Theocracy, Liberalism, and Modern Judaism

The paper examines the efforts of several Jewish thinkers to cope with the discrepancy between the inherently theocratic principles of their religion and the modern, liberal ideas with which they wished to bring Judaism into harmony. It focuses first on Moses Mendelssohnʹs attempt at the end of the eighteenth century to provide a rationale for the dissolution of Judaismʹs coercive, collectivist dimension and to render the Jewish religion fully compatible, in practice, with liberalism. The next major focus is the recent work of David Novak, who has sought in different ways to show how one can proceed from traditional Jewish premises to the endorsement of nonliberal political arrangements that nonetheless preserve the best of liberalismʹs achievements. The final focus is on the Israeli religious thinker Isaiah Leibowitzʹs widely celebrated but in principle merely provisional relinquishment of the theocratic idea.