Radicalizing Prophetical Anthropology and Messianism. Maimonides Under the Lens of Joseph Soloveitchik

Moses Maimonides plays a critical role in the life and thought of Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993), the philosopher-rabbi and leader of Modern Orthodox movement. The medieval rabbi is both the “comforting memory” of Soloveitchik’s childhood and the authoritative philosopher and Talmudist, whom Soloveitchik strives to bring into his own view. In this article, I will show how Soloveitchik appropriatesand radicalizes several traits of Maimonides’ prophetical anthropology and messianism. The fi gure of Abraham is emblematic. Building on Maimonides’ Abraham, Soloveitchik adds to his character an existential-utopian dynamism. What emerges is a multifaced Abraham: both a heuristic fi gure to investigate the contradictions of human nature, and a “living” source of models of human redemption in a time of hester panim.