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Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation
Turmoil still grips the Middle East, and fear can still paralyze post-9/11 America. The comforts and challenges of this book are thus as timely as when it was first published in 1987. With new reflections on the future of Judaism and Israel, Ellis underscores the enduring problem of justice. Ellis' use of liberation theology to make connections between the Holocaust and contemporary communities from the Third World reminds both Jews and oppressed Christians that they share common ground in the experiences of abandonment, suffering, and death. The connections also reveal that Jews and Christians share a common cause in the battle against idolatry - represented now by obsessions for personal affluence, national security, and ethnic survival. According to Ellis, Jews and Christians must never allow the reality of anti-Semitism to become an excuse for evading solidarity with the oppressed peoples - be they African, Asian, Latin American or, especially, Palestinian.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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207 people want to read
About the author
Marc H. Ellis
35 books11 followersMarc H. Ellis is retired University Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Baylor University. Among his publications are Encountering the Jewish Future (2012), Reading the Torah Out Loud (2007), Practicing Exile (2001), Oh, Jerusalem! (1999), and Unholy Alliance (1997), all from Fortress Press. He is also a regular contributor on Mondoweiss: The War of Ideas in the Middle East with a series called Exile and the Prophetic.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 10, 2024
Probably the(?) foundational work for modern Jewish-theological critiques of Zionism, the first of many works by Jewish theologian Mark Ellis that maintained a critique of Israel the nation, while remaining in deep dialogue with other Jewish (and Christian, and Muslim, and secular) voices surrounding the conflict in Palestine. Ellis interacts with "Holocaust theology" in a number of thinkers including Elie Wiesel, and advocates for a deeper solidarity that includes Palestinians. Illuminating analysis of the use of the Jewish Exodus motif in Christian liberation theologies which almost never refer back to Jewish use of those scriptures, instead appropriating them wholesale. Fascinating and instructive. Ultimately, Ellis calls for a two-state solution, and wants to hold out hope for a situation that displays radical peace-making democracy. 35 years later and we appear to be no closer to that ideal than we were in 1989 (than we were in 1969 ... than we were in 1949 ... than we were in 1929 ... than we were in ...)
Important perspective to consider in this, and in Ellis's other works.
Important perspective to consider in this, and in Ellis's other works.
June 23, 2025
SOME IDEAS FOR ISSUES SUCH AS THE HOLOCAUST, ISRAEL, ETC.
Marc Ellis (1952-2024) was raised as a Jew, and was a professor of American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University (his appointment was controversial, and his departure may have been related to his view on Jewish/Palestinian relations). He was a visiting professor at several other institutions.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1987 book, “As a practicing Jew, I am a student of contemporary religions though rather than a trained Jewish theologian. This book, therefore, does not attempt to expound an academic Jewish theology but rather to surface dialectics, issues, and possibilities that might give birth to a Jewish theology of liberation. Depending on one’s perspective, my study of and work with progressive Roman Catholic groups and institutions such as the Catholic Worker movement and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers may evoke fear or wonder. These affiliations, however, rather than impeding my faith, have yielded a perspective that has renewed my Jewish outlook and commitment…
“I affirm the continuity of the Judeo-Christian tradition. I regard Christianity, or … contemporary followers of Jesus, as issuing from the Jewish community and following a stream of ideas, beliefs, and values that are similar and yet distinct from those of the contemporary Jewish people. I view the separation of faith communities as tragic, for it is a source of much pain and confusion. The Jewish prayers said each morning that thank God for making me a Jew and calling one to be free, represent for me a hope that my faith can lead to authentic solidarity with all those who struggle for human dignity and justice.”
