Is judaism thiswordly?
pp. 255-277
in: Kostas Gavroglu, John Stachel, Mark W. Wartofsky (eds), Science, mind and art, Berlin, Springer, 1995Abstract
Excessive polarization of thisworldly and otherworldly oriented action in Judaism is challenged by the living and "calling" of Robert S. Cohen. By all appearances and by the criteria of Max Weber, Bob is an altogether secular Jew. But the life of inquiry, integrity, and the passionate commitment of the scholar, teacher, entrepreneur of ideas, and friend (as much as the erudition and involvement in Jewish life of his progeny and progeny's progeny) point to Bob's affinities with and nurturance by the tradition of Isaiah and the reversibility of Weber's concept of secularization. To him and to our more than two decades of the most delightful friendship, of reflecting upon and meeting "the "demands of the day' in human relations as well as in our vocations," I joyfully dedicate these musings.
