Benjamin Sax - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Books by Benjamin Sax

This is the first book to explore the role of quotation in modern Jewish thought. Weaving back an... more This is the first book to explore the role of quotation in modern Jewish thought. Weaving back and forth from Walter Benjamin to Franz Rosenzweig, the book searches for the recovery of concealed and lost meaning in the community of letters, sacred scripture, the collecting of books, storytelling, and the life of liturgy. It also explores how the legacy of Goethe can be used to develop new strata of religious and Jewish thought. We learn how quotation is the binding tissue that links language and thought, modernity and tradition, religion and secularism as a way of being in the world.

Peer-Reviewed Articles and Papers by Benjamin Sax

Religions, 2022

Most scholarship on the life and thought of Walter Benjamin does not seriously engage the phenome... more Most scholarship on the life and thought of Walter Benjamin does not seriously engage the phenomenon of religion or the philosophy of religion in his thought. While some scholarship considers Benjamin a German-Jewish thinker, placed in the company of luminaries such as Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, and Gershom Scholem, most readers assume that Benjamin’s secular identity motivated most of his inquiries and critical thinking. However, focusing on a secular sensibility obscures important elements of religious traditions in Benjamin’s writings. In fact, Benjamin suggested that widely contemporary institutions like capitalism, art, and even at times science contained poignant traces of religion and religious thought. In this article, I examine these traces by revisiting his montage of quotation, which, I argue, is where we see the most salient aspects of the use of Judaism in Benjamin’s thought. His desire to secularize life was inexorably related to his interpretations of experience and of Judaism. I will argue that not only did Benjamin, in fact, use Jewish theological language and imagery through his montage of quotation, but also, he used this method to secularize contemporary theological-political-aesthetic paradigms. I will also argue that this method—primarily understood through his idiosyncratic use of Jewish imagery—is critical to the writing of history.

PaRDeS, die Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien, 2018

Ismar Elbogen and Franz Rosenzweig were both pioneers in Jewish thought and culture. Elbogen auth... more Ismar Elbogen and Franz Rosenzweig were both pioneers in Jewish thought and culture. Elbogen authored the most comprehensive study on Jewish liturgy, while Rosenzweig's magnum opus The Star of Redemption has emerged as one of the twentieth century's most innovative and elusive works of Jewish thought. Even though Rosenzweig is not known for his work on or appreciation for the Wissenschaft des Judentums, this article will explore this overlooked aspect of his thought by exploring the influence of Ismar Elbogen. Commentaries to Rosenzweig's views on prayer are numerous, yet none mention the work of Elbogen. This is a problem. By comparing Elbogen's work on Jewish liturgy with Rosenzweig's writings on prayer in the Star, we are able to demonstrate how methods seminal to the Wissenschaft des Judentums helped articulate several of Rosenzweig's most innovative contributions to Jewish thought.

Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies 32.3

The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 2014

Naharaim: Zeitschrift für deutsche-jüdische Literatur und Kulturgeschichte,, 2011

Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception , 2012

Page 1. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LANGUAGE AND JEWISH RENEWAL: FRANZ ROSENZWEIG&amp;#x27;... more Page 1. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LANGUAGE AND JEWISH RENEWAL: FRANZ ROSENZWEIG&amp;#x27;S HERMENEUTIC OF CITATION VOLUME ONE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVINITY ...

Book Chapters by Benjamin Sax

Pluralizing Dialogue: Insights, Actions, and Implications in Eva Fleischner's "Judaism in German Christian Theology Since 1945", 2024

Nachträglich, grundlegend Der Kommentar als Denkform der jüdischen Moderne von Hermann Cohen bis Jacques Derrida, Herausgegeben von Andreas Kilcher und Liliane Weissberg, 2018

https://www.wallstein-verlag.de/9783835333697-nachtraeglich-grundlegend.html

Religions, 2022

PaRDeS, die Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien, 2018

Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies 32.3

The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 2014

Naharaim: Zeitschrift für deutsche-jüdische Literatur und Kulturgeschichte,, 2011

Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception , 2012

Pluralizing Dialogue: Insights, Actions, and Implications in Eva Fleischner's "Judaism in German Christian Theology Since 1945", 2024

Nachträglich, grundlegend Der Kommentar als Denkform der jüdischen Moderne von Hermann Cohen bis Jacques Derrida, Herausgegeben von Andreas Kilcher und Liliane Weissberg, 2018

https://www.wallstein-verlag.de/9783835333697-nachtraeglich-grundlegend.html

Interreligious/Interfaith Studies: Defining a New Faith, eds. Eboo Patel, Jennifer Howe Peace, Noah J. Silverman, 2018

Learning From Other Religious Traditions: Leaving Room for Holy Envy, ed. Hans Gustafson.

