Claiming God: Theological predication and its limits in 'Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael' and 'The Star of Redemption' (Franz Rosenzweig)

This dissertation is a philosophical analysis of Jewish theological language that uses an early rabbinic commentary on the book of Exodus and a modern philosophical theology as its primary sources. As a response to the negative influence of philosophical and theological prejudices in the study of Jewish theology, the dissertation proposes a provisional model of Jewish theology that draws on the philosophical hermeneutics of Ricoeur and Gadamer, Pierre Hadot's studies of ancient philosophy, and William Alston's analytic religious epistemology. Driving this synthesis of hermeneutics with philosophical work on religious practices and their epistemology is the goal of making philosophical hermeneutics more amenable to theological truth claims. According to this model, Jewish theological language consists of multiple forms of theological predication that can be differentiated according to the religious practices or the religious belief-forming practices that produce and support the linguistic modes.; After completing the philosophical and methodological work of Chapters One and Two, the dissertation goes on to carry out an analysis of the theological language of the Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael and Franz Rosenzweig's work The Star of Redemption. The analysis of both texts focuses on exegesis, hermeneutics, reflection on divine perfection, and religious experience as sources for theological claims. Additionally, the dissertation also studies closely the limits that are placed on theological language in both texts. The constructive orientation of the dissertation emerges in the final chapter where a comparison of the theological language of the two texts produces insights into the theoretical and practical conditions for a rich theological reflection. The dissertation concludes with a critical assessment of the proposed model of Jewish theological language and the resources that it offers to future studies of Jewish theology.