Commentary

[in chronological order]

Rosenzweig’s Bible: Reinventing Scripture for Jewish Modernity.

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Benjamin Mara H. Rosenzweig's Bible: Reinventing Scripture for Jewish Modernity. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Overview: – Rosenzweig’s Bible examines the high stakes, both theological and political, of Franz Rosenzweig’s attempt to revivify the Hebrew Bible and use it as the basis for a Jewish textual identity. Mara Benjamin’s innovative… More

Franz Rosenzweig and the Systematic Task of Philosophy

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Pollock, Benjamin. Franz Rosenzweig and the Systematic Task of Philosophy. Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
Overview: –  Benjamin Pollock argues that Franz Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption is devoted to a singularly ambitious philosophical task: grasping “the All” – the whole of what is – in the form of a system. In asserting… More

Jewish Philosophy as a Guide to Life: Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, Wittgenstein.

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Putnam, Hilary. Jewish Philosophy as a Guide to Life: Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, Wittgenstein. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2008.
Overview: –  Distinguished philosopher Hilary Putnam, who is also a practicing Jew, questions the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the 20th century—Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas—to help him reconcile the… More

Franz Rosenzweigs “neues Denken.”

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Schmied-Kowarzik, Wolfdietrich, editor. Franz Rosenzweigs “neues Denken”.Freiburg: Alber, 2006.

Overview: –  Zum 75. Todesjahr des jüdischen Religionsphilosophen Franz Rosenzweig fand im März 2004 in seiner Geburtsstadt Kassel zum zweiten Mal ein großer Internationaler Kongreß statt: Franz Rosenzweigs ‘neues Denken’. Galt es beim… More

Letters of Love: Franz Rosenzweig’s Spiritual Biography and Oeuvre in Light of the Gritli Letters.

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Meir, Ephraim. Letters of Love: Franz Rosenzweig's Spiritual Biography and Oeuvre in Light of the Gritli Letters. New York: Lang, 2005.
Review: –  Ephraim Meir’s book is the first greater attempt to scientifically evaluate the Gritli Letters and to relate them to Rosenzweig’s writings, especially to his religious-philosophical main work, ‘Der Stern der Erlösung’ [Star of… More

The Legacy of Franz Rosenzweig: Collected Essays

– Anckaert, Luc, Martin Brasser, and Norbert Samuelson, editors. The Legacy of Franz Rosenzweig: Collected Essays. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004.
Overview: – The volume falls into three sections, each of which shows a distinctive interest in the Rosenzweig research. The Biographical Legacy presents the outcome of the beginning study of the Gritli-Letters. Undoubtedly, the main event of the last… More

Rosenzweig and Heidegger: Between Judaism and German Philosophy.

– Gordon, Peter Eli. Rosenzweig and Heidegger: Between Judaism and German Philosophy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
Overview: –  Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) is widely regarded today as one of the most original and intellectually challenging figures within the so-called renaissance of German-Jewish thought in the Weimar period. The architect of a unique kind of… More

Franz Rosenzweig and Jehudah HaLevi: Translating, Translations, and Translators.

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Galli, Barbara. Franz Rosenzweig and Jehudah HaLevi: Translating, Translations, and Translators. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2002.
Overview: –  Galli’s primary aim is to explore Rosenzweig’s statement that his notes to Halevi’s poems exemplify a practical application of the philosophic system he set out in The Star of Redemption. Through an extended, multifaceted… More

The Psychotheology of Everyday Life: Reflections on Freud and Rosenzweig.

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Santner, Eric L. The Psychotheology of Everyday Life: Reflections on Freud and Rosenzweig. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001.

Overview: –  In On the Psychotheology of Everyday Life, Eric Santner puts Sigmund Freud in dialogue with his contemporary Franz Rosenzweig in the service of reimagining ethical and political life. By exploring the theological dimensions of… More

Idolatry and Representation: The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig Reconsidered.

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Batnitzky, Leora. Idolatry and Representation: The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig Reconsidered. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000.

Introduction: – Introduction RECONSIDERING ROSENZWEIG AND MODERN CONCEPTIONS OF IDOLATRY FRANZ ROSENZWEIG has long been interpreted as an existentialist philosopher who rejected philosophy for the sake of religion, and reason for the sake of… More

A User’s Guide to Franz Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption

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Samuelson, Norbert M. A User's Guide to Franz Rosenzweig's The Star of Redemption. Richmond, VA: Curzon, 1999.
Review: –  “A valuable addition to the continued interest in Rosenzweig’s philosophy throughout the 1990s. The author succeeds in clarifying the meaning of the original work using diagrams in places to aid his cause. I found the layout of… More

An Episode of Jewish Romanticism: Franz Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption.

