On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s <i>Star of Redemption</i>

Abraham Mounitz

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption

Abraham Mounitz

Published in International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 9 May 2021 Accepted: 16 June 2021 Published: 23 June 2021

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Abstract

The present study focuses on ‘revelation,’ one of the three constitutive concepts, and possibly the most central such concept, in Rosenzweig’s philosophy. As opposed to its ostensibly religious meaning, the article offers a view of the rational element enfolded within this concept in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. By employing a textual exegesis based on a close reading of Rosenzweig’s language, the article seeks to show that Rosenzweig’s conception of revelation does not refer to an intuitive, Kabbalistic-mystical or esoteric concept. As a central pillar of Rosenzweig’s star-shaped method, revelation is the mediator between God’s love of people to a person’s love of others – which, in turn, is the basis for global redemption. The exposure of the rational-intellectual aspect of revelation thus advances the desired objective of Rosenzweig’s method, and accords with Rosenzweig’s own words when he suggested that neither does it make the claim to be a philosophy of religion – how could it do that when the word ‘religion’ does not occur in it at all! Rather, it is merely a system of philosophy. The study seeks to explore the dialectical thicket of descriptions and arguments in The Star of Redemption in order to expose the logical kernel of Rosenzweig’s philosophical method. Indeed, a close reading which isolates the mechanical concepts of Rosenzweig’s thought reveals The Star of Redemption’s philosophical motivation when Rosenzweig denudes the text from the complex of religious concepts that are the proverbial flesh that surrounds the proverbial bones of the system Rosenzweig attacks. Insofar as The Star of Redemption is concerned, we are not dealing with systematicism in the sense of a rigid consistency of rationality as a concept, but rather with a methodical outline where Rosenzweig describes religion’s sociological ‘skeleton’ and weaves his method around it using such concepts as “orientation” = “revelation” = “sharing” = “redemption.” Furthermore, the affinity between God and human passes through the affinity between one human and another. It therefore follows that the ‘warm welcome’ of revelation, is not a mystical experience, but rather a person’s conscious, rational, and reflexive orientation in her or his human environment.

Published in	International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
Page(s)	116-126
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Revelation, Rational, Faith, Reason, Subject

References

[1]	Rosenzweig, Franz. (2014). The Star of Redemption. Notre Dame, IN.: Notre Dame Press.
[2]	Cohen, Hermann. (2004). Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press.
[3]	Windelband, Wilhelm. (1901). A History of Philosophy. Translated by James Hayden Tufts. New York: Macmillan.
[4]	Exodus. (2016). In Summary Bible : KJV edition. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5]	Buber, Martin. (1977). The Way of the Bible. Jerusalem: Mosad Byaliḳ.
[6]	Rosenzweig, Franz. (1998). The New Thinking. Edited by Alan Udoff and Barbara E. Galli. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
[7]	Genesis. (2016). In In Summary Bible : KJV edition. Nashville, Tennessee: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8]	Rosenzweig, Franz. (1987). Briefe und Tagebuecher. Edited by Rivka Horwitz. Jerusalem: Mosad Byaliḳ.
[9]	Simon, Akibah Ernst. (1956). On Franz Rosenzweig: On the 25th Anniversary of His Death. Jerusalem: Magnes.
[10]	Heering, Herman J. (1986). Ist Die Rosenzweigische Verbindung Philosophie – Theologie Haltbar? Internationaler Kongress, Kassel 1: 471–482.
[11]	Levy, Zeev. (1981). Franz Rosenzweig’s Conception of Judaism and Eretz-Israel. Daat: A Journal of Jewish Philosophy & Kabbalah 6: 39–58.
[12]	James, William, Eugene Taylor, and Jeremy Carrette. (2002). The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. London: Routledge.
[13]	Levy, Zeev. (1993). Religion and Morals in the Teachings of E. Levinas. In Between Religion and Morals, ed. A. Sagi and D. Statman. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University.
[14]	Fackenheim, L. (1986). The Systematic Role of the Matrix (Existence) and the Apex (Yom Kippur) of Jewish Religious Life in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. In Internationaler Kongress, Kassel, 1986, 2: 567.
[15]	Amir, Yehoyada. (2004). Religion and Religions in The Star Of Redemption. In The Legacy of Franz Rosenzweig. Collected Essays, 199–210. Leuven: Leuven University Press.
[16]	Fisher, Cass. (2016). Absolute Factuality, Common Sense, and Theological Reference in the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig. Harvard Theological Review 109: 342–370.
[17]	Schwartz, Moshe. (1978). From Myth to Revelation. Tel Aviv: Hakibutz Hameukhad.
[18]	Bergman, Samuel Hugo. (1977). History of Modern Philosophy. Jerusalem: Mosad Byaliḳ.
[19]	Pollock, Benjamin. (2014). Franz Rosenzweig’s Conversions: World Denial and World Redemption. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[20]	Strauss, Leo. (2001). Jerusalem and Athens. Translated by Ehud Luz. Jerusalem: Mosad Byaliḳ.
[21]	Luz, E. (1982). The Second Innocence Jewish Humanism in the Work of Akiva Ernst Simon. Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 2: 613–644.
[22]	Simon, Akibah Ernst. (1982). Are We Still Jews? Essays. Jerusalem: Sifriyat Poalim.
[23]	Amir, Y. (1994). Eretz-Yisra’elian Responses to the Works of F. Rosenzweig. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
[24]	Levy, Zeev. (1968). Coping with the Hegelian Legacy. Tel-Aviv University.
[25]	Dow, Leon Wiener. (2017). In Your Walking on the Way: A Theory of Halakha Based on the Thought of Franz Rosenzweig. Ramat-Gan: Hotsa at Universiṭat Bar-Ilan.
[26]	Schelling, Friedrich Wilhelm Josephvon. (1861). Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schellings Sämmtliche Werke. Stuttgart: Cotta.

