The Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers showcases outstanding Jewish thinkers who have made lasting contributions to constructive Jewish philosophy in the second half of the 20th century. Each volume is devoted to one particular thinker and is meant to show the thinker's relationship to the Jewish philosophical past and to contemporary Jewish existence. Each volume follows the same structure: a bio-bibliographical essay by the editors, four seminal essays by the philosopher, an interview with the editors, and a select bibliography of 120 items. Together the volumes in the Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers will feature the diversity and vitality of contemporary Jewish philosophy, will stimulate discussion on Jewish philosophical response to contemporary challenges, and will chart new paths for Jewish philosophy in the 21st century. Available in print and electronically, the books in the Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers will be ideal for use in diverse educational settings (e.g., college-level courses, rabbinic seminaries, adult Jewish learning, and inter-religious dialogue). This volume features Eliezer Schweid's philosophy of Judaism for a secular age.

The volume brings together four of Schweid's most original and influential philosophical essays and an interview with him that together express his fundamental outlook: the faith of a secular Jew; freely choosing loyalty to his or her national culture; and drawing on Jewish heritage to inform how to act responsibly toward one's neighbor, one's people, the world, and God. The themes span the gamut of Schweid's life work: the existential loneliness of the modern Jew; Judaism as a culture; faith in light of the Holocaust; and appreciation for secular humanism with awareness of its shortcomings, given the enduring legacy of the Jewish biblical heritage. Eliezer Schweid has been Professor Emeritus of Jewish Philosophy at Hebrew University since 1998. Book jacket.