The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

Edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane

Oxford Handbooks

Offers essays from historical, contemporary, philosophical, and practical perspectives

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

Edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane

Description

For thousands of years the Jewish tradition has been a source of moral guidance, for Jews and non-Jews alike. As the essays in this volume show, the theologians and practitioners of Judaism have a long history of wrestling with moral questions, responding to them in an open, argumentative mode that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of all sides of a question. The Jewish tradition also offers guidance for moral conduct by individuals, communities, and countries and shows how to motivate people to do the good and right thing.

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality is a collection of original essays addressing these topics--historical and contemporary, as well as philosophical and practical--by leading scholars from around the world. The first section of the volume describes the history of the Jewish tradition's moral thought, from the Bible to contemporary Jewish approaches. The second part includes chapters on specific fields in ethics, including the ethics of medicine, business, sex, speech, politics, war, and the environment.

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

Edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane

Oxford Handbooks

Contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction - Jonathan K. Crane and Elliot N. Dorff

I. Jewish Ethical Theories
1. Introduction: Why Study Jewish Ethics? - Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane
2. Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible - Elaine Goodfriend
3. Ethical Theories in Rabbinic Literature - Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert
4. Ethical Theories in Jewish Mystical Writings - Joseph Dan
5. Ethical Theories Among Medieval Jewish Philosophers - Warren Zev Harvey
6. Spinoza and Jewish Ethics - David Novak
7. Mussar Ethics and Other Nineteenth Century Jewish Ethical Theories - Ira Stone
8. Ethical Theories of Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber - Jonathan K. Crane
9. Ethical Theories of Mordecai Kaplan and Abraham Joshua Heschel - Matthew LaGrone
10. Ethical Theories of Abraham Isaac Kook and Joseph B. Soloveitchik - Lawrence Kaplan
11. Ethical Implications of the Holocaust - Michael Berenbaum
12. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Reform Movement - Michael Marmur
13. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Conservative Movement - Shai Cherry
14. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Orthodox Movement - David Shatz
15. Jewish Ethical Theories in the Reconstructionist Movement - David Teutsch
16. Feminist Jewish Ethical Theories - Judith Plaskow
17. Postmodern Jewish Ethical Theories - Martin Kavka

II. Topics in Jewish Morals
18. Introduction - Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane
19. Bioethics: The Beginning of Life - Elliot N. Dorff
20. Bioethics: The End of Life - Daniel Sinclair
21. Bioethics: The Distribution of Health Care - Aaron Mackler
22. Bioethics: Current and Future Issues in Genetics - Laurie Zoloth
23. Jewish Business Ethics - Barry Leff
24. Jewish Sexual Ethics - Danya Ruttenberg
25. Jewish Environmental Ethics - Arthur Waskow
26. Jewish Animal Ethics - Aaron Gross
27. Jewish Ethics of Speech - Alyssa Gray
28. Jewish Political Ethics in America - Jill Jacobs
29. Jewish Political Ethics in Israel - Reuven Hammer
30. Judaism and Criminal Justice - Laurie Levenson
31. Jewish Ethics and War - Asa Kasher

List of Abbreviations
Biblical, Rabbinic, and Medieval Sources Index
Subject Index

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

Edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane

Oxford Handbooks

Author Information

Elliot N. Dorff is Rector and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University, Visiting Professor at UCLA School of Law, Chair of the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and a Past President of the Society of Jewish Ethics.

Jonathan K. Crane is the Raymond F. Schinazi Junior Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory University's Center for Ethics.

Contributors:

Michael Berenbaum, American Jewish University
Shai Cherry, American Jewish University
Jonathan K. Crane, Emory University
Joseph Dan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Elliot N. Dorff, American Jewish University
Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert, Stanford University
Elaine Adler Goodfriend, California State University
Alyssa M. Gray, Hebrew Union College
Aaron S. Gross, University of San Diego
Reuven Hammer, Jewish Theological Seminary in Jerusalem
Warren Zev Harvey, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jill Jacobs, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America
Lawrence Kaplan, McGill University
Asa Kasher, Tel Aviv University
Martin Kavka, Florida State University
Matthew LaGrone, University of Delaware
Barry J. Leff, Innodata Isogen Israel, Ltd., Rabbis for Human Rights
Laurie L. Levenson, Loyola Law School
Aaron L. Mackler, Duquesne University
Michael Marmur, Hebrew Union College
David Novak, University of Toronto
Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College
Danya Ruttenberg, Tufts University's Hillel
Daniel B. Sinclair, Striks Law School, CMAS, Israel, and Fordham University
David Shatz, Yeshiva University
Ira F. Stone, Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, Philadelphia
David A. Teutsch, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center
Laurie Zoloth, Northwestern University

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality

Edited by Elliot N. Dorff and Jonathan K. Crane

Oxford Handbooks

Reviews and Awards

"This book is an excellent addition to libraries at academic institutions; it offers specialists in subdisciplines of Jewish ethics accessible entry into the broader field and also provides a way for scholars of other ethical discourses or traditions to begin to engage with the field of Jewish ethics. Individuals or organizations engaging in interfaith work with Jewish partners are also likely to find the essays in this collection useful. The essays function as concise and generally clear introductions to a host of topics under the umbrella of Jewish ethics." --Alyssa A. Henning, Religious Studies Review

"This wonderful volume is magisterial and rich with knowledge, inspiration and information. It belongs on the bookshelf of every thinking Jew. It is a remarkable reference for scholar and layperson alike."--JewishMediaReview

"The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Ethics and Morality addresses what has long been a major lacuna in the field of Jewish studies. No one who studies the history of Judaism would deny that ethics has always occupied a central place in Jewish thought and practice... Elliot Dorff and Jonathan Crane have given us the most definitive and encyclopedic presentation of Jewish ethics ever assembled." --Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics