Messianism, Zionism, and Jewish Religious Radicalism (Chicago Studies in the History of Judaism)

Rating:
Summary: Focused More Upon Modern than Historic Jewish "Radicalism"
Review: A superb scan of theologically hard-right sects within modern Judaism, with a suprising focus on the situation in the NYC area and American religious Jews generally. The book could benefit from a fuller treatment of the Orthodox view toward Zionism in the pre-state period, but this area is in fact addressed fairly well. It is surely an essential volume in any collection pertaining to the history of Zionism.

Rating:
Summary: Sympathetic yet objective account
Review: Aviezer Ravitsky has done great work covering the history and beliefs of the full spectrum of religious responses to Zionism. From those who believed that Zionism was evil because of its secular nature and attempt to replace Divine Redemption with political redemption, to those who believe that the establishment of the State of Israel was preparation for Divine Redemption. He explains the differing points of view in such an unbiased and understanding manner that you are left wondering who is right. This was a mind-bending trip, and in my specific case, greatly helped me understand the beliefs and concerns of the Satmar Hassidim, whom my family left behind two generations ago in Satmar.

Rating:
Summary: "The Messiah and the Rabbis"
Review: It is a shame that such a truly critcal subject as the Jewish right and its Messianic pretensions, has at this point, only one good resource in English, and this is it. More specifically, The Ultra-Orthodox right, has found it's chronicler in Avi Ravitzky and his history of their Messianic throught. He provides a comprehensive historical summary of the Messianic idea, going all the way back to the Destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, then moves the discussion to the subjects of radical anti-zionism, religious zionism, contemporary Messianism in the various ultra-orthodox sects, and their continuing relavance in Jewish religious politics.

Especially important are the "Three Oaths" which the Rabbis developed to forestall Messianic Zionism, after 70 AD. These were so successful, they prevented Zionism from developing in times when it could have, and made the 20th century development of it much more difficult. However, the Three Oaths were only one strand of Jewish Messianic thought, which to a large degree still ignores the stupendous developments of the past 60 years as having no significance.

However, for this writer, the Holocaust and the birth of Israel, are exactly what would seem to an untrained observer: the arrival of the Messianic age. In my recent book, "Jewish History and Divine Providence" I provided an integrated Messianic view of Jewish history from a Liberal point of view. However, I begin from the point of view of Maimonides, whose messianic views were as sober and rational as the rest of his thought. In addition, the Kabbalah and its special rationality, is also critical in my analysis.

Ravitsky provides one side of the Messianic debate. However, until now a liberal side to this debate has been lacking. Those who read both Ravitzky and "Jewish History and Divine Providence" will get the full story.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Study (no consensus, though, a sobering relief...)
Review: This is an absolutely great and very inquisitive panoramic overview of both present-day and past Messianic states of mind and various Messianic trends and soul-searchings that have persisted whithin the Jewish people throughout the ages (both in and outside of Palestine/Israel).

The impact of the Three Oaths (i.e. not to rebel against Gentile domination, neither to force the Wall by one's own strength, nor to ever mass-emigrate to the Land before the appointed time, i.e. before the time of the end) remains probably one of the greatest portions of the book, along with the second chapter on radical anti-Zionism, as it sheds some consistent light on the various different interpretations of the Three Oaths (c.f. B.T., Ketouvot 111a), which seems to lie at the cornerstone of both the past and the present-day Zionistic and Messianic debate.

This book, originally published in Hebrew in 1993, translated in English in 1996, finally sheds some very welcome light into the state of mind of various Zionistic and Messianic trends and tendencies within the Jewish people.

It finally appears that there is yet no global consensus as far as the Zionistic and the Messianic questions and debates are concerned. This is, in my view, a very sobering relief, and in full accordance with the healthy poly-schismatic tradition that has somehow persisted throughout the ages within the Jewish people.