In this chapter I explore how Friedrich Nietzsche’s work The Anti-Christ inspired not only an une... more In this chapter I explore how Friedrich Nietzsche’s work The Anti-Christ inspired not only an unexpected charitable reading of Jesus’s life and thought in the New Testament, but also an unlikely sense of “holy envy.” I will examine how this unlikely sense of holy envy provides a unique opportunity for empathy in an American political context where political ideologies tend to be more divisive than religious or theological worldviews. The topic of Jesus is very tricky for Jews. In fact, the legacy of Christian anti-Judaism provides the hermeneutical lens for how Jews may interpret the life and teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. Incorporating aspects of Jesus’s life and teachings into a Jewish religious way of engaging the world, or even just appreciating them, can be an anathema to classical and even to many forms of modern Jewish thought. In this essay, I will explore the irony and power of how Nietzsche’s Jesus could inspire a contemporary Jewish thinker to admire and even connect to the Jesus of the New Testament.

Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores the Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief, ed. Elliot Cosgrove.

“Zitat,” Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. band 6, hrsg, Dan Diner. Verlag J.P. Metzl... more “Zitat,” Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. band 6, hrsg, Dan Diner. Verlag J.P. Metzler (Dec 2015).

Book Review: Shaul Magid (ed.) and Jordan Gayle Levy (trans.) The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament: Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik's Commentary to the Gospels, 2020

https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/scjr/article/view/12969

The Journal of Religion, Jan 1, 2004

This Group provides an academic forum to integrate the analysis of the Holocaust with past and on... more This Group provides an academic forum to integrate the analysis of the Holocaust with past and ongoing problems of genocide around the globe. It asks critical questions about the implications of these histories and their legacies for the study of religion, building on Jewish and Christian theological, literary, ethical, ritual, and philosophical responses to the Holocaust, and opening conversations with responses to genocide from other communities, such as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Indigenous peoples.

A course on the history and politics of defining antisemitism.

Minicourse examining the history and politics over defining the term antisemitism.

The imagery and vocabulary of the Crusades inhabit our interreligious imaginations and structure ... more The imagery and vocabulary of the Crusades inhabit our interreligious imaginations and structure our conceptions of violence, including in video games like Assassin’s Creed, in pop literature like "The Da Vinci Code," and in President Bush’s invocation of a crusade against terrorism in the wake on 9/11. In this course, the instructors will excavate the origins of these narratives and also call into question whether they are applicable to our interreligious encounters in the present.

This course is taught be ICJS scholars Ben Sax and Matthew D. Taylor and visiting scholar Halla Attallah.

What do Antisemitism and Islamophobia look like in everyday life? Can we recognize them? How do w... more What do Antisemitism and Islamophobia look like in everyday life? Can we recognize them? How do we respond when we see them? Join scholars Benjamin Sax and Matthew Taylor—and visiting scholar Halla Attallah—for this 90-minute online event as we examine instances of religious bias and bigotry in our everyday lives that are sometimes subtle and go unnoticed or unconfronted. This session will include case studies with small group discussion and role-play that will help participants recognize and respond to these microaggressions.

Responded to Philip Cunningham's keynote lecture for the Annual Meeting of the Council of Centers... more Responded to Philip Cunningham's keynote lecture for the Annual Meeting of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations.

The National Cathedral and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum host this webinar exploring the long ... more The National Cathedral and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum host this webinar exploring the long entangled history of antisemitism and Christianity. Speakers reflect on the origins of antisemitism and the Church, its implications during the Holocaust, and some of the ways that contemporary theologians, faith leaders and educators address these legacies today. Speakers include Dr. Rebecca Carter-Chand, Dr. Philip Cunningham, Dr. Benjamin Sax, and the Rev. Dr. Katherine Sonderegger.

2021

Conversation about the Abraham Joshua Heschel Movie

Video on Water Justice in Baltimore

Conversation on WYPR's Midday with Tom Hall and Taylor Branch about the Heschel Film.

