Table of Contents

• Introduction (Jeffrey Bloom): How can Orthodox Judaism respond to Strauss' defense of faith against Spinoza’s Enlightenment critique?
• Spinoza, Strauss, Meno, and Maimonides (Jack Abramowitz): Is belief alone sufficient for faith, or must it evolve into knowledge?
• An Argument for Business-Men (Shalom Carmy): Does Strauss’ reliance on philosophy subvert his own question?
• Spinoza’s Intellect and Arrogance (Avraham Edelstein): How does Spinoza’s determinism undermine his ethical system and critique of Judaism?
• Reason, Faith, and the Overcoming of Shame (Paul Franks): Can Maimonides’ rational approach to faith still inspire modern seekers of truth?
• Commitment to Judaism in the Modern Era (Joshua Golding): What sustains a meaningful commitment to Judaism in a secular, post-Enlightenment world?
• The Validity of Religious Experience in a Post-Kantian World (Alec Goldstein): Can personal spiritual experiences validate belief in a world shaped by philosophical doubt?
• Leo Strauss and the Lure of Orthodoxy (Mark Gottlieb): How does Strauss’ engagement with Orthodoxy influence his critique of modernity and faith?
• The Nature and Pursuit of Truth in Different Cultural Contexts (Jeremy Kagan): What role does divine revelation play in a world of cultural differences?
• Belief and Knowledge (Ari Kahn): How do belief and empirical knowledge coexist in Jewish theology?
• Why Revelation but Not Orbiting Teapots? (Moshe Koppel): Why is belief in divine revelation more rational than arbitrary or absurd beliefs?
• Is it Rational to be an Orthodox Jew? (Samuel Lebens): Can Orthodox Judaism be defended with formal logic in the face of modern philosophical challenges?
• Why Should a Jew Choose Belief? (Simi Peters): Why should one actively choose belief over skepticism, and what does that choice mean?
• Knowledge, Morality, and Maimonides’ Elusive Quest for Truth (Shmuel Phillips): How does Maimonides’ philosophy address the modern search for moral and objective truth?
• Saving Faith: Reviving Nineteenth-Century Responses to Haskalah (Gil Student): What lessons can responses to the Jewish Enlightenment teach about defending faith today?
• Leo Strauss, Spinoza, and the Meaning of Tradition (Meir Triebitz): How do Strauss’ and Spinoza’s views on tradition contrast, and what can they teach about the preservation of Judaism?
• Orthodoxy and the Oral Law (Joshua I. Weinstein): How does the Oral Law preserve Jewish tradition while allowing for adaptation over time?
• Faith as the Foundation of Knowledge (Eliezer Zobin): Why does faith precede reason, and how does it provide the foundation for knowledge?
• Conclusion: What overarching insights do these essays offer about faith, reason, and Orthodox Judaism in the modern world?