Jewish Thought, Utopia, And Revolution (value Inquiry Book)
by Jayne Svenungsson /
2014 / English / PDF
2.6 MB Download
In response to the grim realities of the present world Jewish
thought has not tended to retreat into eschatological fantasy, but
rather to project utopian visions precisely on to the present
moment, envisioning redemptions that are concrete, immanent, and
necessarily political in nature. In difficult times and through
shifting historical contexts, the messianic hope in the Jewish
tradition has functioned as a political vision: the dream of a
peaceful kingdom, of a country to return to, or of a leader who
will administer justice among the nations. Against this background,
it is unsurprising that Jewish messianism in modern times has been
transposed, and lives on in secular political movements and
ideologies. The purpose of this book is to contribute to the deeper
understanding of the relationship between Jewish thought, utopia,
and revolution, by taking a fresh look at its historical and
religious roots. We approach the issue from several perspectives,
with differences of opinion presented both in regard to what Jewish
tradition is, and how to regard utopia and revolution. These
notions are multifaceted, comprising aspects such as political
messianism, religious renewal, Zionism, and different forms of
Marxist and Anarchistic movements.
In response to the grim realities of the present world Jewish
thought has not tended to retreat into eschatological fantasy, but
rather to project utopian visions precisely on to the present
moment, envisioning redemptions that are concrete, immanent, and
necessarily political in nature. In difficult times and through
shifting historical contexts, the messianic hope in the Jewish
tradition has functioned as a political vision: the dream of a
peaceful kingdom, of a country to return to, or of a leader who
will administer justice among the nations. Against this background,
it is unsurprising that Jewish messianism in modern times has been
transposed, and lives on in secular political movements and
ideologies. The purpose of this book is to contribute to the deeper
understanding of the relationship between Jewish thought, utopia,
and revolution, by taking a fresh look at its historical and
religious roots. We approach the issue from several perspectives,
with differences of opinion presented both in regard to what Jewish
tradition is, and how to regard utopia and revolution. These
notions are multifaceted, comprising aspects such as political
messianism, religious renewal, Zionism, and different forms of
Marxist and Anarchistic movements.