On The Bookshelf

ment in his voice, even if these are ideas
he has spoken of many times before.
The founder and director of the
Shalom Hartman Institute in
Jerusalem, Rabbi Hartman, 68,
explains that the book's title comes
from a teaching in the Tosefta, "Make
yourself a heart of many rooms and
bring into it the words of the House
of Shammai and the words of the
."
House of Hillel
Referring to competing schools of
thought, he writes: "Become a person
in whom different opinions can reside
together in the very depths of your
soul. Become a religious person who
can live with ambiguity, who can feel
religious conviction and passion with-

DAVID

HARTMAN

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and,
above all, Maimonides.
As he writes in the lead essay,
"Judaism as an Interpretive Tradition,"
the word, at the deepest, most funda-
mental level of Torah culture, embod-
ies the living reality of God."
Some of the essays included here
began as talks Rabbi Hartman gave to
Christian theologians visiting Israel, in
which he tried to provide access to
Judaism. Harvard professor and
author -Harvey Cox compares Rabbi
Hartman to Rabbi Abraham Joshua
Heschel, stating that each "can speak
to both his own people and to others
with equal clarity."
Other essays were written with sec-

Rabbi David Hartman
argues for an
empathetic brand of
religious pluralism.

SAN DEE B RAWARS KY
Special to the Jewish News

R

"I want a
culture of
disagreement,
born of
empathetic
listening."

eading Rabbi David
Hartman's new book
is like taking a course
in the ideas of one of
the most creative thinkers in the
Jewish world. A Heart of Many
Rooms: Celebrating the Many
Voices within Judaism (Jewish
Lights; $24.95) is a collection of
powerful essays, written over a
30-year period.
Among the topics addressed
by the scholar and philosopher
are family and mitzvah, revela-
tion and creation, spirituality,
faith, the biblical and talmudic
traditions, Jewish education,
memory, tradition and moderni-
ty, religious diversity, communi-
ty and the State of Israel. He also
writes passionately about the teachings
of other great thinkers, including
Rabbis Abraham Joshua Heschel and
Yeshayahu Leibowitz.
It's a book that demonstrates its
premise: the importance of listening to
other points of view, struggling and
arguing when there's disagreement,
always with respect. "This is Hartman
as participating in the interpretive tradi-
tion," the author says in a telephone
interview from his home in Jerusalem.
He speaks at a rapid clip, with excite-

9/17
1999
00 Detroit Jewish News

— Rabbi David Hartman

out the need for simplicity and
absolute certainty." He doesn't see this
book as "the final word," but an invita-
tion to study, discussion and argument.
An Orthodox rabbi, he led congre-
gations in the northeast Bronx
(Ansche Emet) and in Montreal before
making aliyah in 1971. From his 17
years as a pulpit rabbi, he learned that
the role of the rabbi was not so much
to provide answers as to create ques-
tions." His own philosophical appreci-
ation of Judaism was most influenced
by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchek,

ular Jews in mind, and some directed
toward Diaspora Jews as he aims to
explain Israel and its "spiritual
depths." He'd like others to "under-
stand Israel not just as a haven against
anti-Semitism but as a new renaissance
of Jewish life."
He's outspoken on the subject of
religious pluralism, taking issue with
Orthodox people who would reject
Conservative and Reform Jews. "It's a
tragic error. Judaism is a culture of
argumentation, not dismissal. If you
disagree, you talk with them," he says,

adding, "I never heard my rebbe call
anyone a heretic."
"For me, Judaism is always in discus-
sion with other cultures, other views.
Orthodoxy dies if it only speaks with
itself The challenges are critical for
keeping Orthodoxy honest." He under-
stands that his position is "risky. I have
faith in arguments, in human intelli-
gence. I made an appeal for a return to
Lithuanian spirituality — arguing
rather than going to the rebbe."
He believes that all the talk about
continuity in the Jewish world is wrong-
headed. "Stop worrying about continu-
ity. Worry about content," he says.
Rabbi Hartman is a public intellec-
tual grounded in communicating with
people from many backgrounds.
Frequently quoted in newspapers like
the New York Times for his insights
into Israeli society, he writes books
that are challenging but accessible.
The winner of two National Jewish
Book Awards, he is now working on a
critical study of Rabbi Soloveitchik's
teachings.
This fall, a book based on a series
of lectures he gave at Yale University,
Meditating God's Presence: Torah,
Creation, History, will be published.
And the paperback edition of A Living
Covenant: The Innovative Spirit in
Traditional Judaism is newly available.
He spends his days learning and
thinking and meeting people. "I don't
allow myself intellectual complacency.
I am still looking, hungry for insight
and understanding," he says.
Many years ago, a professor at City
College in New York advised him that
he would benefit a great deal if he
read books he didn't agree with. That
has been an important motto for him.
"I don't see disagreement as disrespect.
Its a sign of taking a person seriously,"
he says, and adds, "I want a culture of
disagreement, born of empathetic lis-
tening."
One topic not covered in A Heart
of Many Rooms is the theme of women
and Judaism. When questioned about
this, Rabbi Hartman explains that it's
an issue the Institute is working on —
one of the most important religious
issues of the time" — that is deep in
his own thinking and will soon surface
in his writing.
When asked about playing a role in
Israeli government, he promptly
answers that he's not interested in
political power. But he would be inter-
ested in learning about public officials.
"I disagree with Plato on the idea of a
Philosopher King. It's dangerous for
philosophers to want to have power.
They should influence power." II

"