Metaphysics of the Profane: The Political Theology of Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem

Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem are regarded as two of the most famous and influential Jewish thinkers and writers of the twentieth century, and their late work is well-known. The importance of the intense intellectual partnership they forged in the years between the First World War and 1923, however, is less appreciated and understood. This is the first book to make the works of this untranslated and unpublished early period -- including Benjamin's and Scholem's ideas on messianism, language, divine justice, and the quest for a philosophy of Judaism -- accessible to a wider audience.

About the Author :
Eric Jacobson is Senior Lecturer in Jewish Studies and chair of Theology and Religious Studies at Roehampton University London.

Review :
[Jacobson's] compelling proposal concerns the Judaic concepts in anarchism, leading through the traces of Gershom Scholem's thought, one of the exponents of the religious poles of Central European Jews with a utopian sensibility.-- "Il Gazzettino (Venice)" Jacobson reveals... how the notion of an intensive magic resounds throughout Benjamin's work.-- "Il Sole 24 Ore (Milan)" Jacobson's superb undertaking reveals profound insights in the early writings of Benjamin and Scholem that may serve well in understanding and resolving contemporary problems in political theology.... Recommended.-- "Choice" Jacobson's work is focused on the early political and theological concepts of both authors from the years 1915-1923, seeking to reconstruct Benjamin's and Scholem's early discussions on politics and theology.... These ideas, which the authors established together in an early phase, were central for both their later thinking and were to have a tremendous impact on contemporary philosophy and Jewish studies in this century.-- "FU-Nachrichten" [They] were riveted by the question of 'origins' and the recovery of lost meanings, on truth as hidden, part of a greater structure waiting to be revealed, and the possibility of redemptive moments. . --what Eric Jacobson has described as the metaphysics of the profane.--Steven E. Aschheim, "Beyond the Boarder: The German-Jewish Legacy Abroad" In this erudite discussion Jacobson moves from a detailed exploration of Benjamin's and Scholem's works on the messianic in history, to their conceptions of language, to a discussion of notions of justice, [offering] deeper insight into the speculative philosophy of metaphysics through a close reading of original texts.--Hannah Holtschneider "Journal of Theological Studies" Jacobson regards as a key question 'whether redemption is initiated prior to or only after the arrival of the messiah' [which], he argues, remains unresolved in Benjamin's thought.--R. Lane "Reading Walter Benjamin: Writing Through the Catastrophe" The importance of this passionate intellectual friendship has long been recognized. But surprisingly, we have lacked a fine-grained, conceptually sophisticated examination until now Jacobson has given us a compelling restatement of the argument that Scholem was the legitimate heir of Benjamin's early intentions.--John McCole "The German Quarterly" The term 'political theology' often invokes images of revolutionary political struggles prompted by messianic or apocalyptic expectations. As Eric Jacobson shows... such revolutionary Messianism... is not solely the province of Catholic liberation theology and Protestant theologies of hope, but is also characteristic of the writing of two of the more prominent Jewish thinkers in the twentieth century. Jacobson's account of the early religious and political thoughts of Benjamin and Scholem is full of illuminating insights into the interdependence of these two thinkers, and into the distinctiveness of their politics.--Thomas A. James "Journal of Political Theology" Metaphysics of the Profane is an important, thoughtful, profound, and very welcome study.--Robert Weldon Whalen "German Studies Review" Metaphysics of the Profane is the first book to make this intellectual exchange clear... This book would be suitable for all Judaica, academic, and public libraries and any institution with an interest in philosophy.--Magali Milmaniene "Association of Jewish Libraries"