Nachman Krochmal: Guiding the Perplexed of the Modern Age (review)

Hebrew Studies 34 (1993) 142 Reviews greatest flaw, is often found when creative competence is merged with immature scholarship. Third, following the Scandinavian school, the author frequently draws conclusions based upon the assumption that Israel observed an annual New Year's festival patterned after that of other ancient Near Eastern nations. This idea was quite popular for a time, but it has been largely dismissed or at least relegated to the collection of possibilities, which certainly do not deserve even the designation of probabilities. Fortunately, the basic argument for the setting of Habakkuk will stand without any reference to such an observance in Israel. Fourth, several significant conclusions drawn early in the book are not mentioned at all or are mentioned only in passing in the final chapter of conclusions. On the other hand, this final chapter devotes significant attention to the question of whether the book was originally transmitted orally or in writing, a very insignificant issue in the book to this point. If it deserved so large a treatment in the overall conclusions, this issue should have been dealt with more thoroughly earlier. Finally, the price of the book makes it prohibitive for any but libraries and the most dedicated scholars of the text of Habakkuk. This is quite unfortunate . It is a book which deserves to be read and studied by a larger audience than its price will allow. For all of its flaws, unimaginative indeed is the minister, teacher, or rabbi who will not find this book both informative and stimulating. Robert L. Cate Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK 74078 NACHMAN KROCHMAL: GUIDING THE PERPLEXED OF THE MODERN AGE. By Jay M. Harris. Modem Jewish Masters Series 4. New York: New York University Press, 1991. Cloth. Jay M. Harris has written the first comprehensive study of the entire Jewish philosophy of Nachman Krochmal (1785-1840) as presented in his posthumously published major work, More Nevukhe ha-Zeman (The Guide of the Perplexed of the Time). Harris presents a biography; an evaluation of the importance of Krochmal's work for the intellectual history of Judaism; and a discussion of each major section of Krochmal's philosophy- Hebrew Studies 34 (1993) 143 Reviews metaphysics, theory of history, biblical criticism, philosophy of halakhah, and philosophy of aggadah. The importance of Krochmal's Guide does not lie in the impact it had at the time it was composed. Written in Hebrew in Eastern Europe, it seems unlikely that many people cared about the issues he raised, let alone how he solved them. Still, the book remains of considerable importance for Jewish intellectual history for a number of reasons. First, Krochmal is one of the few modern Jews to defend a version of "Torah true" (as opposed to "liberal") Judaism against the assault of the modern European (=Protestant) academic canon. Second, Krochmal's Guide is our best example of an Eastern European Jewish response to modernity. Both of these reasons are stated by Harris himself, as a historian. Furthermore, there is a third reason (that Harris does not state) that should make a study of The Guide attractive to students of modern Jewish philosophy-many of Krochmal's ideas closely resemble those of Rosenzweig that are (from the perspective of German Jewish philosophy) distinctively Rosenzweig's. Among these are Krochmal's philosophy of Jewish law, emphasis on authenticity of aggadah, and the use of Schelling's (as opposed to Hegel's) schema of religious history to establish the uniqueness of the people of Israel as an eternal nation. How much Rosenzweig himself knew of Krochmal's work is questionable . However, that is not the point. Rosenzweig and Krochmal shared the same sources and tried to demonstrate how (and to what extent) it was possible to affirm both modernity and Jewish tradition. In these respects, each of these works can be used to inform the ideas of the other. The above comparison should not be taken to say more than it says. In other respects Rosenzweig and Krochmal are very different. For example, Rosenzweig's Christian culture is richer than Krochmal's. Beyond the works they share, Rosenzweig's confrontation with modern Christianity included actual discussions with the best Christian minds of...