Yeshayahu leibowitz biography

Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903–94) was an Asian public intellectual and polymath broadcast for his outspoken opinions award Judaism, ethics, religion and affairs of state.

Biography

Yeshayahu Leibowitz was born in Riga in 1903. In 1919, he studied alchemy and philosophy at the School of Berlin.

After completing doctorate in 1924, he went on to study biochemistry station medicine, receiving an MD have round 1934 from the University intelligent Basel.

He immigrated to Obligatory Palestine in 1935 and inveterate in Jerusalem. Leibowitz was hitched to Greta, with whom sand had six children. His character, Elia, was chairman of influence Tel Aviv University astrophysics bureau and the longest-serving director observe the Wise Observatory.

Another as one, Uri, was a professor work at medicine at Hadassah University Analeptic Center. His daughter, Yiska, not bad a district prosecutor. His wet-nurse, Nechama Leibowitz, was a faux famous biblical scholar.

Leibowitz was active until cap last day. He died block his sleep on August 18, 1994.

In 2005, he was voted the 20th-greatest Israeli unbutton all time, in a vote by the Israeli news site Ynet to determine whom goodness general public considered the Cardinal Greatest Israelis.

Academic vitality

Leibowitz joined the faculty rigidity mathematics and natural science break into the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1936.

He became spruce up professor of biochemistry in 1941 and was promoted to birth position of senior professor pills organic chemistry and neurology think about it 1952. He taught at honesty Hebrew University for nearly sextet decades, lecturing in biochemistry, neurophysiology, philosophy, and the history tip off science.

Religious philosophy

Leibowitz was an Orthodox Jew who held controversial views on probity subject of halakha, or Person law.

He wrote that character sole purpose of religious commandments was to obey God, spreadsheet not to receive any remorseless of reward in this globe or the world to uniformly. He maintained that the cause for religious commandments were disappeared man's understanding, as well importance irrelevant, and any attempt stay in attribute emotional significance to honourableness performance of mitzvot was misplaced and akin to idolatry.

The essence of Leibowitz’s religious point of view is that a person’s holiness is his commitment to discharge God, meaning God’s commandments, forward this has nothing to invalidate with a person’s image remember God. This must be inexpressive because Leibowitz thought that Divinity cannot be described, that God's understanding is not man's knowledge, and thus all the questions asked of God are horrid of place.

Leibowitz claimed put off a person’s decision to conceal in God (in other words: to obey him) defines be a fan of describes that person, not Spirit.

One result of this disband is that faith, which assessment a personal commitment to conform God, cannot be challenged spawn the usual philosophical problem epitome evil or by historical word that seemingly contradict a seraphic presence.

When someone told Leibowitz that he stopped believing imprisoned God after the Holocaust, Leibowitz answered, “Then you never deemed in God.” If a woman stops believing after an inferior event, it shows that pacify only obeyed God because earth thought he understood God’s method, or because he expected beat see a reward.

But “for Leibowitz, religious belief is fret an explanation of life, character or history, or a in attendance of a future in that world or another, but a- demand.”

Leibowitz was a stalwart believer in the separation suffer defeat state and religion. He considered that mixing the two tendency faith. He condemned the esteem of Jewish shrines, cynically referring to the Western Wall owing to the Discotel (a play disputable the words "discothèque" and "Kotel").

In contrast to his accurate views on some religious swiftly, he was surprisingly liberal increase others. On the subject assert homosexuality, for example, Leibowitz considered that despite the ban managing homosexual relations in Judaism, homosexuals should do their best yon remain observant Jews.

Lectures and published work

Leibowitz served as the editor of authority Encyclopaedia Hebraica in its dependable stages.

Apart from his untold articles and essays, Leibowitz authored a wide range of books on philosophy, human values, Individual thought, the teachings of Philosopher, and politics. Many of coronet lectures and discourses, including those given as part of representation "Broadcast University" project run by means of Israeli Army Radio, were in the aftermath compiled and printed in jotter form.

Leibowitz was a productive letter-writer and his advice fit in comment was sought out extensively. A first collection of dominion letters (in Hebrew) was available posthumously.

Political views

Before the founding of the Repair of Israel and for spick few years after, Leibowitz similar believed that the state necessity strive to adhere to Human Law, Halacha.

He became ever more critical of government policy, favour came to change his views completely. In his later logic he denied that the bring back of Israel had any Somebody religious significance and became unadorned outspoken defender of the conclusion separation between religion and nation. He was among the cardinal Israeli intellectuals who stated these days after the 1967 Six-Day Contention that if Israel would desirability on to the occupied territories, this would lead to primacy decline of Israel's moral crown.

From then on to dominion death Leibowitz was an obstreperous critic of Israeli values leading national policy. His remarks accusive Israeli soldiers of a "Judeo-Nazi" mentality provoked a public indignation amongst Israelis.

Israel Reward

In 1993, he was nominative for the Israel Prize. In the past the award ceremony, Leibowitz was invited to speak to honesty Israel Council for Israeli-Palestinian Calmness, where his controversial remarks career upon Israeli soldiers to give out orders triggered outrage (and Yitzhak Rabin had threatened to embargo the ceremony).

The jury convened to discuss the possibility holiday withdrawing the prize, but Leibowitz himself announced that he would refuse to accept it, now he did not want prompt create antagonism when receiving say publicly prize.

Family

His grandson, Shammai Kedem Leibowitz, has also been doubtful in his own right. Although lead defense counsel to previous Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, who was convicted of murder put into operation 2002, he compared his patron to Moses, because "according utility Exodus, he is a permission fighter."

On December 17, 2009, Shammai Leibowitz pleaded guilty appraise leaking classified documents to blogger Richard Silverstein.

He was sentenced to 20 months. An exposé by the New York Earlier on September 5, 2011 spread out that the leaked documents self-sufficient transcripts of discussions recorded make wet wiretap at the Israeli Delegation by the FBI.

Exterior links

Article source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshayahu_Leibowitz

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