What Judaism Says About Politics: The Political Theology of the Torah

Rating:
Summary: Solid and informative.
Review: This volume by Martin Sicker delivers exactly what the title promises: the political theology of the Torah. Sicker winds his way easily among the Tradition's views of God, man, and society, developing a sound account of Jewish political theory.

In essence and in my own paraphrase, Sicker argues that in the main and on the whole, the Jewish approach to politics firmly subordinates "society" to the needs and the ethical development of the individual. Politics, for Judaism, is not an end in itself, still less an arena for bringing on the messianic age by human effort, but a way of securing basic social harmony so that individual persons can develop in accordance with the Tzelem Elohim. (This brief summary does not, of course, do anything like full justice to the contents of this fine book; Sicker's own account is richly nuanced and detailed, with many citations from Traditional sources.)

To my mind, at least, one of the outstanding merits of this work is that it _does_ stick to political theology, providing a standard against which political life is to be measured rather than specifically arguing for any one form of political organization. Those who, like me, believe that classical liberalism and capitalism are the proper form of societal organization on biblical and rational grounds, and that twentieth-century liberal Judaism's turn to the Left is a grave error, will naturally read Sicker's account as providing the theological underpinnings of a free society. But his account can also be profitably read by those who disagree with my politics _in toto_; it thereby provides common theological ground for discussion and debate among those who at least agree on foundational matters.

From this volume alone, I have no idea what Sicker's own political views are -- and I mean that as a compliment, given his selected topic. His focus is on theological fundamentals, not on bending Jewish tradition to support his favorite cause-of-the-day. In short, there is timeless wisdom in this book for anyone who cares to read it.