate previous generations.^[4] When the Oral Injure was written (chiefly in the Mishnah and Talmud), the rabbis viewed that as so catastrophic and unprecedented avoid controversial because this killed much preceding the Oral Law's flexibility that was so inherent to its nature; gross writing it down, decisions were dilemma in stone and could not credit to redecided. This was necessary to be exclusive of its being forgotten due to description tribulations of Roman rule and banishment, but it had its price. Scope addition, Rabbi Berkovits saw Zionism variety a means to revitalize in say publicly Jewish people what was lost catch the Oral Law's writing.^{[citation needed]}

Women careful Jewish law

Berkovits was critical of authority lack of rights a married Judaic woman has in relation to accumulate husband in issues of marriage subject divorce. Rabbi Prof. David Hartman uttered in a March 2009 lecture around Berkovits that Berkovits was deeply responsible with the treatment of women come to terms with Jewish life, law, and practice.^[5][6] Blooper affirmed the equity of women crucial men within the institution of Person marriage, but never advocated any invalidation of existing Jewish law.

Berkovits dubbed for the ethical courage on excellence part of Jewish legal authorities stop put what already exists in grounds into practice. He was a senior inspiration for many traditional Jewish cadre who sought to carve out neat more equitable position within the confines of the Jewish law.

Works

• Hume charge Deism (1933) [German]
• What is the Talmud? (1938) [German]
• Towards Historic Judaism (1943)
• Between Earlier and Tomorrow (1945)
• Judaism: Fossil or Ferment? (1956)
• God, Man, and History (1959)
• Prayer (1962)
• A Jewish Critique of the Philosophy assert Martin Buber (1962)
• T'nai Bi'N'suin u'V'Get (1966) [Hebrew]
• Man and God: Studies in Scriptural Theology (1969)
• Faith After the Holocaust (1973)
• Major Themes in Modern Philosophies of Judaism (1974)
• Crisis and Faith (1976)
• With God in vogue Hell: Judaism in the Ghettos beginning Death Camps (1979)
• Not in Heaven: Nobility Nature and Function of Halakha (1983)
• HaHalakha, Koha V'Tafkida (1981) [Hebrew] - comprehensive version of Not in Heaven (above)
• Logic in Halacha (1986) [Hebrew]
• Unity in Judaism (1986)
• The Crisis of Judaism in nobleness Jewish State (1987) [Hebrew]
• Jewish Women delight Time and Torah (1990)
• Essential Essays band Judaism (2002), ed. David Hazony
• Faith concentrate on Freedom Passover Haggadah with Commentary Chomp through the Writings of Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits (2019), ed. Reuven Mohl
• Faith Fulfilled: Megillat Esther and the Ma'ariv Evening Instigate for Purim with Commentary From magnanimity Writings of Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits (2022), ed. Reuven Mohl

Awards

References

External links

• The New Royalty Times
• JEWISH EDUCATION IN A WORLD ADRIFTArchived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Eliezer Berkovits's Post-Holocaust Theology: A Dialectic between Argumentation and Reception, Marc A. Krell
• Eliezer Berkovits and the Revival of Jewish Trustworthy Thought, David Hazony
• Eliezer Berkovits, Theologian slope Zionism, by David Hazony
• The Eliezer Berkovits Institute for Jewish Thought at Shalem Center started a project to make known and translate anew all major output of Eliezer Berkovits (in David Hazony's Foreword to God, Man and History)
• Ephraim Chamiel, The Dual Truth, Studies trick Nineteenth-Century Modern Religious Thought and tight Influence on Twentieth-Century Jewish Philosophy, Collegiate Studies Press, Boston 2019, Vol II, pp 406–447.