Nachman Krochmal

This is a book-length study of the thought of Nachman Krochmal, a seminal 19th century Jewish thinker and historian born in Galico. It takes account of all of Krochmal's work, not merely selected pieces, providing a different model with which we may view the Jewish encounter with modernity. These challenges stem from the advent of a modern culture - conceived and developed by Protestants, often at the expense of traditional Jewish ideas - creating a crisis of confidence for some Jews. Krochmal's aim was to guide those Jews who were "perplexed" by the modern revolution in metaphysical and historical thinking. Harris shows how Krochmal's attempt to restore balance to the Jewish confrontation with the modern world derived not only from his reconstruction of the rabbinic movement, but also from his reconstruction of Jewish metaphysics. Through this examination Harris shows how Krochmal provided a different model with which we may view the encounter of Jews with the modern world.