Zionism and Modern Jewish Thought

With Zionism fast becoming a dirty word in some circles, it is particularly timely to ask what exactly Zionism means to those of us for whom the State of Israel is highly valued as central to contemporary Jewish life. Thus, we will be exploring how a host of twentieth-century religious Jewish thinkers have tried to understand the place of the State of Israel in the context of traditional Jewish thought. More specifically, we will analyze the very different Zionist ideologies of Rav (Abraham Isaac ha-Kohen) Kook, Rav Soloveitchik, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, and Rav Shagar in an attempt to understand how they each viewed the religious and political significance of the modern Jewish state.

Daniel Rynhold

Daniel Rynhold is Dean and Professor of Jewish philosophy at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Yeshiva University. Born in London, England, and educated at the universities of Cambridge and London, Daniel came to the US in August 2007, having previously held a post in the department of theology and religious studies at King’s College, London. He has written extensively on Jewish philosophy, and is the author of Two Models of Jewish Philosophy: Justifying One’s Practices (Oxford University Press, 2005), An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Philosophy (I.B. Tauris, 2009), and most recently co-author of Nietzsche, Soloveitchik, and Contemporary Jewish Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2018) with Michael J. Harris, with whom he had previously co-edited Radical Responsibility: Essays in Ethics, Religion, and Leadership Presented to Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Maggid Books, 2012). In addition, Daniel served as the Shoshana Shier Distinguished Visiting Professor in the department of Philosophy and the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Toronto in Spring 2020, and is a sought after adult educator, having spoken at numerous programs and locations across the US, Europe, and Israel.

Zionism and Modern Jewish Thought

Daniel Rynhold

Thank you for subscribing to our E-Newsletter

Sign up for our E-Newsletter