Introduction to Modern Jewish Thinkers - 2nd Edition by Alan T Levenson (Paperback)

About the Book

Highlighting well-known Jewish thinkers from a very wide spectrum of opinion the author addresses a range of issues including: What makes a thinker Jewish? What makes modern Jewish thought modern? How have secular Jews integrated Jewish traditional thought with agnosticism? Wh...

Book Synopsis

Highlighting well-known Jewish thinkers from a very wide spectrum of opinion the author addresses a range of issues including: What makes a thinker Jewish? What makes modern Jewish thought modern? How have secular Jews integrated Jewish traditional thought with agnosticism? What do Orthodox thinkers have to teach non-Orthodox Jews and vice versa?

Review Quotes

...a concise, accurate pen portrait of the thinker under scrutiny is followed by a description of his overall intellectual contribution....By the end of the book, the student will have a sound grounding in the major trends of Jewish thought over the last 350 years.

Alan Levenson provides a superb introduction to the many varieties of Jewish self-understanding in the modern world. His presentation is remarkably clear and fascinating.

Alan Levenson's anthology is the best textbook on modern Jewish thinkers available for college courses and adult Jewish learning today. He offers biographical background, historical context, a description of the author's significance and contribution, focused passages in translation, study questions, and suggestions for further reading. This book is at the top of my list for anyone who wishes to go back to the modern Jewish sources themselves.

Alan Levenson's...book is clear, concise, and easy to use. Levenson writes an excellent introductory essay on each thinker and his analysis of their philosophy is thoughtful.

Every thinking Jew today is heir to Spinoza and Herzl, Buber and Rosenzweig, Kaplan and Heschel. Levenson has written an essential sourcebook for understanding the modern thinkers behind the various strands of Jewish life. Adult learners and university students alike will benefit from Levenson's artful blend of intellectual rigor and probing questions about the meaning of these thinkers for our own time.

The book is an excellent sourcebook for understanding the modern thinkers behind the various strands of Jewish life, and is an artful blend of intellectual rigor and probing questions about the meaning of these thinkers for our own time. This anthology is an excellent book for college courses and adult Jewish learning. Prof. Levenson offers biographical background, historical context, a description of the author's significance and contribution, focused passages in translation, study questions, and suggestions for further reading.

About the Author

Dr. Alan Levenson teaches Jewish history and thought at Siegal College.