A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism

by David Hartman

“‘A covenantal vision of life, with mitzvah (divine commandment) as the central organizing principle in the relationship between Jews and God, liberates the intellect and the moral will. I seek to show that a tradition mediated by the Sinai covenant can encourage the development of a human being who is not afraid to assume responsibility for the ongoing drama of Jewish history. Passive resignation is seen not to be an essential trait of one whose relationship to God is mediated by the hearing of mitzvot.”
—from the Introduction

This interpretation of Jewish teaching will appeal to all people seeking to understand the relationship between the idea of divine demand and the human response, between religious tradition and modernity. Hartman shows that a life lived in Jewish tradition need not be passive, insulated, or self-effacing, but can be lived in the modern pluralistic world with passion, tolerance, and spontaneity.

The Judaic tradition is often seen as being more concerned with uncritical obedience to law than with individual freedom and responsibility. In A Living Covenant, Hartman challenges this approach by revealing a Judaism grounded in a covenant—a relational framework—informed by the metaphor of marital love rather than that of parent-child dependency. This view of life places the individual firmly within community. Hartman shows that the Judaic tradition need not be understood in terms of human passivity and resignation, but rather as a vehicle by which human individuality and freedom can be expressed within a relational matrix.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Judaica

485 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can hear my teacher's voice as I read his words and recall his Torah.

This is incredible Torah, and unbelievably relevant in today's Jewish world (and beyond). Though we wrote it decades ago (and I read much of it then) it is incredibly fresh and pertinent today.

I look forward with great anticipation to studying my teacher's Torah further with my teachers, his children and his students at the Institute he established in memory if his father, Shalom Hartman, in the weeks ahead.

[Jeffrey (Akiva) Savett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets better every time. It's so interesting to revisit Hartman, and through him, Soloveitchik and Leibowitz after all these years. I agree with some things more, disagree with other things a lot. Essential Jewish philosophy of the first order.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a book for a beginner in theological reading, but for someone who wants to understand the basics of Rabbi David Hartman's religious thought.

[John Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am strictly a lay person with no background in Judaism other than that of the average participant in Jewish ritual and tradition.It seems to me that Hartman is attempting to rescue the relevance of Judaism, ( Torah and Talmudic discourse) for contemporary Jews.In raising issues he is both affirming tradition and questioning it.His approach is religious but he does not eschew secular approaches to meaning and normativity.He wants members to be active rather than passive recipients of tradition and is trying to blend tradition with innovation which requires freedom from the hegemony of text and "tradition".It is regrettable that he didnt live to finish the work because he was exceptional in his effort to explore and affirm his understanding of tradition and innovation. A philosophical approach is rare in contemporary Jewish religious commentary. That takes courage.I found it helpful that Hartman raises issues that thinking Jews are attempting to address in their own lives and practices. The book hinges on comparison and contrasts between three seminal Jewish thinkers: Soloveichik,Leiberman and Maimonides.Hartman examines what he sees as the flaws in Soloveichik's "Lonely Man of Faith" and Leibowitz's reiteration and practice regardless of meaning or insight.Issues raised by Hartman are autonomy versus conformity to received doctrine;metaphysical versus human priorities in considering the normative;repressive versus emancipatory trends in Jewish practice and understanding;the compatibility of secular versus religious approaches to received tradition from Sinai;the expunging and restoration of individuality in practice and insight;the mindlessness of reiterative practice versus the importance of experience and history;the pathology of solipsism, ( "the lonely man of faith") versus intersubjectivity and reaching out to others; the tensions between "Creation" and creativity; and the tensions between divine rule and rationality, (Maimonides).Each one of these issues would deserve a tome unto itself, although his approach is integrative.It seems to me that Hartman despite his criticism of Spinoza does not see humanism as inimical to Judaism. I admire Hartman for challenging authoritarian and hegemonic approaches to tradition, practice and identity and his challenging of insular approaches to Jewish continuity.

[Charles Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the idea of a covenantal relationship with God - something that changes and evolves, but is still based in a shared understanding of history and value. It's a rare sage that bases his radical philosophy in text and primary sources, but that's what makes Hartman so amazing.

[Craig Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Living Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in Traditional Judaism by David Hartman (1998)