He observes, “Unfortunately, few Christians have contemplated the haunting difficulty raised by the Jewish Holocaust: What does it mean to be a Christian when Christian understandings and actions issued in the death camps of Nazi Germany? The first response of those who have authentically confronted this evil is to ask forgiveness of the Jewish people and seek forgiveness from Jesus, himself a Jew, whose essential message of love was betrayed. The second response is to remain in dialogue with the experience of the Holocaust as a formative event for Christians as well. For to recognize the reality of the death camps and of Christian complicity involved a questioning of the authenticity of Christian faith and activity. Only by realizing and admitting how their conduct denies true Christianity can Christians both salvage and reconstruct their faith.” (Pg. 23)
He notes, “A third movement within contemporary Jewish life is the burgeoning feminist consciousness. Feminism is active within all three branches of Judaism---Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform---and is extremely strong among secular Jewish women. Citing the patriarchal quality of past and present Judaism as the fundamental issue, proponents call for dealing directly with this most basic injustice. Many positions are encompassed within this critique, from simply a call for changes in leadership patterns to substantive criticism of a tradition formed for and around men. To translate these views into reality is, of course, difficult within the patriarchal mainstream of Jewish religiosity and institutional life. The founding of Lilith magazine in 1976 was one such step, and soon the Lilith office became a national clearing house for the growing Jewish women’s movement.” (Pg. 62)
He suggests, “The counterpart to Israel as an autonomous presence is Palestine, and a Jewish theology of liberation begins to speak of Israel and Palestine together. That Israel is a state has less to do with religious principles than with national organization of the modern world. The Palestinian people likewise deserve a state, and Israel ought to participate in its rebirth through recognition and material help if the Palestinians request it. A Jewish theology of liberation is unequivocal in this regard: the Palestinian people have been deeply wronged in the creation of Israel and in the occupation of territories. As we celebrate our empowerment, we must repent our transgressions and stop them immediately. If this is done today, perhaps a hundred years from now we can speak of a confederation of Israel and Palestine and how out of a tragic conflict a healing took place to the benefit of both communities.” (Pg. 116)
He wonders, “So much energy and emotion have been spent on equating Zionism and Judaism that an understandable fear exists even when an adjustment is suggested. But what if Israel as a state ceased to exist, either involuntarily through military force, or voluntarily through confederation with the Palestinian community? Would Judaism and the Jewish people cease to exist, or would the energies of Jewish resistance and hope be rechanneled? The Jewish people existed before the State of Israel and will exist long after the nation-state system ceases to exist.” (Pg. 119)
He concludes, “The hope of liberation, however, remains always before us, and 5,000 years of history, with its chapters of Holocaust and empowerment, provide a unique foundation upon which to build a future. The prophetic, like faith itself, ebbs and flows, waiting to be rediscovered by the people who bequeathed it to the world. The new urgency, represented by the ‘burning children’ of all peoples, calls us to this rediscovery with a bewildering urgency. As much as any time in history, the world needs this witness, and at the crossroads of our own history, so do we. A Jewish theology of liberation seeks to join with others in rediscovering the prophetic voice with the hope that we can become what we are called to be.” (Pg. 122)
This book will interest those studying contemporary Jewish/Israeli political issues.
Marc Ellis (1952-2024) was raised as a Jew, and was a professor of American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University (his appointment was controversial, and his departure may have been related to his view on Jewish/Palestinian relations). He was a visiting professor at several other institutions.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1987 book, “As a practicing Jew, I am a student of contemporary religions though rather than a trained Jewish theologian. This book, therefore, does not attempt to expound an academic Jewish theology but rather to surface dialectics, issues, and possibilities that might give birth to a Jewish theology of liberation. Depending on one’s perspective, my study of and work with progressive Roman Catholic groups and institutions such as the Catholic Worker movement and the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers may evoke fear or wonder. These affiliations, however, rather than impeding my faith, have yielded a perspective that has renewed my Jewish outlook and commitment…
“I affirm the continuity of the Judeo-Christian tradition. I regard Christianity, or … contemporary followers of Jesus, as issuing from the Jewish community and following a stream of ideas, beliefs, and values that are similar and yet distinct from those of the contemporary Jewish people. I view the separation of faith communities as tragic, for it is a source of much pain and confusion. The Jewish prayers said each morning that thank God for making me a Jew and calling one to be free, represent for me a hope that my faith can lead to authentic solidarity with all those who struggle for human dignity and justice.”
