Jewish Theology in Our Time: A New Generation Explores the Foundations and Future of Jewish Belief

At every critical juncture in Jewish history, Jews have understood a dynamic theology to be essential for a vital Jewish community. This important collection sets the next stage of Jewish theological thought, bringing together a cross section of interesting new voices from all movements in Judaism to inspire and stimulate discussion now and in the years to come.

Provocative and wide-ranging, these invigorating and creative insights from a new generation's thought leaders provide a coherent and inspiring picture of Jewish belief in our time.

"Demonstrates that there is not only a future to the Jewish theological enterprise in America but an exciting, fully realized, and challenging future. Abraham Joshua Heschel and Mordecai Kaplan would be thrilled. This book belongs on the shelf of every serious student of Jewish thought."---Rabbi Neil Gillman, PhD, Aaron Rabinowitz and Simon H. Rifkind Emeritus Professor of Jewish Philosophy, The Jewish Theological Seminary; author, Doing Jewish Theology: God, Torah and Israel in Modern Judaism

"Intellectually and spiritually exhilarating. Indeed, it augurs well for the future of American Judaism."---Paul Mendes-Flohr, PhD, professor of Jewish thought, University of Chicago Divinity School; professor emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"The Jewish conversation about God has continued for thousands of years. The wonderful collection of new voices represented in [this book] enriches not only the conversation but also the reader who will discover how rich, varied, and meaningful that conversation can be."---Rabbi Laura Geller, senior rabbi, Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills

"Anyone engaged in constructing a contemporary Jewish theology must proceed carefully so as not to try to shove the square pegs of modern thought and experience into the cylindrical holes of classical Jewish life and thinking. Nevertheless, an awareness of all these challenges should not discourage the project and progress of Jewish theology, but rather serve to mark the path along which the journey should proceed. It is not an easy or identifiable road. Flipping through the pages of this book, you will readily see that we live in an age when the boundaries of what constitutes Jewish theological thought are as wide as they are sometimes imperceptible."---From the Introduction

From the Garden of Eden onward, the God-idea has taken on a varied and ever-evolving number of expressions within Judaism. From Mount Sinai to the prophets of the exile, from Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed to Kabbalah, from Chasidism to mid-twentieth-century North America, theological inquiry, diverse in its content and idiom, has sustained the Jewish People.

The passionate voices of a new generation of Jewish thinkers continue that dialogue with God, examining the dynamics of what Jews can believe today.

Rabbi Elliot J. Cosgrove, PhD, is rabbi at Park Avenue Synagogue in Manhattan. He received his masters of Hebrew letters from American Jewish University, studied at the Schechter Institute of Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and was ordained at The Jewish Theological Seminary. He received his doctorate in the history of Judaism from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Rabbi David J. Wolpe is rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, and author of Why Faith Matters, among other books.
Rabbi Carole B. Balin, PhD, is professor of Jewish history at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She is currently working on an updated version of the 1984 edition of Liberal Judaism with Dr. Eugene B. Borowitz and Frances W. Schwartz.