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Rubinstein, Ernest. An Episode of Jewish Romanticism: Franz Rosenzweig's Star of Redemption. Albany: SUNY Press, 1999.

Review: –  Examining romanticism in the thought of Jewish philosopher, Franz Rosenzweig, this book compares his magnum opus, The Star of Redemption, with Leo Baeck’s essay, “Romantic Religion,” and Friedrich… More

German Jews: A Dual Identity.

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Mendes-Flohr, Paul. German Jews: A Dual Identity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.
Overview: –  When the German-Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig entitled his 1926 collection of essays on Jewish and universal cultural topics Zweistromland — a land of two rivers — he meant to underscore, indeed celebrate, the fact that… More

Monolingualism of the Other, or The Prosthesis of Origin

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Jacques Derrida, Monolingualism of the Other, or The Prosthesis of Origin, trans. Patrick Mensah. Stanford University Press, 1997.
Overview: –  “I have but one language—yet that language is not mine.” This book intertwines theoretical reflection with historical and cultural particularity to enunciate, then analyze this conundrum in terms of the author’s own relationship to… More

Preface to Spinoza’s Critique of Religion, Spinoza’s Critique of Religion.

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Leo Strauss, Preface to Spinoza's Critique of Religion, Spinoza's Critique of Religion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
Overview: – Leo Strauss articulates the conflict between reason and revelation as he explores Spinoza’s scientific, comparative, and textual treatment of the Bible. Strauss compares Spinoza’sTheologico-political Treatise and the Epistles,… More

Better than Wine: Love, Poetry, and Prayer in the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig.

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Greenberg, Yudit Kornberg. Better than Wine: Love, Poetry, and Prayer in the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig. The American Academy of Religion, 1996.
Reviews: –  “Franz Rosenzweig deserves this careful and creative study of his thought by Yudit K. Greenberg. By showing his affinities to classical Jewish mysticism, she has made his connection to the Jewish past that much stronger; and by… More

Elevations: The Height of the Good in Rosenzweig and Levinas.

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Cohen, Richard A. Elevations: The Height of the Good in Rosenzweig and Levinas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Overview: –  Elevations is a series of closely related essays on the ground-breaking philosophical and theological work of Emmanuel Levinas and Franz Rosenzweig, two of the twentieth century’s most important Jewish philosophers. Focusing on the… More

System and Revelation: The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig.

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Mosès, Stéphane. System and Revelation: The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig. Translated by Catherine Tihanyi. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1992.
Overview: –  Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig questioned the whole of Western philosophical tradition and tried to found “new thinking” based on the Jewish-Christian concept of Revelation. System and Revelation, the first contemporary,… More

Correlations in Rosenzweig and Levinas

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Gibbs, Robert. Correlations in Rosenzweig and Levinas. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Overview: –  Robert Gibbs radically revises standard interpretations of the two key figures of modern Jewish philosophy: Franz Rosenzweig, author of the “Star of Redemption”, and Emmanuel Levinas, a major voice in contemporary intellectual… More

The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig

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Mendes-Flohr, Paul, editor. The Philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig. University Press of New England for Brandeis University Press, 1988.
Overview: –  Eleven essays on the life and thought of the Jewish philosopher and theologian Franz Rosenzweig.

“A Confession about our Language.”

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Gershom Scholem, Letter to Rosenzweig, 1926, "A Confession about our Language", French Translation by Stephane Moses, Archives de Sciences Sociales Des Religions, no. 60-61 Paris, 1985.
 

Franz Rosenzweig’s Philosophy of Existence: An Analysis of the Star of Redemption.

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Freund, Else-Rahel.  Franz Rosenzweig's Philosophy of Existence: An Analysis of the Star of Redemption. Translated by S.L. Weinstein and Robert Israel. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1979.
Review: –  “Franz Rosenzweig’s The Start of Redemption is one of the few lasting books of our century, a work whose originality transcends the disciplinary limits of philosophy and religion and which must be read by anyone whose concern with the… More

“On Jews and Judaism in Crisis.”

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Gershom Scholem, "On Jews and Judaism in Crisis," trans. Werner Dannhauser. New York: Shocken Books, 1976.
Overview: –  On Jews and Judaism in Crisis presents Gershom Scholem confronting, studying, and judging the important ideas, events, and figures of twentieth-century Judaism. It includes essays on Martin Buber, S. Y. Agnon, and Scholem’s friend… More