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Abraham Mounitz. (2021). On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. International Journal of Philosophy, 9(2), 116-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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Abraham Mounitz. On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. Int. J. Philos. 2021, 9(2), 116-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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Abraham Mounitz. On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. Int J Philos. 2021;9(2):116-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17,
  author = {Abraham Mounitz},
  title = {On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption},
  journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {116-126},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20210902.17},
  abstract = {The present study focuses on ‘revelation,’ one of the three constitutive concepts, and possibly the most central such concept, in Rosenzweig’s philosophy. As opposed to its ostensibly religious meaning, the article offers a view of the rational element enfolded within this concept in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. By employing a textual exegesis based on a close reading of Rosenzweig’s language, the article seeks to show that Rosenzweig’s conception of revelation does not refer to an intuitive, Kabbalistic-mystical or esoteric concept. As a central pillar of Rosenzweig’s star-shaped method, revelation is the mediator between God’s love of people to a person’s love of others – which, in turn, is the basis for global redemption. The exposure of the rational-intellectual aspect of revelation thus advances the desired objective of Rosenzweig’s method, and accords with Rosenzweig’s own words when he suggested that neither does it make the claim to be a philosophy of religion – how could it do that when the word ‘religion’ does not occur in it at all! Rather, it is merely a system of philosophy. The study seeks to explore the dialectical thicket of descriptions and arguments in The Star of Redemption in order to expose the logical kernel of Rosenzweig’s philosophical method. Indeed, a close reading which isolates the mechanical concepts of Rosenzweig’s thought reveals The Star of Redemption’s philosophical motivation when Rosenzweig denudes the text from the complex of religious concepts that are the proverbial flesh that surrounds the proverbial bones of the system Rosenzweig attacks. Insofar as The Star of Redemption is concerned, we are not dealing with systematicism in the sense of a rigid consistency of rationality as a concept, but rather with a methodical outline where Rosenzweig describes religion’s sociological ‘skeleton’ and weaves his method around it using such concepts as “orientation” = “revelation” = “sharing” = “redemption.” Furthermore, the affinity between God and human passes through the affinity between one human and another. It therefore follows that the ‘warm welcome’ of revelation, is not a mystical experience, but rather a person’s conscious, rational, and reflexive orientation in her or his human environment.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption
AU  - Abraham Mounitz
Y1  - 2021/06/23
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
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JO  - International Journal of Philosophy
SP  - 116
EP  - 126
PB  - Science Publishing Group
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
AB  - The present study focuses on ‘revelation,’ one of the three constitutive concepts, and possibly the most central such concept, in Rosenzweig’s philosophy. As opposed to its ostensibly religious meaning, the article offers a view of the rational element enfolded within this concept in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. By employing a textual exegesis based on a close reading of Rosenzweig’s language, the article seeks to show that Rosenzweig’s conception of revelation does not refer to an intuitive, Kabbalistic-mystical or esoteric concept. As a central pillar of Rosenzweig’s star-shaped method, revelation is the mediator between God’s love of people to a person’s love of others – which, in turn, is the basis for global redemption. The exposure of the rational-intellectual aspect of revelation thus advances the desired objective of Rosenzweig’s method, and accords with Rosenzweig’s own words when he suggested that neither does it make the claim to be a philosophy of religion – how could it do that when the word ‘religion’ does not occur in it at all! Rather, it is merely a system of philosophy. The study seeks to explore the dialectical thicket of descriptions and arguments in The Star of Redemption in order to expose the logical kernel of Rosenzweig’s philosophical method. Indeed, a close reading which isolates the mechanical concepts of Rosenzweig’s thought reveals The Star of Redemption’s philosophical motivation when Rosenzweig denudes the text from the complex of religious concepts that are the proverbial flesh that surrounds the proverbial bones of the system Rosenzweig attacks. Insofar as The Star of Redemption is concerned, we are not dealing with systematicism in the sense of a rigid consistency of rationality as a concept, but rather with a methodical outline where Rosenzweig describes religion’s sociological ‘skeleton’ and weaves his method around it using such concepts as “orientation” = “revelation” = “sharing” = “redemption.” Furthermore, the affinity between God and human passes through the affinity between one human and another. It therefore follows that the ‘warm welcome’ of revelation, is not a mystical experience, but rather a person’s conscious, rational, and reflexive orientation in her or his human environment.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Abraham Mounitz

