Tradition in an Untraditional Age
Essays on Modern Jewish Thought
In the last two centuries Jewish thought has had to respond to dramatic events and transformations: the emergence of Jews into open societies, secularisation, assimilation and antisemitism, the Holocaust and the State of Israel.
These developments tested to the limits the continuity of Judaism. It seemed as if to embrace modernity was to abandon tradition; to preserve tradition was to reject modernity.
Tradition in an Untraditional Age explores these challenges through a study of the work of four great Jewish thinkers: Rabbis Samson Raphael Hirsch, Moses Sofer, Abraham Isaac Kook and Joseph Soloveitchik. It includes studies of the Holocaust, Jewish-Christian dialogue, Jewish economic ethics and religious alienation and return. It also sets out an agenda for future Jewish thought.
CONTEXTUALISING THE CANON
To coincide with the republication of several of Rabbi Sacks’ earlier works, we are sharing essays to provide valuable context for readers, shedding light on when and why each book was written, and offering insights into the themes contained within them.
Read a piece by Prof. Daniel Rynhold on the context of this book.
