The Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel are two dramatic events that occurred in the mid-20th century and completely changed the situation of the Jewish people and the existential condition of the Jews. This part of the Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought will be devoted to the work of thinkers who dealt with the philosophical and theological significances of these events and with the necessity to re-examine fundamental issues of Jewish existence during this period.

The course will be devoted to Jewish thinkers in the 20th century and to the exploring the conceptual responses to the Holocaust and contemporary issues such as: the purpose of the State of Israel, the future of Jewish existence in the Diaspora, the concept of Judaism as a culture, Jewish feminism and aspirations for the renewal of Jewish life. Among the thinkers that will be discussed in the course are: Emmanuel Levinas, Mordechai Kaplan, Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, Yosef Schechter, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Rabbi Soloveitchik, David Hartman, Hans Jonas, Eliezer Berkowitz, Haim Cohen, Cynthia Ozik,  Albert Memmi, Yeshayahu Leibowitz and others.