In Pt. 2 of WYPR's series with the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, Dr. Benja... more In Pt. 2 of WYPR's series with the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, Dr. Benjamin Sax tells us about the Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel and his philosophy on forgiveness.

WYPR Baltimore began a series called 'Living Questions,' a monthly series of conversations about ... more WYPR Baltimore began a series called 'Living Questions,' a monthly series of conversations about issues surrounding religion, theology and ethics. WYPR is partnering with the Institute for Islamic, Christian, Jewish Studies, an organization that for nearly 30 years has worked to cultivate religious literacy and inter-faith understanding. Joining Tom in the studio is Dr. Homayra Ziad, Dr. Benjamin Sax and Dr. Heather Miller Rubens.

https://icjs.org/imagining-justice-in-baltimore/

The Journal of Religion, Apr 1, 2012

Pathways for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, 2018

Religion, Oct 1, 2010

women's politics' (p. 286), which has emerged since the mid1980s. He addresses two primary areas ... more women's politics' (p. 286), which has emerged since the mid1980s. He addresses two primary areas in particular: women's participation in outlawed and oppositional political action on the one hand, and on the other the emergence of a new group of Tibetan women in the formal leadership established by the Chinese Communist Party (p. 287). In a rich interweaving of the political tapestry motivating and constraining the actions of these two disparate groups of women, he links them together through an analysis of the rhetoric of ritualized political actions that convey a meaning through an understanding of Tibetan political space as a feminized arena. His article tells us something about contemporary women in Tibet; while at the same time helping to illuminate some of the more subtle and nuanced significance of Tibetan culture as rhetoric; one that Barnett frames as politics of the body (p. 362). One could argue that this book might be faulted for an eclecticism only too loosely gathered under the rubric of 'women in Tibet', even as this eclecticism is one that the editors acknowledge. One might wish for some stronger thematic or analytic category pulling together these articles. Overall, however, the rich depth of details that this collection affords offers much food for thought and is itself a kind of statement that works against any impulse towards a generalization or essentialization of the idea of women in Tibet.

BRILL eBooks, Jul 17, 2023

Religions, Oct 28, 2022

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, Nov 27, 2020

In The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament: Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik's Commentary to the Gosp... more In The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament: Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik's Commentary to the Gospels, Shaul Magid and Jordan Gayle Levy aim to provide the English-reading public new insights into the possibilities for Jewish-Christian dialogue through an English translation of Soloveitchik's commentary to the gospels, Qol Qore. The Soloveitchik name is familiar to anyone who studies Jewish thought because of the family's generations of distinguished Talmudists, though Elijah Zvi (1805-1881), and especially this work, are far less well-known. In the forward to this volume, the president of Yale University, Peter Salovey, not only discusses the theological impact of the Soloveitchik dynasty, but also shares that he is, in fact, a descendent of Elijah Zvi, who is his great-great-great grandfather. Salovey expresses his pride that his relative set the parameters for a "difficult dialogue" in the nineteenth century, which, he argues might even be considered a template for further interreligious engagement. As a traditionalist molded in the Lithuanian tradition, Soloveitchik's affirmation of Christianity is worth consideration, especially since he was arguably more radical than even his liberal peers. This translation may even capture the zeitgeist of our contemporary cultural moment. There has been a noticeable uptick in academic work on Jewish-Christian dialogue, including the publication of The Jewish Annotated New Testament in 2011. Given the recent success of television programs like Shtisel and Unorthodox, there also appears to be popular interest in ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic communities. Soloveitchik's views on Judaism and Christianity may finally garner attention of those working in interreligious dialogue. While it was not uncommon in the nineteenth century for Eastern European Jews to write about Christianity, most did so in response to missionary activity. Soloveitchik's work stands apart because of his attempt to affirm Christianity. The

