Modern Jewish Thinkers

By making available well-chosen, well-introduced and clearly translated texts by so many nineteenth-century thinkers hitherto unavailable in English, Gershon Greenberg's 'Modern Jewish Thinkers' will change the way the subject is taught. We can now put in students' hands a single volume that will guide us through the labyrinthine twists and turns of Jewish philosophy from Mendelssohn to the interwar period. This is a major achievement and a major event for the classroom!"—David Sorkin, Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison|Modern Jewish Thinkers is a quintessential anthology, literally a “gathering of flowers” from the garden of modern Jewish thought. Greenberg has selected and translated from German and Hebrew an array of the most seminal texts, hitherto largely unavailable in English, which exemplify various trajectories of Jewish theological encounter with the challenge of modern philosophical culture. This richly annotated source book will surely be indispensable for scholars and students alike.—Paul Mendes-Flohr, The University of Chicago|“Greenberg offers an exceptional anthology of carefully selected, well-organized, well-introduced German Jewish and Hebrew texts. Masterfully translated, concisely commented upon, and richly annotated, these texts effectively widen English readers’ cognitive horizon by providing clear translations of seminal writings . . . [which] previously have been largely unavailable in English. Their availability should help restructure the way modern Jewish philosophy is taught and stimulate new research. Greenberg gives voice to the magnanimous expression of these unfortunately too-often-neglected texts, preventing them from entering oblivion for the English-speaking academy. This anthology may serve as a crucial key for recovering what Maimonides refers to as the many branches of science cultivated by the ancient Hebrews and transmitted orally but neglected in the course of history in consequence of tyranny. The book will be indispensible for scholars, students, and laypeople pursing Jewish studies but also of interest to those pursuing philosophy in general. Highly recommended.” —D. B. Levvy, Touro College, Lander College for Women, in CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, November 2011