Strauss, Spinoza & Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith

Orthodox Judaism And Faith

This recent book, "Strauss, Spinoza and Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith" (2022) attempts to show the vitality of Orthodox Jewish faith in light of the questions raised about Orthodoxy by Spinoza and the partial defense of Orthodox belief by Leo Strauss.

Some brief background may be appropriate. Spinoza (1632 -- 1677) was excommunicated, age 24, by the Amsterdam Jewish community. He went on to write two important books: the "Theological Political Treatise" which challenged Revelation, divine authorship of the Bible, and miracles, among other things and the "Ethics" in which Spinoza set forth his own philosophical system which taught determinism and the lack of a personal God who gave commands, acted with purpose, and was involved in human affairs.

Leo Strauss (1899 -- 1973) was an important, if controversial German-American political philosopher of great erudition. In 1965, Strauss' book "Spinoza's Critique of Religion" was published in English for the first time. It was originally written in 1930 in Germany. Strauss examined the "Theological Political Treatise" and, in a newly written preface concluded that Spinoza had failed in his aim of refuting Orthodoxy. His position was complex, but Strauss essentially argued that Spinoza had essentially replaced one set of unproven assumptions with another. Thus Spinoza had not so much "refuted" Orthodoxy as bypassed it. Orthodox Judaism would not run afoul of Spinoza's critique as long as Orthodoxy was framed in terms of "belief" rather than "knowledge".

I was fascinated with this new book because I have long studied Spinoza and was familiar with Strauss' book from my unfinished dissertation on the "Theological Political Treatise" of many years ago. The book deserved more attention than I recall giving it at the time. Much more recently, I have seen an approach almost the reverse of Strauss. I participated in a reading group on philosopher-novelist Rebecca Goldstein's book, "Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew who gave us Modernity." Goldstein was raised in Jewish Orthodoxy which she abandoned. In her book, she recalls her experience in an Orthodox Jewish high school for girls in which one of her teachers spent a great deal of time, and showed some insight, in urging her charges to reject Spinoza and his thought. Questions about Spinoza and religion have fascinated me for most of my life.

In "Strauss, Spinoza, and Sinai", seventeen Orthodox Jewish scholars wrote essays on Spinoza and on the attempted defense of Orthodoxy by Strauss. The issue was whether Strauss' defense was adequate or whether there was something more and different to be said. This book is probably the first in which Orthodox Jewish scholars attempted to respond to Strauss. It proved to be a valuable project.

Besides the difficulty of easy summation of the thought of Spinoza or Strauss, there is a difficulty in understanding the nature of Orthodox Judaism. Strauss and, in my reading, many of the seventeen contributors to this volume are not comfortable with the efforts of Liberal Judaism to compromise in various ways between modernity and Judaism. Among other differences, many of the participants in this discussion tend, in contrast to adherents of Liberal Judaism, to be on the socially conservative side of issues, particularly those issues involving gender. It is valuable to see and to respect this. An essay in the volume by Joshua Golding offers a definition of Orthodox Judaism which, I think, is shared by most if not all of the contributors to this volume. Golding writes in part:

"Judaism is that religion or way of life which affirms as true the 'traditional Jewish understanding of Tanach.' In turn, the 'traditional Jewish understanding of Tanach' runs as follows: The Torah of Moses is God-given, it is an accurate and true record of historical events that happened to the Jewish people, and it represents the divine will for how the people of Israel should act.... The teaching that God ordained to the people of Israel is not confined to the text of the Scriptures: it also includes an Oral tradition which is represented by the Talmud and the rabbinic literature. ....
While the Tanach does use metaphorical language to describe God, the traditional understanding is that God is the Supreme Person who created the world as we know it, who has control over nature, and who communicates with mankind through prophecy and who listens to prayer."

The seventeen essays in this book take a variety of approaches in explaining the sources of Orthodox Jewish faith. Many of the essays show a great deal of erudition and thoughtfulness. Several essays explore and try to rephrase the distinction Strauss draws between "belief" and "knowledge". Other essays bring the history of philosophy to bear using philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Heidegger, and, especially, Maimonides. Many of the essays challenge the nature of the concept of reason developed by Spinoza and other Enlightenment thinkers. Other essays are less concerned to explore the question from the standpoint of philosophy. Instead, they argue that Strauss, and Spinoza, did not understand the depth of the Jewish tradition and its approach to questions of belief and faith. Some essays discuss the approach of the Talmud while others discuss Jewish mysticism and argue that Strauss had little knowledge of these sources. The essays seem in general agreement that there is a more personal, intuitive understanding of reason and truth than found in the grand abstractions of Spinoza. (This position is shared in part by many others, including Goldstein in "Betraying Spinoza".) In general, the essays argue that the case for the existence of God and for the Jewish Scriptures is stronger than the case for disbelief and that it isn't a matter of accepting either the Orthodox Jewish or the secular account because the Orthodox account is persuasive.

In addition to the essays, the book includes an Introduction by Jeffery Bloom which argues that the "great dilemma of liberal Judaism": "how to maintain adherence to the particulars of Judaism without belief in a God who commands them" is misplaced. Bloom says that the more fundamental question, explored in the book, is "if it possible to recover belief in the God who commands the particulars of Judaism in the first place." The book ends with a lengthy unattributed conclusion which attempts to summarize the many points made and approaches taken in the essays.

Many of the insights in this volume will apply to people of faith from other religions. Some of the essays and arguments are limited specifically to Orthodox Judaism.

I was not at all convinced by this volume but I found it refreshing. I was reminded of the difficulties and challenges both in philosophical thought and in understanding and following a religious life. For myself, I tend to have the same trouble that most of the contributors to this volume have in finding a plausible middle course between Orthodoxy and secularism. I learned from this volume and from Strauss, but I have learned more from Spinoza.

This book will reward reading by those interested in Spinoza and in religious philosophy. The publisher, Kodesh Press, kindly sent me a review copy.

Robin Friedman