Jewish Materialism

Explore the roots of modern Judaism beyond the well-known events, including the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel, with Jewish Materialism. Historian Eliyahu Stern delves into mid-nineteenth-century Europe and uncovers the innovative thinkers who reconstructed Judaism's core tenets to promote equality and the fair distribution of resources in society. Combining the teachings of biblical and Kabbalistic works with the ideals of Marx and Darwin, these upstarts redefined Judaism as a religion rooted in labor, land, and bodies. Challenging traditional notions of nationalism and secularization, this revisionist account will shift your paradigm of the modern Jewish experience.