Moses Hess and Modern Jewish Identity [Hardcover]

Koltun-Fromms reading of Hess is of crucial import for those who study the construction of self in the modern world as well as for those who are concerned with Hess and his contributions to modern thought.... a reading of Hess that is subtle, judicious, insightful, and well supported. David Ellenson

Moses Hess, a fascinating 19th-century German Jewish intellectual figure, was at times religious and secular, traditional and modern, practical and theoretical, socialist and nationalist. Ken Koltun-Fromms radical reinterpretation of his writings shows Hess as a Jew struggling with the meaning of conflicting commitments and impulses. Modern readers will realize that in Hesss life, as in their own, these commitments remain fragmented and torn. As contemporary Jews negotiate multiple, often contradictory allegiances in the modern world, Koltun-Fromm argues that Hesss struggle to unite conflicting traditions and frameworks of meaning offers intellectual and practical resources to re-examine the dilemmas of modern Jewish identity. Adopting Charles Taylors philosophical theory of the self to uncover Hesss various commitments, Koltun-Fromm demonstrates that Hess offers a rich, textured, though deeply conflicted and torn account of the modern Jew. This groundbreaking study in conceptions of identity in modern Jewish texts is a vital contribution to the diverse fields of Jewish intellectual history, philosophy, Zionism, and religious studies.

Jewish Literature and CultureAlvin H. Rosenfeld, editor
Published with the generous support of the Koret Foundation

Acknowledgments

1. Hess and Modern Jewish Identity

Hess and Modern Jewish Identity

Categories of Modern Identity

Outline of Chapters

2. Conceptions of Self and Identity in Hesss Early Works and Rome and Jerusalem

Rome and Jerusalem as Socialist and Zionist Manifesto

Conceptions lSb