Interdisciplinary Faculty, Department of Philosophy Studies, Zefat Academic Collage, Zefat, Israel

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Abraham Mounitz. (2021). On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. International Journal of Philosophy, 9(2), 116-126. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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ACS Style

Abraham Mounitz. On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. Int. J. Philos. 2021, 9(2), 116-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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AMA Style

Abraham Mounitz. On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. Int J Philos. 2021;9(2):116-126. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17

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@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17,
  author = {Abraham Mounitz},
  title = {On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption},
  journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {116-126},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20210902.17},
  abstract = {The present study focuses on ‘revelation,’ one of the three constitutive concepts, and possibly the most central such concept, in Rosenzweig’s philosophy. As opposed to its ostensibly religious meaning, the article offers a view of the rational element enfolded within this concept in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. By employing a textual exegesis based on a close reading of Rosenzweig’s language, the article seeks to show that Rosenzweig’s conception of revelation does not refer to an intuitive, Kabbalistic-mystical or esoteric concept. As a central pillar of Rosenzweig’s star-shaped method, revelation is the mediator between God’s love of people to a person’s love of others – which, in turn, is the basis for global redemption. The exposure of the rational-intellectual aspect of revelation thus advances the desired objective of Rosenzweig’s method, and accords with Rosenzweig’s own words when he suggested that neither does it make the claim to be a philosophy of religion – how could it do that when the word ‘religion’ does not occur in it at all! Rather, it is merely a system of philosophy. The study seeks to explore the dialectical thicket of descriptions and arguments in The Star of Redemption in order to expose the logical kernel of Rosenzweig’s philosophical method. Indeed, a close reading which isolates the mechanical concepts of Rosenzweig’s thought reveals The Star of Redemption’s philosophical motivation when Rosenzweig denudes the text from the complex of religious concepts that are the proverbial flesh that surrounds the proverbial bones of the system Rosenzweig attacks. Insofar as The Star of Redemption is concerned, we are not dealing with systematicism in the sense of a rigid consistency of rationality as a concept, but rather with a methodical outline where Rosenzweig describes religion’s sociological ‘skeleton’ and weaves his method around it using such concepts as “orientation” = “revelation” = “sharing” = “redemption.” Furthermore, the affinity between God and human passes through the affinity between one human and another. It therefore follows that the ‘warm welcome’ of revelation, is not a mystical experience, but rather a person’s conscious, rational, and reflexive orientation in her or his human environment.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - On the Rational Basis of Revelation in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption
AU  - Abraham Mounitz
Y1  - 2021/06/23
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
T2  - International Journal of Philosophy
JF  - International Journal of Philosophy
JO  - International Journal of Philosophy
SP  - 116
EP  - 126
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7455
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20210902.17
AB  - The present study focuses on ‘revelation,’ one of the three constitutive concepts, and possibly the most central such concept, in Rosenzweig’s philosophy. As opposed to its ostensibly religious meaning, the article offers a view of the rational element enfolded within this concept in Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption. By employing a textual exegesis based on a close reading of Rosenzweig’s language, the article seeks to show that Rosenzweig’s conception of revelation does not refer to an intuitive, Kabbalistic-mystical or esoteric concept. As a central pillar of Rosenzweig’s star-shaped method, revelation is the mediator between God’s love of people to a person’s love of others – which, in turn, is the basis for global redemption. The exposure of the rational-intellectual aspect of revelation thus advances the desired objective of Rosenzweig’s method, and accords with Rosenzweig’s own words when he suggested that neither does it make the claim to be a philosophy of religion – how could it do that when the word ‘religion’ does not occur in it at all! Rather, it is merely a system of philosophy. The study seeks to explore the dialectical thicket of descriptions and arguments in The Star of Redemption in order to expose the logical kernel of Rosenzweig’s philosophical method. Indeed, a close reading which isolates the mechanical concepts of Rosenzweig’s thought reveals The Star of Redemption’s philosophical motivation when Rosenzweig denudes the text from the complex of religious concepts that are the proverbial flesh that surrounds the proverbial bones of the system Rosenzweig attacks. Insofar as The Star of Redemption is concerned, we are not dealing with systematicism in the sense of a rigid consistency of rationality as a concept, but rather with a methodical outline where Rosenzweig describes religion’s sociological ‘skeleton’ and weaves his method around it using such concepts as “orientation” = “revelation” = “sharing” = “redemption.” Furthermore, the affinity between God and human passes through the affinity between one human and another. It therefore follows that the ‘warm welcome’ of revelation, is not a mystical experience, but rather a person’s conscious, rational, and reflexive orientation in her or his human environment.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

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