Title: Robert A. Burt, in the Whirlwind-God and Humanity in Conflict
Abstract: Robert A. Burt, In the Whirlwind--God and Humanity in Conflict. Cambridge, Massachusetts (USA): Harvard University Press, 2012: Pp. iixx; 382. ISBN 978067406566-6. Clothbound. $US29.95 believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, creates and rules all creatures, and that He alone made, makes and will make, all things.... I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be changed, nor will there be any other Torah from the Creator, blessed be His name. --from The Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith based on the Commentary to the Mishnah by Moses Maimonides, 12th Century It is rare indeed to discover a book such as In the Whirlwind, almost a religious text written by a Professor of Law at Yale Law School and published by such a prestigious publisher as Harvard University Press. That is exactly what this book is. The book's preface is an immersion into a passionate and most personal biography by Professor Burt demonstrating the motivating factors leading to writing this work. His father even went so far as to consider his son a Shortly before his father's death, when Burt was already a tenured law professor, his father said, I've read what you've written in your law review articles. You are a rabbi. This book of 382 pages sets out to present what few have ever attempted, namely to present the God of Hebrew Scripture and the God of Christian Scripture as the same God in relationship with humanity through conflict. This is a remarkable undertaking given the fact that it is well known that so-called Old Testament scholarship and New Testament scholarship are vastly different disciplines. What is referred to as the Department of Bible in an academic institution such as Harvard Divinity School would most often have faculty members skilled in either Hebrew Bible or Greek (Christian) Bible. I recall from my US Navy chaplaincy days that a reservist chaplain teaching on faculty of a small Southern bible college came to our naval base in San Diego, California for his annual two weeks of reserve duty. I noted readily that he did not know Hebrew. When I asked him what he taught in the college, he responded proudly, Old Testament. I was surprised that someone teaching Hebrew Scripture did know Hebrew. I will not go so far as to say that one cannot be learned and conversant in these two very dissimilar areas of study, but it is from the standpoint of serious scholarship that academia evaluates a book and its writer. Looking into the Whirlwind's endnotes it is obvious that Professor Burt relies heavily for his Bible knowledge on some of the greatest contemporary Bible scholars of impeccable credentials, including one of my favourites, Robert Alter. Others include: Richard Elliott Friedman, Harold Bloom, Raymond P. Scheindlin and the great anthropologist turned Bible scholar, Mary Douglas (d. 2007). While scholars and others referred to in the books are impressive, I ask the question, Where are the mediaevalists traditionally studied, such as Rashi of 11th Century France or his brilliant grandson Rashbam, or Nachmanides of 13th Century Spain? …
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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