He observes, “Unfortunately, few Christians have contemplated the haunting difficulty raised by the Jewish Holocaust: What does it mean to be a Christian when Christian understandings and actions issued in the death camps of Nazi Germany? The first response of those who have authentically confronted this evil is to ask forgiveness of the Jewish people and seek forgiveness from Jesus, himself a Jew, whose essential message of love was betrayed. The second response is to remain in dialogue with the experience of the Holocaust as a formative event for Christians as well. For to recognize the reality of the death camps and of Christian complicity involved a questioning of the authenticity of Christian faith and activity. Only by realizing and admitting how their conduct denies true Christianity can Christians both salvage and reconstruct their faith.” (Pg. 23)
He notes, “A third movement within contemporary Jewish life is the burgeoning feminist consciousness. Feminism is active within all three branches of Judaism---Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform---and is extremely strong among secular Jewish women. Citing the patriarchal quality of past and present Judaism as the fundamental issue, proponents call for dealing directly with this most basic injustice. Many positions are encompassed within this critique, from simply a call for changes in leadership patterns to substantive criticism of a tradition formed for and around men. To translate these views into reality is, of course, difficult within the patriarchal mainstream of Jewish religiosity and institutional life. The founding of Lilith magazine in 1976 was one such step, and soon the Lilith office became a national clearing house for the growing Jewish women’s movement.” (Pg. 62)
He suggests, “The counterpart to Israel as an autonomous presence is Palestine, and a Jewish theology of liberation begins to speak of Israel and Palestine together. That Israel is a state has less to do with religious principles than with national organization of the modern world. The Palestinian people likewise deserve a state, and Israel ought to participate in its rebirth through recognition and material help if the Palestinians request it. A Jewish theology of liberation is unequivocal in this regard: the Palestinian people have been deeply wronged in the creation of Israel and in the occupation of territories. As we celebrate our empowerment, we must repent our transgressions and stop them immediately. If this is done today, perhaps a hundred years from now we can speak of a confederation of Israel and Palestine and how out of a tragic conflict a healing took place to the benefit of both communities.” (Pg. 116)
He wonders, “So much energy and emotion have been spent on equating Zionism and Judaism that an understandable fear exists even when an adjustment is suggested. But what if Israel as a state ceased to exist, either involuntarily through military force, or voluntarily through confederation with the Palestinian community? Would Judaism and the Jewish people cease to exist, or would the energies of Jewish resistance and hope be rechanneled? The Jewish people existed before the State of Israel and will exist long after the nation-state system ceases to exist.” (Pg. 119)
He concludes, “The hope of liberation, however, remains always before us, and 5,000 years of history, with its chapters of Holocaust and empowerment, provide a unique foundation upon which to build a future. The prophetic, like faith itself, ebbs and flows, waiting to be rediscovered by the people who bequeathed it to the world. The new urgency, represented by the ‘burning children’ of all peoples, calls us to this rediscovery with a bewildering urgency. As much as any time in history, the world needs this witness, and at the crossroads of our own history, so do we. A Jewish theology of liberation seeks to join with others in rediscovering the prophetic voice with the hope that we can become what we are called to be.” (Pg. 122)
This book will interest those studying contemporary Jewish/Israeli political issues.
January 13, 2023
Some good parts, overall kind of disappointing. The anti-communism was unsurprising and boring, but what was disappointing was the lack of much substance. Some good parts, and a few interesting arguments, but many sections didn't have much real content or were just repetitive. Some very interesting sources that I want to look into further.
October 10, 2025
E. wil dat Joodse theologie herinnering + macht ‘ont-idoliseert’ door aantoonbare solidariteit met de mensen die nu onderdrukt worden, anders verliest ze haar profetische ziel.
