Arguments for Heaven’s Sake!
The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies organized, over the course of the academic year 2012/13, the Seminar in Advanced Jewish Studies entitled: ‘Arguments for Heaven’s Sake! Orthodoxy, Theological Debate and Contemporary Judaism: A Critical Exploration of Questions Raised in the Thought of Louis Jacobs’. Convened by Dr Miri Freud-Kandel (OCHJS) and Prof. Adam Ferziger (BIU), its purpose was to address the place of rational debate, changing approaches to interpretations of revelation, the impact of gender issues, and the viability of concepts such as inclusivism, pluralism, and openness in contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Many of these topics reflect questions that were raised in the theological writings of Louis Jacobs. The research seminar provided an opportunity to bring together scholars to examine the principles and rabbinic texts upon which Jacobs built his theology. It considered the extent to which Orthodoxy has attempted to answer the questions Jacobs posed for it over fifty years ago.