David Ellenson is chancellor of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. His book After Emancipation: Jewish Religious Responses to Modernity won the National Jewish Book Council's Award as the outstanding book in Jewish thought in 2005. His most recent book, coauthored with Daniel Gordis, is Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa.

"This volume is an excellent addition to academic Judaica collections."-Barbara M. Bibel, Jewish Book Council "Scholars and students of Jewish religious thought, ethics, and modern Jewish history will welcome this erudite collection by one of today's great Jewish leaders."-Jewish Media Review "This is an excellent collection of articles that any reader interested in the work of David Ellenson and the focus of his scholarship will surely appreciate."-David Tesler, Association of Jewish Libraries "A welcome addition to public and college library Judaic Studies shelves."-Midwest Book Review "For over three decades David Ellenson has shaped the life of world Jewry through the power of his scholarship, depth of vision, and kindness of soul. His uniqueness is that in his writings he searches not to hide or homogenize complexity but rather to study it, celebrate it, and enable it to challenge our preconceptions. This book is critical for all who want to know not only the foundations and struggles of modern Jewish life but, more important, the future direction it can take."—Donniel Hartman, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute "From the gifted pen of Rabbi David Ellenson come lucid essays covering Zionism, religious pluralism, feminism, and equal rights that illuminate not only a lifetime of scholarship and activism but also the complex bonds that link Jews in the United States with their forebears in Europe and contemporaries in Israel. Each essay sparkles like a gem, with compelling grace and power."—Deborah Dash Moore, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan

• AcknowledgmentsPart 1. Shaping Jewish Life in an Open Society1. A Response by Modern Orthodoxy to Jewish Religious Pluralism: The Case of Esriel Hildesheimer2. German Orthodox Rabbinical Writings on the Jewish Textual Education of Women: The Views of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer3. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch to Liepman Phillip Prins of Amsterdam: An 1873 Responsum on Education4. An Ideology for the Liberal Jewish Day School: A Philosophical-Sociological Investigation5. Denominationalism: History and Hopes6. The Integrity of Reform within Kelal Yisra-elPart 2. Searching for a Balanced Theology7. A Theology of Fear: The Search for a Liberal Jewish Paradigm8. Eugene B. Borowitz: A Tribute on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday9. Laws and Judgments as a “Bridge to a Better World”: Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1–24:18)10. Heschel and the Roots of Kavanah: Responsibility and Kavanah in Postwar America11. Rabbi Hayim David Halevi on Christians and Christianity: An Analysis of Selected Legal Writings of an Israeli Authority12. Interreligious Learning and the Formation of Jewish Religious IdentityPart 3. Visions for Israel13. A Zionist Reading of Abraham Geiger and His Biblical Scholarship14. National Sovereignty, Jewish Identity, and the “Sake of Heaven”: The Impact of Residence in Israel on Halakhic Rulings on Conversion15. The Talmudic Principle, “If One Comes Forth to Slay You, Forestall by Slaying Him,” in Israeli Public Policy: A Responsum by Rabbi Hayim David Halevi16. The Rock from Which They Were Cleft: A Review-Essay of Haim Amsalem’s Zera Yisrael and Mekor Yisrael17. Moshe Zemer’s Halakhah Shefuyah: An Israeli Vision of Reform and Halakhah18. Reform Zionism Today: A Consideration of First PrinciplesPart 4. Rabbis and the Rabbinate: Lezakot et Harabim19. Wissenschaft des Judentums, Historical Consciousness, and Jewish Faith: The Diverse Paths of Frankel, Auerbach, and Halevy20. “Creative Misreadings” in Representative Post-Emancipation Halakhic Writings on Conversion and Intermarriage21. A Portrait of the Poseq as Modern Religious Leader: An Analysis of Selected Writings of Rabbi Hayim David Halevi22. Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits on Conversion: An Inclusive Orthodox Approach23. Transformation of the Rabbinate: Future Directions and ProspectsSource AcknowledgmentsBibliography of the Published Writings of David Ellenson

David Ellenson is chancellor of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. His book After Emancipation: Jewish Religious Responses to Modernity won the National Jewish Book Council's Award as the outstanding book in Jewish thought in 2005. His most recent book, coauthored with Daniel Gordis, is Pledges of Jewish Allegiance: Conversion, Law, and Policymaking in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodox Responsa.

