A Jewish Theology

by Louis Jacobs and Behrman House

Book Overview

A systematic chronological study by one of the world's leading Jewish theologians. A masterly guide to the major currents of Jewish thought.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874412269
• ISBN13: 9780874412260
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: Behrman House Publishing
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.4" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A learned summary and introduction to Jewish theology

This is an outstanding introduction of Jewish theology and summary of many of its main ideas. Jacobs is a great scholar with a mastery of the traditional literature. And one of the special features of the work is the considerable bibliography he gives on each of the more than twenty chapters he writes about. In his introduction he explains that for Rambam theology is ' the science of God' and that this science is one which many have regarded as alien to Judaism. He discusses the difficulty of definining and limiting God, and again turns to Rambam in his teaching that we study theology not in order to know what we can say about God, but in order to know what should not be said about God. Jacobs talks about the different ways of coming to believe in God, 1) through the traditional proofs, or by reason 2)through direct mystical experience 3) By existensial decision 4) Through tradition and the acceptance of it. In his chapters he writes about , the unity of God; transcendence and immanence; omnipotence and omniscience; providence; the love and the fear of God; the nature of revelation; Torah and mitzvah; sin and repentance; the Messianic hope; and the afterlife. His presentation is balanced and thorough. This is a book to not only be read but to be learned and studied. I myself intend to reread it as I understand it has a wealth of ideas and insights that can hopefully help me understand how to better serve God.

well done, medium difficulty

I concur with the comments of other reviewers. Some further thoughts:1. This book is more advanced than "Judaism for Dummies" but hardly as incomprehensible as the works of major philosophers such as Buber. I would say that to get the most out of it, you should have a fair amount of knowledge of Judaism, but you need not be a full-fledged theologian yourself.2. Some readers may be dissatisfied with the amount of space Jacobs gives major issues such as revelation and the role of mitzvot; he gives every issue about an equal amount of space, whether they deserve a short chapter or a full book.3. Jacobs certainly has a point of view - I would say he is a mainstream Conservative, generally endorsing traditional practice to a much greater extent than most Reform Jews, but not necessarily for the same reasons that traditional Jews would endorse.

The Best Outline of Jewish Belief

The commonly-accepted wisdom is that Judaism is a religion of practices and contains no beliefs. Louis Jacobs shows that this is not entirely correct, and provides the source material behind recurring attempts to define the tenets of Jewish faith. This book clearly, succinctly and intelligently defines the different theories about God, and distinguishes them from each other. Jacobs explains where each of these theories appears within the Jewish tradition. It is an important "primer" for anyone trying to understand Jewish philosophy and religion in general. It is very well-written, and not overly long. A reading of this book will eliminate the fuzziness which most people -- Jews and non-Jews, religious and secular -- have about theology. The major problem with the book is Jacobs' approach in defining what he considers to be a normative Jewish view. In effect, after fairly defining theological alternatives to what he calls "theism" -- including Spinozist pantheism and Hasidic panentheism -- Jacobs casts aspersions on these views and writes them out of the Jewish fold.

A fine systematic treatment.

There are precious few systematic works being written these days on Jewish theology -- perhaps because Judaism is sometimes regarded as in some way opposed to theology. Louis Jacobs deals with that objection directly in the very first pages of this fine work. "Jewish theology," he begins, "is the attempt to think through consistently the implications of the Jewish religion." That this task requires a degree of humility and even ends in agnosticism on some specific points, Jacobs readily acknowledges. But, he argues, the "dangers of pride and dogmatism" should merely prevent "theological smugness," not forestall the enterprise of theology itself. In a workmanlike series of twenty-two further chapters, Jacobs devotes his attention to the task he has set himself, dealing in turn with e.g. the unity of God; transcendence and immanence; omnipotence and omniscience; providence; the love and the fear of God; the nature of revelation; Torah and mitzvah; sin and repentance; the Messianic hope; and the afterlife. At each point his discussion is solidly rooted in the traditional texts of Judaism (including, of course, Torah and Talmud). His views on the central topic of _revelation_ are, it must be said, "liberal" in the final analysis; while highly critical of the idea of "progressive revelation" and adopting what he calls a "traditionalist" view, he is nevertheless forced to acknowledge in the end that his interpretation of revelation in "non-propositional terms" is "certainly not the traditional one." And I confess myself to be skeptical that his account can provide full support for even his own understanding of the nature of the mitzvot. But whatever his particular conclusions on specific points, and above all whether one agrees with them or not, his thorough discussion of Jewish theology is fair and even-handed in content, reasonable and empathetic in tone. And his unblinking willingness to deal with the problems specifically raised by modernity is altogether commendable. This volume, then, will not answer every possible question about Jewish theology. But if one wants a book that asks the questions well and tries to sort out what answers make sense in the light of both tradition and modernity without lapsing into "fundamentalism" on _either_ side, Jacobs has done that job here. And it is hard to imagine how anyone could do it better.