Jews and Gentiles »

Milton Himmelfarb, perhaps best known for his quip that Jews earned like Episcopalians but voted like Puerto Ricans, was one of the most unfairly neglected essayists of his time. Now his sister, the distinguished historian Gertrude Himmelfarb, brings together the essential core of his social, political, and theological essays in this wide-ranging collection. From Leo Strauss and Spinoza to Hitler, Israel, and the place of religion in the public square, the sixteen essays in Jews and Gentiles offer readers a feast that is a literary delight as well as an intellectual revelation and a political education.

Introduction   Gertrude Himmelfarb     vii
Judaism and Modernity
Jews and Gentiles     3
Modernity and Religion     15
The Enlightenment: Pluralism and Paganism     41
"Judaism Is Against Paganism"     61
Ancients and Moderns
On Leo Strauss     69
Spinoza and Mendelssohn     87
Past and Present
No Hitler, No Holocaust     99
In the Light of Israel's Victory     119
"Never Again!"     145
Theology and Piety
What Do I Believe?     159
Going to Shul     165
Relevance in the Synagogue     179
The Vindictive and the Merciful: God of Wrath and God of Love     193
Religion and Politics
Jews, Episcopalians, Puerto Ricans     207
Church and State: How High a Wall?     223
Religion and the Public Square     243
Appendix
Milton Himmelfarb: A Bibliography     255
Index     263