"This volume is an excellent addition to academic Judaica collections."-Barbara M. Bibel, Jewish Book Council "Scholars and students of Jewish religious thought, ethics, and modern Jewish history will welcome this erudite collection by one of today's great Jewish leaders."-Jewish Media Review "This is an excellent collection of articles that any reader interested in the work of David Ellenson and the focus of his scholarship will surely appreciate."-David Tesler, Association of Jewish Libraries "A welcome addition to public and college library Judaic Studies shelves."-Midwest Book Review "For over three decades David Ellenson has shaped the life of world Jewry through the power of his scholarship, depth of vision, and kindness of soul. His uniqueness is that in his writings he searches not to hide or homogenize complexity but rather to study it, celebrate it, and enable it to challenge our preconceptions. This book is critical for all who want to know not only the foundations and struggles of modern Jewish life but, more important, the future direction it can take."—Donniel Hartman, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute "From the gifted pen of Rabbi David Ellenson come lucid essays covering Zionism, religious pluralism, feminism, and equal rights that illuminate not only a lifetime of scholarship and activism but also the complex bonds that link Jews in the United States with their forebears in Europe and contemporaries in Israel. Each essay sparkles like a gem, with compelling grace and power."—Deborah Dash Moore, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan

• AcknowledgmentsPart 1. Shaping Jewish Life in an Open Society1. A Response by Modern Orthodoxy to Jewish Religious Pluralism: The Case of Esriel Hildesheimer2. German Orthodox Rabbinical Writings on the Jewish Textual Education of Women: The Views of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer3. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch to Liepman Phillip Prins of Amsterdam: An 1873 Responsum on Education4. An Ideology for the Liberal Jewish Day School: A Philosophical-Sociological Investigation5. Denominationalism: History and Hopes6. The Integrity of Reform within Kelal Yisra-elPart 2. Searching for a Balanced Theology7. A Theology of Fear: The Search for a Liberal Jewish Paradigm8. Eugene B. Borowitz: A Tribute on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday9. Laws and Judgments as a “Bridge to a Better World”: Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1–24:18)10. Heschel and the Roots of Kavanah: Responsibility and Kavanah in Postwar America11. Rabbi Hayim David Halevi on Christians and Christianity: An Analysis of Selected Legal Writings of an Israeli Authority12. Interreligious Learning and the Formation of Jewish Religious IdentityPart 3. Visions for Israel13. A Zionist Reading of Abraham Geiger and His Biblical Scholarship14. National Sovereignty, Jewish Identity, and the “Sake of Heaven”: The Impact of Residence in Israel on Halakhic Rulings on Conversion15. The Talmudic Principle, “If One Comes Forth to Slay You, Forestall by Slaying Him,” in Israeli Public Policy: A Responsum by Rabbi Hayim David Halevi16. The Rock from Which They Were Cleft: A Review-Essay of Haim Amsalem’s Zera Yisrael and Mekor Yisrael17. Moshe Zemer’s Halakhah Shefuyah: An Israeli Vision of Reform and Halakhah18. Reform Zionism Today: A Consideration of First PrinciplesPart 4. Rabbis and the Rabbinate: Lezakot et Harabim19. Wissenschaft des Judentums, Historical Consciousness, and Jewish Faith: The Diverse Paths of Frankel, Auerbach, and Halevy20. “Creative Misreadings” in Representative Post-Emancipation Halakhic Writings on Conversion and Intermarriage21. A Portrait of the Poseq as Modern Religious Leader: An Analysis of Selected Writings of Rabbi Hayim David Halevi22. Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits on Conversion: An Inclusive Orthodox Approach23. Transformation of the Rabbinate: Future Directions and ProspectsSource AcknowledgmentsBibliography of the Published Writings of David Ellenson