Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish Religious Radicalism / Edition 1

by Aviezer Ravitzky, Michael Swirsky, Jonathan Chipman

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226705781
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	09/01/1996
Series:	Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism
Edition description:	1
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction
1: Messianism, Zionism, and Orthodoxy: Historical and Conceptual Background
2: "Forcing the End": Radical Anti-Zionism
3: "The Revealed End": Messianic Religious Zionism
4: Exile in the Holy Land: The Dilemma of Haredi Jewry
5: The Lubavitch Hasidic Movement: Between Conservatism and Messianism
Afterword
Appendix: The Impact of the Three Oaths in Jewish History
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Isadore Twersky

Eschatology and messianism, mysticism and philosophy, halakhic literature and homilectical treatises, Zionism and Jewish history, Israel and the Diaspora, Orthodoxy and modernity -- all these topics surface in Profesor Ravitzky's bok. He has succeeded in producing an erudite, original, important and thoughtful volume.

Editorial Reviews

A laboratory discussion of the aging process concentrating on discerning the differences between age related diseases and other age factors that may influence testing. Besides a discussion of aging theories, the volume reviews diseases and disorders commonly affecting the elderly and their "appearance" in the laboratory, including disorders linked to oxygen-free radicals, coronary vascular disease, atherosclerosis, immune system disorders, diseases of the liver and kidney, neoplasia, and infectious diseases. These reviews are linked to other non-disease factors such as nutrition or over medication which can mask test results. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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