[net.religion.jewish] Who Is Eliezer Berkovits?

mvm@whuxk.UUCP (MASON) (06/04/84)

From Ken Wolman, BellCore/Morristown

I had a communication this morning asking for information about
the identity of Eliezer Berkovits.  In addition to answering the
person who contacted me, I figured I'd put my answer on the
public Net.

Eliezer Berkovits is an Orthodox-trained scholar who was on the
faculty of Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, where he taught
Jewish Philosophy and Ethics.  He was ordained at the
Hildesheimer Seminary in Berlin, I believe in the late '20's,
and was in the camps during the war.  He has written at least
two books about the Holocaust: "Faith After the Holocaust" and
"With God in Hell," the latter of which is one of the few books
I can say changed my life.  It presents a counterview to Richard
Rubinstein's "God is Dead" theology by presenting instances where
Jewish observance was maintained in Auschwitz, et. al., despite
what probably were "reasons" to turn one's back on both God and
man.  

As I understand it, Berkovits retired several years ago and
made aliyah.  My use of his name was occasioned by the fact that
a few weeks ago he was attacked in the Jewish Press as a
Conservative (!).  In fact, he is one of the more liberal voices
in Orthodoxy, and has spoken out for dialogue between Orthodoxy
and the other "groups" within Judaism.