Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1596332 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 324 pages

Synopsis
In A Jewish Philosophy of History, Prof. Paul Eidelberg unites three disciplines--politics, philosophy, and science--in reader-friendly language. After a candid discussion of Israel's intellectual and political inability to overcome Arab hostility, Eidelberg sets forth a comprehensive remedial program. This requires nothing less than a reconstruction of the mentality as well as the system of governance that dominates Israel and hinders a renaissance of Hebraic civilization. This renaissance is essential for overcoming the clash of civilizations between the West now mired in relativism, and Islam long trapped in absolutism. Eidelberg explains that Judaism is not a religion, but a verifiable system of knowledge. Citing the works of eminent physicists from Einstein to Hawking, he reveals the convergence of science and Torah. He then sets forth the world-historical program of the Torah. But what is most remarkable, he proceeds to show how philosophers, scientists, and empires since the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 586 BCE, have unwittingly facilitated the Torah's world-historical program!

He concludes by elucidating the basic principles of Hebraic civilization, precisely what mankind needs to avoid the scourge of nihilism and barbarism.

Customer Reviews

Good tidings to Zion
A Jewish Philosophy of History investigates the development of ethics, philosophy, politics, science and theology from antiquity to the present, chronicling the impact on the world of Jewish concepts of God, mankind and nature. Admirable in scope, clarity and practical understanding, this optimistic book brings good tidings to Zion now that ill omens abound. Since the victory of 1967, Israeli governments have retreated both territorially and psychologically from their cultural roots & identity, thereby exposing their people to endless terror and a growing threat. The author convincingly argues for history's providential and rationally discernible pattern of hope by contextualizing world events as they involve the Jewish people and Israel. A valuable although slightly outdated work that covers similar terrain is The Indestructible Jews by Max I Dimont.

Israel's current degradation is outlined and the enmity of the Arab World dissected. Then the solutions, based upon Jewish and democratic principles, are provided. At present a wave of anti-Zionism/antisemitism is sweeping the globe, Israel is under existential threat from Iran & its proxies while relations with the USA have taken a turn for the worse. Israelis that live beyond the 1948 armistice lines are demonized, even in Israel itself. Under these circumstances, how seriously can one take Eidelberg's historical view of Israel's salvific role, the one he claims it can achieve only as an authentic Jewish State? The ME situation may look bleak but it is of greater significance that an ancient nation was reborn, has thrived and survived despite massive odds including repeated onslaughts from numerically superior enemies.

The author has a profound insight into the relation of civilizations to their deepest beliefs on human nature and origins -- and of relating this knowledge to Torah and the situation of the Jewish people. By way of synthesis, he provides a fascinating narrative of history as the gradual victory march of Jewish concepts of the Creator, creation, mankind, human dignity, responsibility and redemption around the globe. Eidelberg argues that Israel's great challenges, including the threat to its existence, mainly derive from institutional flaws for which he offers clear solutions. Exploring the way Western & Israeli culture has been infected by defeatism, he identifies those strains of thought that undermine the will to survive.

A major problem is the delusion of Israel's elites, the "land for peace," syndrome encouraged by moral relativism, the ideology that has markedly weakened the West in a matter of decades. Further evidence is available in Caroline Glick's Shackled Warrior. After demolishing this destructive creed, he proceeds to dissect modern psychology, particularly its elevation of emotion over reason, a practice directly opposed to Judaism that asserts the primacy of reason. For a dissident school called Covenantal Psychology, see A Psychology of Hope by Kaplan & Schwarz. Eidelberg shows Judaism as the religion of reason in the light of its concepts of creation, nature, human nature and the divine. The optimistic tone of the text is rooted in an interpretation of history as having been divinely ordained for life-affirming purposes.

Eidelberg holds the reassuring opinion that Israel has been completing an enormous project that began with the calling of Abraham; it is a process of communication whereby the world is exposed to thoughts and practices that promote a just & peaceful society. More information may be found in WorldPerfect by Ken Spiro. In this regard, the author considers the influence of the earlier and later philosophers including Plato & Aristotle, and of Christianity through which the separation of Church and State came about, ultimately leading to the triumph of secularism. The author holds a grim view of Machiavelli who gave birth to the open egoism of Individualism and the covert egoism of Statism.

The West and Islam are examined with reference to the nature of their ruling ideologies: in the one case decadent relativism & in the other decadent absolutism, opposites that must lead to civilizational conflict. This impressive meta-historical study of humanity's evolution toward the recognition of God --- in which the Jewish people play the pivotal role -- emphasizes the importance of the land and its settlement. Eidelberg believes that the decadence of the West and Islam is working towards the renaissance of Hebraic Civilization and its salubrious sense of life that will greatly benefit the world.

The concluding chapter is devoted to explaining the basic principles of Hebraic Culture that counteracts both Western Nihilism and Islamic Jihad. These uplifting passages reminded me of Abraham Heschel's comforting work The Prophets. The appendix consists of an an essay by Dr. Chaim Zimmerman which illustrates how Israel's 1948 rebirth was brought about by providential laws of history that hold the promise of final redemption to its people and ultimately the whole world. This thought-provoking, well-written work concludes with an index and bibliography.