Judaism, Human Values, and the Jewish State
Jerusalem · 1992
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Yeshayahu Leibowitz
Yeshayahu Leibowitz
1903 CE–1994 CE · Modern · Riga
Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903–1994) was one of the most distinctive and provocative Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century. Born in Riga and trained as a biochemist, philosopher, and physician in Berlin and Basel, he settled in Jerusalem in 1934 and taught at the Hebrew University for nearly sixty years.
Leibowitz argued that authentic Jewish faith consists exclusively in the unconditioned acceptance of halachic mitzvot — not in metaphysical doctrines, mystical experiences, or instrumental rewards. He was Orthodox in practice and radical in theology, warning against the deification of land, state, or people. His fierce critique of religious nationalism after 1967 (he coined the term 'Judeo-Nazis' for settler extremists) made him a controversial figure even among admirers, but his rigorous philosophical defense of mitzva-le-shma — service for its own sake — has had a lasting influence on contemporary Modern Orthodox thought.
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Stop 1 of 41903–1919Born
RigaריגהLatvia
What they did here
Born in Riga into a religious-Zionist family.
About Riga
Riga, the capital of Latvia, was founded in 1201 as the seat of the bishop of Livonia, joined the Hanseatic League in 1282, and was later ruled by Sweden (1621-1710) and the Russian Empire (1710-1917); its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The chemist Wilhelm Ostwald was born there and taught at the Riga Polytechnic. Riga had a substantial Jewish community: the Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn lived there in 1927-29 and 1930-34, and the scholars Yeshayahu and Nechama Leibowitz were born there. Under Nazi occupation its Jews were forced into a ghetto, and some 24,000 Latvian Jews were murdered at Rumbula in 1941.
In Riga at the same time
Across the traditions, in Riga at the same time
In the same place & time
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Sages whose lives overlapped with Yeshayahu Leibowitz’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
Across the traditions
In the same tradition
Dovid Tzvi Hoffman, Bernhard Jacobsohn, Julius Theodor, Eduard Baneth, Minhat Yehuda, Zelig Reuven Bangis, Rav Kook, Imrei Emes, Yehuda Leib Chasman, Isser Zalman Meltzer, Yaakov Chaim Sofer (Kaf HaChaim), Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky, Yechiel Michel Tukatchinsky, Yisrael Zev Mintzberg, Tzvi Pesach Frank, Yitzchak Isaac Sher, Jacob Nachum Epstein, Martin Buber
Works(3)
Judaism, Human Values, and the Jewish Stateיהדות, עם יהודי ומדינת ישראל
Jerusalem · 1975
Collection of essays articulating his radical halachic philosophy and his critique of religious nationalism.
Full text not yet available in our corpus.
The Faith of Maimonidesאמונתו של הרמב"ם
Jerusalem · 1980
Concise philosophical reading of Rambam's negative theology and rigorous mitzva-centered religious life.
Full text not yet available in our corpus.