Naharaim, 2011

Scholars of the life and thought of Franz Rosenzweig have become increasingly interested in the s... more Scholars of the life and thought of Franz Rosenzweig have become increasingly interested in the sources that inform his work. 1 A literary polymath, Rosenzweig was just as likely to quote from the traditional Jewish sources as he was from the classic writings of Wilhelmian and Weimar Germany. Affinity to German thought and writing was not unusual for Jews in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Indeed, it played an important rôle in Jewish emancipation and assimilation. By abandoning their daily study of Talmud, Midrash, liturgy, and the Hebrew Bible for the cultural universe of Goethe, Schiller, and Mozart, the Jews of German-speaking lands began their march toward legal equality in the Second German Reich, achieving constitutional equality in 1871. While recognising the merits of this process, Rosenzweig was troubled that the study of traditional Jewish sources, along with the study of traditional Jewish languages, such as Hebrew, Aramaic, and Yiddish, was limited by the diminishing number of the Orthodox community, which was located mostly in Central and Eastern Europe. While a full return to a pre-assimilated world was unthinkable for the German Jew, Rosenzweig hoped to use the new secular religion of assimilated German Jews, steeped in the language of Goethe and his literary Wilhelmian and Weimar compatriots, to encourage an innovative return to Jewish traditiona tradition not only changed by the modern world, but also characterised by language. Here I will argue that Rosenzweig would use Goethe to move beyond him. As a result, Rosenzweig's work was neither typical of philosophy nor typical of Jewish theology because of his literary relationship to Goethe and how he cites Goethe in his work. While scholars have devoted significant attention to Rosenzweig's quota

BRILL eBooks, Jul 17, 2023

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, Jun 30, 2012

Bible offers the English-reading public new insights into the thought of the German-Jewish Enligh... more Bible offers the English-reading public new insights into the thought of the German-Jewish Enlightenment thinker Moses Mendelssohn. Even though Mendelssohn was an extraordinarily prolific writer, much of his work is not translated from the original German; many English language scholars therefore rely on secondary accounts of his work. Gottlieb's volume provides English translations of some of Mendelssohn's Hebrew and German writings (by Curtis Bowman, Elias Sacks, and Allen Arkush). Gottlieb's goal in doing this is, as he puts it, to provide the English reader "with a more comprehensive picture of Mendelssohn's attempt to balance Judaism and the Enlightenment than has been available until now" (p. xxi). Indeed, his volume addresses the long-lamented scholarly neglect of Mendelssohn's contributions to the European Enlightenment, and specifically to the Enlightenment in Jewish society (the Haskala), as well as of his myriad commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. The time, it seems, was ripe to look beyond Mendelssohn as merely the first "modern Jew" (as he is often called). This is no minor or unimportant task.

Journal of Jewish Thought & Philosophy, Jan 24, 2014

We now inhabit a time where most schools of thought are demarcated by the prefix post-. The apoph... more We now inhabit a time where most schools of thought are demarcated by the prefix post-. The apophasis-referring either to the divine or to Auschwitzthat once characterized much of modern Jewish thought now seems insufficient Is it more appropriate now to speak of post-modern Jewish thought? If so, what are the theological and political implications of such a move? How can post-modern Jewish thought address the salient issues of other/josi-forms of thought, such as post-secularism, post-foundationalism, post-structuralism, post-theism, post-metaphysics, and even postmodernism? Can it address post-Holocaust theology and the problem of the so-called limits of representation? In giving an affirmative answer in this essay, I hope to explain that the current move in modern Jewish thought toward aesthetics and away from conventional strands of phenomenology characterizes this post-modern Jewish position. This move, as we shall see, challenges the normative association of uniqueness that has characterized most writing and thinking about the Holocaust to date. As an event, the Holocaust had no historical precedent and broadened what was phenomenologically imaginable-the so-called limits of representation. People lacked a frame of reference through which to grapple with this new province of experience. The testimony of survivors was, a fortiori, radically unique, which meant that their experiences remained ««-communicable. Survivor testimonies revealed the darker, sordid dimensions of what it means to be human. This concept of radical uniqueness calls into question our current universal moral categories. Focusing on tbe burden assumed by classical apophatic theological language to contain the un-communicability of Auschwitz and, pari passu, of God, we have honed our current politicaltheological predicament by focusing on the paradox of two entities embodying true Einzigartigkeit (singularity). These two entities cannot be unique simultaneously-that is to say, singularities possess an ultimacy that challenges our sense that the ultimate must be one. The traditional singularity of the divine was compromised to allow for the singularity of Auschwitz. Theologically, we discovered the troubling reversal of biblical creation: darkness replaced light. God created something from nothing: presence. Humans

Winged Words: Benjamin, Rosenzweig, and the Life of Quotation

Religions

Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, Nov 27, 2020