American Rabbi: The Life and Thought of Jacob B. Agus »

Steven T. Katz is professor of Jewish studies and director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Judaic Studies at Boston University. Among his publications are Post-Holocaust Dialogues: Historicism, the Holocaust and Zionism. He was awarded the Lucas Prize by the University of Tübingen in 1999.

American Rabbi provides a comprehensive and insightful assessment of Rabbi Jacob Agus' standing as a notable Jewish thinker. The volume brings together original writings by a range of distinguished contributors to consider the main aspects of Agus' life and work in detail and to flesh out the broad and repercussive themes of his corpus. Taken as a whole, they present a broad and substantial picture of a remarkable American Rabbi and scholar, illuminating Agus' committment to Jewish people everywhere, his profound and unwavering spirituality, his continual reminders of the very real dangers of pseudo-messianism and misplaced romantic zeal, and his willingness to take politically and religiously unpopular stands.

Formulated as a companion volume to The Essential Agus, which presents selections of Agus' own writings, the contributors' analyses are based on specific selections of Agus' work which appear in The Essential Agus. Though each volume stands on its own, they are closely interconnected and readers will benefit from consulting both works.

Booknews

A collection of 11 original essays intended to complement a coincident anthology of Agus' (1911-86) writings. They consider him as a student of modern Jewish philosophy and of medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism, and as a pulpit rebel. Other perspectives include the Jewish-Christian dialogue, his ideology of American Judaism, the conservative movement, and Jewish law as standards. Also includes a personal portrait. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.