The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 2011
This article examines two medieval sermons that examine philosophic and halakhic issues: the Pass... more This article examines two medieval sermons that examine philosophic and halakhic issues: the Passover sermon of Hasdai Crescas, which discusses the laws of Passover, and a sermon of Zerahia Halevi Saladin, a disciple of Crescas, which probes an aspect of the laws of vows (nedarim). In the analysis of Zerahia’s sermon, a comparison is made between his discussion and Thomas Aquinas’s examination of vows in his Summa Theologica. The comparison establishes the dependency of Zerahia on Aquinas regarding this issue. Likewise, Zerahia’s sermon is compared with Crescas’s, and the relationship between the legal theories of Crescas and Zerahia is investigated. The articles concludes with a brief examination of the significance of the analysis these sermons for understanding of the impact of scholastic sources on Spanish-Jewish philosophy and the relationship between law and philosophy in the writings of Hasdai Crescas and his students.
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 2017
Much scholarly effort has been devoted to the editorial process that produced the corpus of R. Ab... more Much scholarly effort has been devoted to the editorial process that produced the corpus of R. Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen Kook. Understandably, the editorial techniques of R. Zvi Yehudah Kook—the only son of R. Kook—have received particular attention due the formative role he had in editing and publishing his father's writings. R. Zvi Yehudah's editorial activities with his father's works include the brief essay "La-Milhemet ha-Deot ve-ha-Emunot" (The Battle of Opinions and Beliefs), published in 1913. It has been argued that in his editing of this essay, he attempted to minimize R. Kook's legitimation of secular Zionists. I suggest a different understanding of the underlying motivation of R. Zvi Yehudah. He was attempting to provide a response of R. Kook to the most significant literary and cultural controversy that occupied the Zionist and Hebrew literary landscape, namely, the Brenner affair. R. Zvi Yehudah, through his editing of "La-Milhemet ha-Deot ve-ha-Emunot," was interested in grounding R. Kook's writings in the historical and social context in which they were composed. During the Jaffe period, R. Zvi Yehudah aggressively redacted various pages from his notebook and shaped the essay in order to relate R. Kook's work to one of the most significant cultural and ideological Zionist debates of his time and to bring his writings in conversation with his contemporaries and colleagues.
Eliezer Schweid, one of the most important contemporary scholars of Jewish thought, devoted two v... more Eliezer Schweid, one of the most important contemporary scholars of Jewish thought, devoted two volumes to analyzing theological responses to the Holocaust. Wrestling until Daybreak (1990) covered a diverse range of non-Orthodox Jewish thinkers, and Between Destruction and Redemption (1994) examined ultra-Orthodox Holocaust theology. This article will examine how scholarship, philosophy, and theology are intertwined in these two volumes.
The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 2011
This article examines two medieval sermons that examine philosophic and halakhic issues: the Pass... more This article examines two medieval sermons that examine philosophic and halakhic issues: the Passover sermon of Hasdai Crescas, which discusses the laws of Passover, and a sermon of Zerahia Halevi Saladin, a disciple of Crescas, which probes an aspect of the laws of vows (nedarim). In the analysis of Zerahia’s sermon, a comparison is made between his discussion and Thomas Aquinas’s examination of vows in his Summa Theologica. The comparison establishes the dependency of Zerahia on Aquinas regarding this issue. Likewise, Zerahia’s sermon is compared with Crescas’s, and the relationship between the legal theories of Crescas and Zerahia is investigated. The articles concludes with a brief examination of the significance of the analysis these sermons for understanding of the impact of scholastic sources on Spanish-Jewish philosophy and the relationship between law and philosophy in the writings of Hasdai Crescas and his students.
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 2017
Much scholarly effort has been devoted to the editorial process that produced the corpus of R. Ab... more Much scholarly effort has been devoted to the editorial process that produced the corpus of R. Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen Kook. Understandably, the editorial techniques of R. Zvi Yehudah Kook—the only son of R. Kook—have received particular attention due the formative role he had in editing and publishing his father's writings. R. Zvi Yehudah's editorial activities with his father's works include the brief essay "La-Milhemet ha-Deot ve-ha-Emunot" (The Battle of Opinions and Beliefs), published in 1913. It has been argued that in his editing of this essay, he attempted to minimize R. Kook's legitimation of secular Zionists. I suggest a different understanding of the underlying motivation of R. Zvi Yehudah. He was attempting to provide a response of R. Kook to the most significant literary and cultural controversy that occupied the Zionist and Hebrew literary landscape, namely, the Brenner affair. R. Zvi Yehudah, through his editing of "La-Milhemet ha-Deot ve-ha-Emunot," was interested in grounding R. Kook's writings in the historical and social context in which they were composed. During the Jaffe period, R. Zvi Yehudah aggressively redacted various pages from his notebook and shaped the essay in order to relate R. Kook's work to one of the most significant cultural and ideological Zionist debates of his time and to bring his writings in conversation with his contemporaries and colleagues.
Eliezer Schweid, one of the most important contemporary scholars of Jewish thought, devoted two v... more Eliezer Schweid, one of the most important contemporary scholars of Jewish thought, devoted two volumes to analyzing theological responses to the Holocaust. Wrestling until Daybreak (1990) covered a diverse range of non-Orthodox Jewish thinkers, and Between Destruction and Redemption (1994) examined ultra-Orthodox Holocaust theology. This article will examine how scholarship, philosophy, and theology are intertwined in these two volumes.
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Papers by Ari Ackerman