Idolatry: A Contemporary Jewish Conversation

by Alon Goshen-Gottstein (Editor)

Overview

Idolatry, or its Hebrew equivalent Avodah Zarah¸ is a fundamental feature of a Jewish view of other religions. All religions must pass the test of whether they are compliant with a Jewish view of religions as being free from the worship of another God. With the advance in interfaith relations, positions have been affirmed that clear most major contemporary religions from the charge of idolatry. What remains of “idolatry” once it no longer serves as a tool for evaluating other faiths? Does the category continue to have theological appeal? What are its internal uses? A cadre of Jewish scholars and thought leaders explore in this volume what the continuing relevance of “idolatry” is and how it might continue to inform our religious horizons, allowing us to distinguish between good and bad religion, both within Judaism and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798887191409
Publisher:	Academic Studies Press
Publication date:	05/16/2023
Series:	Jewish Thought, Jewish History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	390
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading figures in interreligious dialogue. He is  founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute since 1997. His work bridges the theological and academic dimension with a variety of practical initiatives, especially involving world religious leadership. His academic work is divided between contributions to early rabbinic thought, Jewish spirituality, interfaith theory and Jewish theology of religions. He has held academic posts at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and has served as director of the Center for the Study of Rabbinic Thought, Beit Morasha College, Jerusalem. The present volume continues his ground-breaking work in the field of Jewish theology of religions by convening conversations among Jewish thought leaders on seminal issues, complementing his earlier work Judaism’s Challenge: Election, Divine Love and Human Enmity (2020, Academic Studies Press). 

Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading figures in interreligious dialogue. He is  founder and director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute since 1997. His work bridges the theological and academic dimension with a variety of practical initiatives, especially involving world religious leadership. His academic work is divided between contributions to early rabbinic thought, Jewish spirituality, interfaith theory and Jewish theology of religions. He has held academic posts at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and has served as director of the Center for the Study of Rabbinic Thought, Beit Morasha College, Jerusalem. The present volume continues his ground-breaking work in the field of Jewish theology of religions by convening conversations among Jewish thought leaders on seminal issues, complementing his earlier work Judaism’s Challenge: Election, Divine Love and Human Enmity (2020, Academic Studies Press). 

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements
Alon Goshen-Gottstein

Introduction: Idolatry—Revisiting a Fundamental Concept: Project Description
Alon Goshen-Gottstein

Understanding Idolatry: An Invitation to a Contemporary Conversation
Alon Goshen-Gottstein

The Theology and Politics of Idolatry
Reuven Kimelman

Monotheism and Idolatry: Theological Challenges and Considerations 
Michael Fishbane

Idolatry on the Other Side of Modernity
Shaul Magid

Jewish Feminist Liberation Theology and the Modern Criticism of Idols
Melissa Raphael

Idolatry as Dehumanization
Rivon Krygier

Contemporary Idolatry and a Path to Freedom
Eilon Shamir

The Idolatry of Humankind
Jonathan Wittenberg

“We Live as Did the Ancients:” Reflections on the Ambiguous Role of Idolatry in Contemporary Jewish Thought
Arnold Eisen

Idolatry
Haviva Pedaya

On Petrification
Michael Marmur

The Idolatry of the Written Word
Paul Mendes-Flohr

The Concept of Idolatry in Current Times
Hanoch Ben-Pazi

The Line between True Religion and Idolatry
Warren Zev Harvey

Thinking Idolatry with/against Maimonides: The Case of Christianity
Menachem Kellner

Return of the Gods: A Jeux d’Esprit on Idolatry in Judaism
Norman Solomon

The Value of Idolatry
Menachem Fisch

Concluding Observations: The Discourse on Idolatry
Alon Goshen-Gottstein

Index

Editorial Reviews

Idolatry is a profound, probing yet engaging exploration of human misdirection whose roots are as ancient as human yearning. This book springs from history and scholarship but it speaks to our society and to the individual heart.”

— Rabbi David Wolpe, Max Webb Senior Rabbi, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles

“This remarkably rich anthology—beyond disabusing anyone who might still be operating under the notion that the biblical injunction against idolatry can be limited to worship of ‘sticks and stones’—suggests many thought-provoking extensions of the traditional injunction against false gods both within Judaism and without. The efforts of an impressive array of contributors to pin-point in contemporary terms just what is problematic about this deviant form of worship not only revive the theological relevance of this ancient prohibition: the wide variety of perspectives that they introduce also bear important implications for current attempts at interfaith dialogue, subtly shifting the nature of the discourse from rarefied debates regarding the precise doctrinal imperatives of monotheism to broader moral interests and concerns, questions of pluralism and tolerance, social theory, education, and politics. In spelling out the multitude of theoretical and practical dimensions of this discussion, Idolatry: A Contemporary Jewish Conversation powerfully challenges Jews and non-Jews alike to revisit the notion of idolatry, and rediscover its importance as a critical category of thought.”

— Tamar Ross, Professor Emerita, Department of Jewish Philosophy, Bar Ilan University

"Alon Goshen-Gottstein has put together a sterling volume of outstanding contributors for new directions for the concept of ‘idolatry’ in Jewish thought. For Goshen-Gottstein the traditional interest in idolatry for rejecting other religions has largely been surpassed. So, this volume aims to retrieve ‘idolatry’ as a live concept for our age. This book is both an intellectual and spiritual diamond.”

— Jerome Yehuda Gellman, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Ben-Gurion University

“The discussion of idolatry is surely of tremendous importance. Nearly all religions and philosophies consider it awful. But what is idolatry and why is it ‘awful’? That debate is the core of this fascinating book. Is it wrong when we do not put God at the center of the universe and our lives? But what is really the problem? Does God really mind? Or is idolatry forbidden because it is the source for great evil and immorality? If so, what about idol worship or atheism that does not lead to evil and in fact encourages the good? Or is this a contradiction in terms? Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen Gottstein has managed to pull together some of the greatest religious thinkers of our time to try to respond to these questions. Intriguing: I could not put this book down once I started.”

— Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Dean of the David Cardozo Academy Jerusalem

From the Publisher