Abraham Geiger's Liberal Judaism: Personal Meaning and Religious Authority »

Ken Koltun-Fromm is Associate Professor of Religion at Haverford College and author of Moses Hess and Modern Jewish Identity (IUP, 2001), winner of the Koret Jewish Book Award for Philosophy and Thought.

German rabbi, scholar, and theologian Abraham Geiger (1810—1874) is recognized as the principal leader of the Reform movement in German Judaism. In his new work, Ken Koltun-Fromm argues that for Geiger personal meaning in religion — rather than rote ritual practice or acceptance of dogma — was the key to religion's moral authority. In five chapters, the book explores issues central to Geiger's work that speak to contemporary Jewish practice — historical memory, biblical interpretation, ritual and gender practices, rabbinic authority, and Jewish education. This is essential reading for scholars, rabbis, rabbinical students, and informed Jewish readers interested in Conservative and Reform Judaism.

Published with the generous support of the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation.

Choice

. . . Koltun-Fromm . . . convincingly articulates the heart of Geiger's theology. . . . Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division, undergraduates through faculty/researchers.