Robert Eisen – författare

When the state of Israel was established in 1947, it was immediately thrust into war, and rabbis in the religious Zionist community were confronted with the formidable challenge of constructing a body of Jewish law to deal with this turn of events. A body of law had to be "constructed" here because Jewish law had developed mostly during prior centuries when Jews had neither a state nor an army, and therefore it did not include much material on war. Leading rabbis in the religious Zionist camp responded to this challenge with remarkable ingenuity and creativity. They used their interpretive skills to greatly expand the little material on war in Jewish law that already existed. They also used those skills to draw out insights from other areas of Jewish law that could be applied to war. The result was a substantial corpus of law on war where almost none had existed before.The work of these rabbis represents a fascinating chapter in the history of Jewish law and ethics, but it has attracted relatively little attention from academics. This book is a pioneering attempt to make up for that shortfall. It examines how five leading rabbis in the religious Zionist community in the twentieth century dealt with key moral issues in war. Chapters are devoted to R. Abraham Isaac Kook, R. Isaac Halevi Herzog, and R. Eliezer Waldenberg, R. Sha'ul Yisraeli, and R. Shlomo Goren. The moral issues examined include the question of who is a legitimate authority for waging war, why Jews in a modern Jewish state can be drafted to fight on its behalf, and under what circumstances the killing of enemy civilians is permitted. This study also examines how the positions of these rabbis on such issues compare to those of international law.

This book analyzes the history of the interpretation of the book of Job by medieval Jewish exegetes. The scholarship on medieval Jewish thought has focused largely on the systematic philosophical aspects of this literature. Eisen, however, is concerned with exegesis qua exegesis. He offers a close examination of commentaries on Job written by six major thinkers: Saadiah Goan (882-942, Egypt and Babylon), Moses Maimonides (1138-1204, Spain and Egypt), Samuel ibn Tibbon (1160-1230, Provence), Zerahiah Hen (13th Century, Barcelona and Rome), Levi Gersonides (1288-1344, Provence), and Simeon ben Zeham Duran (1361-1444, Majorca and Algiers). Saadiah and Maimonides wrote in Arabic, the other four in Hebrew. Eisen looks at the relationship between the commentaries and their antecedent sources as well as their relationship to the broader context of medieval Jewish thought. He also provides an overview of the questions the commentators confronted about the historicity, national origin, and "Jewishness" of the text. He argues that the commentaries on Job are linked in a coherent and evolving tradition of interpretation and he identifies various views of providence as the central concern of them all.

Robert Eisen provides the first comprehensive analysis of Jewish views on peace and violence, examining five major sources of Jewish thought - the Bible, rabbinic Judaism, medieval Jewish philosophy, Kabbalah, and modern Zionism. He demonstrates that throughout its history Judaism has consistently exhibited ambiguity regarding peace and violence. To make his case, Eisen presents two separate analyses for each of the areas he examines: one that argues for a peaceful reading of Judaism, and another that argues for a violent reading. The aim is to show that both readings are valid and authentic interpretations of Judaism. Eisen also explores why Judaism can be read both ways by examining the interpretive techniques that support each reading. This study should be of interest not just to students of Judaism, but to students of all religious traditions: the ambiguity concerning violence in Judaism is true of many other religions as well. Eisen's study therefore provides a model for analyzing peace and violence in religion in general.

A careful examination of the doctrine of Jewish chosenness in the light of Gersonides's thought on providential suffering and on inherited providence. Gersonides is one of the most interesting and important philosophers of the later Jewish Middle AgesGersonides was one of the intellectual giants of the medieval Jewish world, a thinker of remarkable diversity and ingenuity. In the light of Gersonides' thought on providential suffering and on inherited providence, this book analyzes his position on one of the cardinal principles of Judaism: the concept of the Chosen People.

A careful examination of the doctrine of Jewish chosenness in the light of Gersonides's thought on providential suffering and on inherited providence. Gersonides is one of the most interesting and important philosophers of the later Jewish Middle AgesGersonides was one of the intellectual giants of the medieval Jewish world, a thinker of remarkable diversity and ingenuity. In the light of Gersonides' thought on providential suffering and on inherited providence, this book analyzes his position on one of the cardinal principles of Judaism: the concept of the Chosen People.

This Element explores the potential in Judaism to incite Jews to engage in violence against non-Jews. The analysis proceeds in historical fashion, with sections devoted to the Hebrew Bible, rabbinic Judaism, medieval and early modern Judaism, and modern Zionism. The last topic is given special attention because of its relevance to the current Middle East conflict. This Element also draws on insights from social psychology to explain Jewish violence - particularly Social Identity Theory.