La Shoá y el Estado de Israel en el pensamiento de Yehudá Amital

Abstract

The Shoah and the creation of the State of Israel are two of the most significant events in the history of the Jewish people in the modern era, both of which took place in the span of a single decade. In the realm of Jewish philosophy, a fascinating intellectual discourse began to unfold immediately following World War II, as sharp ideological and theological questions were raised, especially among survivors of the Shoah, who attempted to find ethical-religious explanations for these tragic events, as well as for the extraordinary event of the creation of the State of Israel. This research focuses on the unique voice of holocaust survivor, religious leader and public figure Rabbi Yehuda Amital and his theological teachings on the Shoah and the creation of the State of Israel, as well as their impact on his overall spiritual worldview. Amital’s exceptional thought strived to understand and formulate the origins of a new Jewish identity and philosophy from the Shoah to the present day, all the while delving into the moral foundations of the Jewish and human faith, based on both extraordinary events which occurred in an inconceivable historical conjunction, and which befell him personally. Amital’s thought and worldview influenced a significant portion of the religious-Zionist sector in Israel, contributing to the formation of a renewed Jewish identity, affected directly from his own life experiences. The writer believes that this research can allow one to better understand the extent to which philosophy and theology of a thinker were influenced by his particular theological approach to these extraordinary events, and to better grasp the impact of Amital’s thought on the religious Zionist sector. As its main methodology, this research uses a qualitative approach, analyzing the various writings of Amital and other thinkers who dealt directly or indirectly with the same topics; also using transcriptions of hundreds of talks Amital gave to his students in the institution he founded during long decades of his leadership. Additionally, several interviews have been conducted with people close to Amital, including relatives, peers, colleagues, rabbis and students. Another important methodological aspect of this research is the comparison between the different positions of Amital with those of other Orthodox thinkers of his time in reference to the theological approach regarding the Shoah and the creation of the state of Israel. The writer believes that the main contribution of this research is reflected in the following points: - Demonstrating the way in which the Shoah and the establishment of the State of Israel as extraordinary events led to the blossoming of a wide philosophical and theological discussion within Jewish thinkers. - Exposing the unique thought of Rabbi Yehuda Amital, which grew and developed as a result of these two extraordinary events, and examining its importance and relevance to reality then and today - Showing the way in which the influence of the zeitgeist in the post-Shoah world penetrated even the Orthodox Zionist world and led to the development of a new Orthodox Jewish identity - Making impactful texts which are less well-known accessible to contemporary philosophical and theological discussions within Jewish orthodoxy.