The Total State of the Torah
Isaac Breuer and the Foundations of Radical Orthodox Politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5348632 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Itamar Ben Ami (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 113 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 692-721 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Jewish Quarterly Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-6682 • E-ISSN: 1553-0604 |
| Publisher | Project MUSE (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1353/jqr.2023.a913350 |
| OpenAlex | W4389141372 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 1 |
When did Orthodox Jewish politics become radical? Some contemporary forms of Orthodox politics incline indeed toward "totality" and antiliberalism; however, until the 1930s, Orthodox politics was mostly conservative and not radical. This essay excavates the invention of radical Orthodox politics in the writings of one of Agudath Israel's prominent ideologues, Isaac Breuer. Struggling with the crisis of modernity as it came to light in the Weimar Republic of the 1920s, Breuer developed a Gnostic worldview that deemed reality a site of corruption and sin. To rectify this situation, Breuer formulated a Jewish version of the "Conservative Revolution," calling to establish a "total state of the Torah" based on "the national socialism of the state of God." The essay reveals how deeply German right-wing thought influenced Breuer and his circle, and it presents the ideational context of Orthodox radicalism, pointing to Breuer's struggles with his early neo-Kantianism
Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Ideology · Judaism · Modernity · Nazism · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · State (computer science · Theology · Torah · Critical Theory and Philosophy · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Jewish Identity and Society · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |