Moses Hess and Modern Jewish Identity: (Jewish Literature and Culture)

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-Fromm's re-interpretation of his writings shows Hess as a Jew struggling with the meaning of conflicting commitments and impulses. Modern readers will realize that in Hess's 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 Hess's 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 Taylor's philosophical theory of the self to uncover Hess's various commitments, Koltun-Fromm demonstrates that Hess offers a rich, textured, though deeply conflicted and torn account of the modern Jew. This study in conceptions of identity in modern Jewish texts should be a vital contribution to the diverse fields of Jewish intellectual history, philosophy, Zionism, and religious studies.

Table of Contents:
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 Hess's Early Works and Rome and Jerusalem Rome and Jerusalem as Socialist and Zionist Manifesto Conceptions of Self and Identity in Hess's Socialist and Scientific Works Conceptions of Self and Identity in Rome and Jerusalem 3. Hess's "Return" to Judaism and Narrative Identity Discontinuity and Resolution in Hess's "Return" to Judaism The Reading of Hess's "Return" as Resolution Narrative Identity 4. Inescapable Frameworks: Emotions, Race, and the Rhetoric of Jewish Identity Evocative Language in Rome and Jerusalem Spinoza as Model for Passionate Philosophy Hess's Racial Theory Inescapable Frameworks 5. Traditions and Scars: Hess's Critique of Reform and Orthodox Judaism Identity and Difference: Hess's Critique of Bildung and Jewish Reform Traditions: Race and Scars Identity and Creativity: Hess's Critique of Jewish Orthodoxy 6.Innocence and Experience in Rome and Jerusalem Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Ken Koltun-Fromm is Assistant Professor of Religion at Haverford College. He publishes in the field of modern Jewish thought and German studies.

Review :
"Koltun-Fromm's 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