AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel by Michael Wyschogrod ISBN: 0-06-069706-7 Publisher: Harpercollins Pub. Date: 01 December, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 4 (1 review)

Rating: 4
Summary: Interesting and Controversial
Comment: I've found it difficult to rate this book; I don't like continental philosophy or anything that seems to tend in that direction, and with a bit of discussion on Heidegger in this book, I get nervous. I also disagree with much in this book, but nevertheless find it often insightful. Maybe I should rate this book "3-stars", but maybe that's too harsh.
Wyschogrod's enterprise is Jewish thought, the six chapters of this book being entitled 1) A Partial Knowledge, 2) A Chosen Nation, 3) The Personality of God, 4) Created Being, 5) Ethics and Jewish Existence and 6) The Unrealised. Wyschogrod first explores the role of reason in Judaism and the potential for and limits of a Jewish theology. Wyschogrod explores the potential for and limits of any relationship between Western philosophy and Judaism, comparing this with and contrasting this to the relationship between philosophy and Christianity. In fact, Wyschogrod insightfully and sensitively compares and contrasts Judaism and Christianity frequently, and so while directed primarily towards a Jewish audience, this book may be of interest to some Christians. Of the other subjects explored in this book, of most interest to me was Wyschogrod's interpretation of Israel's chosenness and his description of the personality of God. With respect to the former, Wyschogrod describes the corporeality of Jewish election, explaining why God did not choose a community of faith but rather the seed of Abraham. Wyschogrod also offers a wonderful argument for the miraculous nature of conversion in Judaism. With respect to God's personality, Wyschogrod focuses on the concreteness of the Biblical God, His personality and the relationship between God and Israel. Wyschogrod "moves in a non-Maimonidean direction". According to Wyschogrod, the Rabbinic dictum, "the Torah speaks in the language of man", is not a warrant for ignoring the plain sense (peshat) of Scripture and forcing Scripture to fit into a philosophic framework derived from non-Jewish sources, whether Neoplatonic or Aristotelian. Wyschogrod points to the equally important Rabbinic remark, "a biblical verse never leaves its plain meaning." While never falling into simplistic literalism, Wyschogod advocates a cautious return to a mild anthropomorphism and his arguments deserve some attention. Wyschogrod also explores the role of the ethical and the Law in Judaism. In the final chapter in particular, many contemporary challenges facing the Jewish people receive Wyschogrod's attention. Of the book's chapters, I found the fourth, on created being, the most difficult. One must be quite familiar with the questions of ontology and Heidegger in order to appreciate this chapter but I don't think that it's the most important chapter. I am also suspicious of philosophical incoherence here. The style of the book seems a little too continental for me personally. But if you're into that- well then it's no problem. There's alot in this book, a reader probably won't agree with everything Wyschogrod has to say, will probably find alot of what he says controversial, and some parts of the book I found more interesting than others. While not an essential, ultimately I recommend this book for anyone interested in Jewish thought.