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March 9, 2001/Adar 14, 5761, Vol. 53, No.23
Philosophy dull? Think again
VICKI CABOT
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 Professors Rachel Adler and Suzanne Last Stone look at essential questions facing Jewish philosophers. Photo by Vicki Cabot |
Philosophy dull? Its practitioners boring thinkers? Think again.
The two-day symposium, the brainchild of ASU Professor Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, provided a venue for those who study, teach and do Jewish philosophy to come together and discuss mutual and not-so-mutual concerns. Its purpose was to stimulate dialogue between Jewish philosophers and Jewish feminists, says Tirosh-Samuelson.
And stimulate it did.
The first day-and-a-half of the Feb. 25-26 conference was devoted to the presentation of academic papers by participants representing a who's who in Jewish philosophy and feminist thought. Meetings dealt with the intersection of Jewish philosophy, from historical and contemporary perspectives, and the nearly 30-year-old field of Jewish feminism. At each session, a trio of scholars presented papers while a fourth scholar served as respondent and a fifth as chairperson.
Tirosh-Samuelson will edit the papers into a book, "On Being Human: Women in Jewish Philosophy," slated for publication in 2002 by Indiana University Press. It will be the first such work of its kind, she says.
Tirosh-Samuelson says the impetus for the conference came from a paper she wrote in 1990 ("Dare to Know: Feminism and the Discipline of Jewish Philosophy," published in "Feminist Perspectives on Jewish Studies," Yale University Press, 1994). In "Dare to Know," Tirosh-Samuelson lamented that "feminism has made no impact on the discipline of Jewish philosophy" and that Jewish philosophers "have virtually ignored the presence of feminism in the academy." She called on both disciplines "to dare to know about each other and engage in critical dialogue."
And that is exactly what transpired at the conference.
"All our goals were accomplished," says Tirosh-Samuelson, a professor of history who holds a doctorate in Jewish philosophy and Kabbalah from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In addition, she says she was pleased at the "extremely active atmosphere."
That tone was most apparent at the final session, held at Hillel at ASU, when the scholars looked at the "tasks and challenges" ahead in sustaining a dialogue between Jewish philosophy and feminism.
The five participants in that program, three men and two women, reflected denominational difference and diverse scholarly interest. Panel chairman, Professor Aryeh Cohen, is chairman of the Conservative University of Judaism in Los Angeles; Professor Rachel Adler teaches modern Jewish thought and Judaism and gender at the Reform Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles; Professor Shaul Magid teaches Jewish philosophy at the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary; and Professor Suzanne Last Stone serves on the faculty at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law of Yeshivah University in New York.
Cohen laid out the charge, and ignited the fireworks, when he asked: "To what extent has philosophy impacted Jewish feminism, and where can we take it from here?"
Adler, who calls herself a "constructive theologian," said she is concerned about new questions Jewish philosophers need to ask. Stone stressed the importance of proper methodology.
"Women need to learn how to make proper arguments and make them properly," said Stone, an attorney and Orthodox Jew who has written widely on Jewish jurisprudence, Judaism and postmodernism, and Judaism and American law.
Magid asked if Jewish philosophy could connect to halacha (Jewish law) to inform how Jews live. And Cohen bemoaned "the essential lack of Jewish literacy," which he said impedes the ability to make those connections and approach philosophical issues seriously.
"People don't know," said Cohen. "They don't see the relevancy."
That opened a healthy, sometimes heated, exchange among conference participants about the aspirations of Jewish philosophy, ties between philosophy and Jewish law, and what relevance it all has to contemporary Jewish life.
Tirosh-Samuelson said that while pleased with the conference, she was disappointed that more community members did not take advantage of the invitation to be part of the discussion.
"You cannot be a Jew without being educated," she said, urging community members to avail themselves of the resources the university provides. "And if you want to be educated you have to expose yourself to the richness."
While conceding that the high caliber of the conference participants, and high level of conversation, may have intimidated some who are not scholars, Tirosh-Samuelson exhorted the Jewish community not to shy away from such opportunities.
"If you don't use your rational power, Jewish life is diminished," she says.
Conference sponsors included the Harold and Jean Grossman Chair of Jewish Studies and departments of history, philosophy, religious studies and women's studies at ASU, the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics and the Academy for Jewish Philosophy.