Evil and Suffering in Jewish Philosophy

Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions

by Oliver Leaman

In this study Oliver Leaman poses two questions: how can a powerful and caring deity allow terrible things to happen to obviously innocent people, and why have the Jewish people been so harshly treated throughout history, given their status as the chosen people? He explores these issues through an analysis of the views of Philo, Saadya, Maimonides, Gersonides, Spinoza, Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Buber, Rosenzweig, and post-Holocaust thinkers.

Genres: Philosophy

271 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 1995

About the author

Oliver Leaman is a Professor of Philosophy and Zantker Professor of Judaic Studies. He has been teaching at the University of Kentucky since August 2000, and is particularly interested in Islamic, Jewish and Eastern philosophy. He has got his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1979.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up for a research project I was doing on suffering among Jews. Although I wasn't expecting much, I was pleasantly surprised. Leaman takes a journey through time using Jewish philosophy, while "building his case" for why Jews respond the way they do to suffering. There is an entire chapter devoted to the Holocaust. The book is educational but not dry. Those interested in topics such as evil, suffering, etc. would benefit from Leaman's historical lessons.