Abstract

Is rabbinic Judaism as a religious philosophy basically critical of the state as a form of human life? Does it contain an ethics of cohabitation with non-Jews? The paper argues that rabbinical Judaism is essentially in favor of states, but against a special Jewish state. The rabbinic principle “Dina de Malkhut Dina” (“The law of the Kingdom is valid and binding”) combined with the universalistic principles of the “noahidic covenant” is the adequate formula for statehood in the era of globalization. Concerning modern Jewish philosophy the paper argues that Leo Strauss fulfills the requirements of a political philosophy, while the thought of Emmanuel Levinas remains in the moral domain.