Product Description

This volume presents a wide-ranging selection of Jewish theological responses to the Holocaust. It will be the most complete anthology of its sort, bringing together for the first time: (1) a large sample of ultra-orthodox writings, translated from the Hebrew and Yiddish; (2) a substantial selection of essays by Israeli authors, also translated from the Hebrew; (3) a broad sampling of works written in English by American and European authors. These diverse selections represent virtually every significant theological position that has been articulated by a Jewish thinker in response to the Holocaust. Included are rarely studied responses that were written while the Holocaust was happening.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #677010 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 704 pages

Review

"This exacting, exciting collection bears testimony to the depths of Jewish suffering and the dignity of the Jewish dead, while promoting Jewish continual survival as an unshakable dogma."--Choice
"Wrestling With God illuminates the way in which a religious tradition is able to respond (to preserve and/or to change itself) in the face of extraordinary catastrophe." --Journal of the American Academy of Religion

About the Author
Steven T. Katz is Professor of Judaic Studies at Boston Univeristy. Shlomo Biderman is Professor of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University. Gershon Greenberg is Professor of Religion and Philosophy at American University

Customer Reviews

Wonderful new reference work
I am sorry to see that there are no reviews so far for this excellent new compilation. This reference/text book (it's a thick, scholarly tome, not intended for easy reading) presents a collection of Jewish theological writings about the Holocaust. The authors have done an excellent job of picking the most important Jewish thinkers about this topic and selecting representative examples of their work.

The book is organized in three sections, each containing writings from the war and up to our time:

1. Ultra Orthodox responses
2. Israeli responses
3. European and American responses

I found the organization a bit odd, because some of the Ultra Orthodox reside in Europe, the US or Israel and because I am not convinced that the geographical division between the US/Europe and Israel is as meaningful as this organization implies, but it is a minor issue.

Each section is prefaced by an excellent introduction to the writer and his or her analytical contribution to the debate. There are many translations. The ones from Hebrew are pretty good, if a tad stodgy. They are certainly very clear and readable.

I highly recommend this book, which should be included in any library that caters to students of the Holocaust or modern Jewish thought.