David Novak
David Novak
David Novakis a Jewish theologian, ethicist, and scholar of Jewish philosophy and law. He is an ordained Conservative rabbi and has also trained with Catholic moral theologians. Since 1997 he has taught religion and philosophy at the University of Toronto; his areas of interest are Jewish theology, ethics and biomedical ethics, political theoryand Jewish-Christian relations...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTheologian
CountryUnited States of America
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The Jewish tradition presents itself as the greatest revelation of God's truth that can be known in the world. That is why we call ourselves 'the chosen people.' It is not that we choose ourselves. It means that we have been elected by God and given the Torah.
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The most important part of the process of mourning is regularly reciting kaddish in a synagogue. Kaddish is a doxology, which Jewish tradition has mandated children to recite daily in a synagogue during the year of mourning for a deceased parent and then on the anniversary of his or her death thereafter.
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One cannot accept Christ and still be part of the normative Jewish community; one cannot live by Torah and still be part of the Church.
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When modern political Zionism emerged around the turn of the twentieth century, most Orthodox Jews opposed it.
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The work of man is to respond to the Covenant by obeying the commandments of the Torah, those commandments that can be obeyed here and now.
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Christianity and Judaism are united above all in their common affirmation and implementation of the moral teaching of the Hebrew Bible, or 'Old Testament,' and the traditions of interpretation of that teaching.
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If human language, with its logic, is the way God has given us to understand the world, then the Torah must be understood in that same language and with that same logic.
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The relationship between God and his people was always the one having absolute primacy, the one that had basically to determine all human relationships, whether those within the covenanted community itself or those between the covenanted community and the outside world.
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The relation between Judaism, Zionism, and Messianism is one that is often hard for Jews to get straight. Needless to say, it is even harder for non-Jews.
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A fully positive relationship between Christians and Jews is one that would elide all differences.
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Foundational autonomy asserts instead that in the most fundamental practical sense, I am my own creator, which means that at the core, I am alone.
rational
Most Jews, like most rational persons, know that their personal identity and their ethnic identity are not one and the same.
history takes within
Theological reflection takes place within history, but the history within which it takes place is an ongoing, open-ended process.
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As a practicing Jew, I have studied with Christian teachers whom I respect for who they are and what they are, including their positive concern with Jews and Judaism.