Zijn stelling is dat de naoorlogse Joodse identiteit is bepaald door het dubbele polaire veld van Holocaust-herinnering en politieke macht (vooral via de staat Israël). Maar ontwikkeling van macht heeft een moreel prijskaartje: wie zelf slachtoffer was kan dader worden. Daarom moet de Joodse theologie haar positie heroriënteren van zelfbehoud naar profetische solidariteit met de mensen die nu lijden, concreet de Palestijnen. Anders worden ‘verleden’ en macht tot idolen.
Historisch/inhoudelijk werkt hij dat uit via: (i) de Exodus-traditie als bevrijdingsparadigma dat door andere onderdrukten is overgenomen; (ii) het bestaan van een Joodse traditie van dissidenten (Buber, Magnes, Arendt, Timerman e.a.) die waarschuwt tegen koloniale herhaling; (iii) een oproep tot ‘dubbele solidariteit’: trouw aan Joden in Israël én aan Palestijnen, met erkenning van asymmetrie.
Ellis zoekt naar kruisbestuiving met andere bevrijdingstheologieën (o.a. Naim Ateek), inclusief wederzijdse erkenning van Holocaust en Nakba en een ethiek van schuldbekentenis en vergeving. In gesprek met Irving Greenberg schetst Ellis hoe we leven in een ‘derde era’ met ‘heilige seculariteit’. Juist die seculiere verankering van macht maakt kritiek op macht en idoolvorming urgent.
Sterke kanten aan het betoog zijn:
1. Profetische consistentie: heldere norm dat herinnering alleen legitiem is wanneer zij solidair is met het actuele lijden, anders verwordt zij tot legitimering van macht.
2. Historische zelfkritiek: overtuigende reconstructie van een interne dissent-lijn binnen het Jodendom/Zionisme die niet-dominante alternatieven zichtbaar maakt.
3. Intertraditionele openheid: serieuze dialoog met Palestijnse en andere bevrijdingstheologieën i.p.v. apologetiek.
4. Oproep tot morele precisie rond het begrip macht: E. benoemt concreet de prijs van macht en het gevaar om ‘conqueror’ te worden.
Mogelijke zwakke elementen:
1. Bevrijdingstheologie vs. machtspositie: klassiek komt bevrijdingstheologie van onderop (onderdrukten formuleren haar zelf). Ellis probeert een bevrijdingsethos te transponeren naar een gemeenschap die bovenaan de pikorde staat. Dat levert spanning op die hij normatief wel adresseert, maar institutioneel minder uitwerkt (wie spreekt namens wie, via welke praktijken?).
2. Operationalisering van ‘dubbele solidariteit’: de oproep blijft beleidsmatig vaag. Naast morele categorieën wil je graag ook wat horen over implementatiemechanismen, zeker waar machtsasymmetrie groot is.
3. Secularisatieparadox: het Greenberg-hoofdstuk laat zien hoe macht en heilige seculariteit elkaar versterken; E.’ remedie is profetische kritiek, maar de praktische mediatie tussen seculiere macht en profetische taal blijft dun.
4. Risico op overaccentuering van Holocaust-Israël dialectiek: zijn theologisch-analytisch raamwerk duwt andere determinanten (bijv. regionale veiligheid, interne Palestijnse dynamiek) wat weg. E. waarschuwt voor fixatie, maar het betoog is zelf ook wat beperkt in aanvliegroute.
Zijn stelling is dat de naoorlogse Joodse identiteit is bepaald door het dubbele polaire veld van Holocaust-herinnering en politieke macht (vooral via de staat Israël). Maar ontwikkeling van macht heeft een moreel prijskaartje: wie zelf slachtoffer was kan dader worden. Daarom moet de Joodse theologie haar positie heroriënteren van zelfbehoud naar profetische solidariteit met de mensen die nu lijden, concreet de Palestijnen. Anders worden ‘verleden’ en macht tot idolen.
Historisch/inhoudelijk werkt hij dat uit via: (i) de Exodus-traditie als bevrijdingsparadigma dat door andere onderdrukten is overgenomen; (ii) het bestaan van een Joodse traditie van dissidenten (Buber, Magnes, Arendt, Timerman e.a.) die waarschuwt tegen koloniale herhaling; (iii) een oproep tot ‘dubbele solidariteit’: trouw aan Joden in Israël én aan Palestijnen, met erkenning van asymmetrie.
