Max Kadushin
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Rabbi Max Kadushin (December 6, 1895, Minsk – 1980) is a significant figure in the Conservative Judaism movement best known for his organic philosophy of rabbinics.
After graduating from New York University, Kadushin studied for the rabbinate at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America during the 1920s. There he encountered Mordecai Kaplan and soon became a key figure in Kaplan's Reconstructionist Judaism movement. As his studies in haggadah continued during the late 1920s, however, he found himself drifting away from Kaplan's decidedly modernist approach to rabbinics and began to argue for a more aftermodernist approach--one that placed greater weight on the enduring significance of the haggadah. Kadushin is now regarded as an important figure in the history of twentieth-century Conservative Judaism, though few outside of the tradition are aware of his work.
Contents |
[edit] Works
[edit] "The Theology of Seder Eliahu" (1932)
This work, a commentary on Seder Eliahu, was derived from Kadushin's Ph.D. dissertation. In it, he argues that ancient rabbinic texts possess organic, experiential consistency despite the sometimes non-linear character they possess.
[edit] "Organic Thinking" (1938)
Generally regarded as Kadushin's most important work, this volume establishes the fundamentals of Kadushin's philosophy--value-concepts, indeterminacy of belief, and normal mysticism--in a relatively straightforward manner. Although much of the work consists of textual analysis, the influence of Alfred North Whitehead is more apparent in this volume than in any of Kadushin's other works.
[edit] "The Rabbinic Mind" (1952)
This volume, which focuses almost entirely on Talmudic hermeneutics, builds on both of his previous works.
[edit] "Worship and Ethics" (1964)
This volume focuses primarily on rabbinic moral theology and Jewish mysticism. It is notable, among other reasons, for Kadushin's relative denunciation of Kabbalah as a tradition with which traditional rabbinic philosophy cannot easily be reconciled. Kadushin sees more practical value in normal mysticism, the complex but decidedly non-supernatural everyday religious experience of any pious and observant Jew.
[edit] "A Conceptual Commentary on the Mekilta" (1969)
[edit] "A Conceptual Commentary on Midrash Leviticus Rabbah" (1987)
These two volumes represent Kadushin's efforts to apply his system of hermeneutics to classic rabbinic texts.
[edit] Quotations
"What is not defined usually cannot be defined." [1]
"Torah is not only personified, but possesses the quality of a personality."[2]
"[S]piritual experience in most religions is seldom an unmixed blessing. Left to itself, uncontrolled, it may manifest itself in the most absurd of human vagaries and sanctify not only unsocial but anti-social behavior and utterly callous selfishness."[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kadushin, Max |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Russian-American Conservative Judaism Rabbi, highly respected Jewish theologian |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 6, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Minsk, Russia |
| DATE OF DEATH | [[ {{{3}}}]] 1980 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | United States |