Ellis zoekt naar kruisbestuiving met andere bevrijdingstheologieën (o.a. Naim Ateek), inclusief wederzijdse erkenning van Holocaust en Nakba en een ethiek van schuldbekentenis en vergeving. In gesprek met Irving Greenberg schetst Ellis hoe we leven in een ‘derde era’ met ‘heilige seculariteit’. Juist die seculiere verankering van macht maakt kritiek op macht en idoolvorming urgent.
Sterke kanten aan het betoog zijn:
1. Profetische consistentie: heldere norm dat herinnering alleen legitiem is wanneer zij solidair is met het actuele lijden, anders verwordt zij tot legitimering van macht.
2. Historische zelfkritiek: overtuigende reconstructie van een interne dissent-lijn binnen het Jodendom/Zionisme die niet-dominante alternatieven zichtbaar maakt.
3. Intertraditionele openheid: serieuze dialoog met Palestijnse en andere bevrijdingstheologieën i.p.v. apologetiek.
4. Oproep tot morele precisie rond het begrip macht: E. benoemt concreet de prijs van macht en het gevaar om ‘conqueror’ te worden.
Mogelijke zwakke elementen:
1. Bevrijdingstheologie vs. machtspositie: klassiek komt bevrijdingstheologie van onderop (onderdrukten formuleren haar zelf). Ellis probeert een bevrijdingsethos te transponeren naar een gemeenschap die bovenaan de pikorde staat. Dat levert spanning op die hij normatief wel adresseert, maar institutioneel minder uitwerkt (wie spreekt namens wie, via welke praktijken?).
2. Operationalisering van ‘dubbele solidariteit’: de oproep blijft beleidsmatig vaag. Naast morele categorieën wil je graag ook wat horen over implementatiemechanismen, zeker waar machtsasymmetrie groot is.
3. Secularisatieparadox: het Greenberg-hoofdstuk laat zien hoe macht en heilige seculariteit elkaar versterken; E.’ remedie is profetische kritiek, maar de praktische mediatie tussen seculiere macht en profetische taal blijft dun.
4. Risico op overaccentuering van Holocaust-Israël dialectiek: zijn theologisch-analytisch raamwerk duwt andere determinanten (bijv. regionale veiligheid, interne Palestijnse dynamiek) wat weg. E. waarschuwt voor fixatie, maar het betoog is zelf ook wat beperkt in aanvliegroute.
March 19, 2025
This is somewhere between a 3 and 4. Closer to 4 or even 5, because Ellis's outlining of how Zionism is at odds with Judaism through a theological perspective and written in 1987. Closer to 3 because the book drops toward the second half with not much substance to outline the theology of liberation and gets repetitive. The first part in which he cites and the extrapolates the various perspective of major thinkers is where the book really shines and was incredibly affirming.
February 18, 2021
I recommend this to all Jewish people, especially in the United States. One of the most influential and informative books on my own politics and spirituality. Years later I still cite it all the time in conversations.
February 6, 2022
much to think about…
August 29, 2015
This book was excellent. It became a little slow in the middle, and I felt the author relied too heavily on extended quotes. It is certainly "toward" a Jewish The*logy of Liberation as it certainly makes no systematic attempt to establish one, precisely. I found his exploration of Holocaust interpretations fascinating, and I absolutely loved his conviction to maintaining strong ties between all types of Jews and Christians for the sake of creating a better world. I really appreciated how he called secular Jews back to faith and faithful Jews back to radical politics.
April 8, 2013
I enjoyed learning more about the Israel situation and getting another perspective on how to possibly make it better. There was still a lot that I did not quite understand because of my lack of experience and knowledge in the Holy Land. I am amazed how three of the major religions all have such strong ties to the city of Jerusalem. I hope to learn more...
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January 27, 2011Electronic (pdf).
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews