“In this beautiful book, Hanoch Ben-Pazi introduces the reader to four philosophical encounters between different major thinkers of the twentieth century. These meetings are either imagined or reconstructed against the backdrop of exchanges that actually took place between these thinkers during discussions whose issues still concern our modernity. Levinas is the guest of honor. Known for his predilection for ethics, and for his singular way of thinking about Judaism in tune with major philosophical questions, this philosopher delivers neither lectures, nor narrowly confessional remarks. Rather Ben-Pazi invites various high-quality guests to come

and meet him. However, he is not content merely to reconstruct these exchanges but also joins the conversation, with relevance and audacity, often taking a step back to emphasize what seems most important to him. He wants to encourage readers to listen well since it is indeed the humanity of all of us that is at stake.”

— Catherine Chalier, Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Nanterre University

“Rereading Levinas, Hanoch Ben-Pazi develops complex philosophical thoughts on themes such as witnessing, tradition, peace, translation, theodicy, forgiveness, interpretation, parenthood, and education. He masterfully brings Levinas into contact with Leibowitz, Buber, Kook, Soloveitchik, Derrida, Heidegger, Chouchani, Gandhi, and Spinoza. He hereby sheds new light on Levinas’s philosophy, his ethical-political thoughts, and his views on Jewish identity, religion, and hermeneutics. Ben-Pazi does not merely offer a careful, in-depth reading of Levinas’s oeuvre. He takes Levinas further than Levinas to discuss today’s vital questions. His impressive analysis makes Levinas accessible and relevant to the present-day reader. This book is a ripe fruit of a well-known Israeli academician. It is one of those books that stay with you for a long time.”

— Ephraim Meir, Professor Emeritus of Modern Jewish Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University

“By placing Levinas in direct conversation with a range of thinkers from Gandhi to Derrida, and by drawing on the philosophers who influenced Levinas’s thinking, Hanoch Ben-Pazi has produced a stunning book that situates Levinas’s work in a wider context. By also focusing on Levinas’s broad range of themes, Ben-Pazi provides his readers not only with a deeper understanding but also a more complex picture of Levinas’s ethical project.”

  — Claire Katz, Professor of Philosophy and Education, Texas A&M University

“Ben-Pazi places Emmanuel Levinas in a fascinating and profound dialogue with more than a dozen leading contemporary philosophers, including Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, Martin Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, Jean-Paul Sartre, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, and Joseph Ber Soloveitchik. However, he surprisingly and compellingly argues that Levinas’ ‘primary role model’ was the oft-forgotten Parisian Jewish humanist, Léon Brunschvicg.”

— Warren Zev Harvey, Professor Emeritus, Department of Jewish Thought, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

“Hanoch Ben-Pazi’s Emmanuel Levinas and His Interlocutors offers a groundbreaking perspective on Levinasian thought through sophisticated philosophical comparisons that illuminate Levinas’s ethical vision with remarkable clarity. By engaging Levinas in dialogue with intellectual giants such as Spinoza, Heidegger, Buber, and Derrida, this work moves beyond traditional analysis to reveal the contemporary relevance of his ethics. With an innovative framework that explores testimony, political justice, religious terminology, and interpretation, this book not only reassesses Levinas’s contributions but also opens new pathways for understanding the ethics of alterity in modern Jewish thought and beyond.”

— Annabel Herzog, Professor of Political Theory at the School of Political Science, University of Haifa

Introduction

First Gate: Dialogue with Teachers

1. In Search of Universalism in Judaism:

Léon Brunschvicg in the Eyes of Emmanuel Levinas

2. Responsibility beyond Heidegger:

Ethical Dwelling and the Glory of Bearing Witness

3. The Meaning of Dialogue in Levinas’s Philosophy:

Levinas Versus Buber

4. A Philosopher in the Eye of the Storm:

Monsieur Chouchani and Levinas’s “Nameless” Essay

Second Gate: Sociopolitical Dialogues

5. Jewish Identity beyond Halakhah: Levinas Following Buber from Spiritual Renewal to an Ethical and Just Society

6. Thinking about Ethical Politics:

Gandhi’s Spirituality Versus Levinas’s Philosophy

Third Gate: New Questions for Religious Beliefs

7. The Immense House of Postcards:

The Idea of Tradition Following Levinas and Derrida

8. Theodicy as the Justified Demands of Atheism:

Yeshayahu Leibowitz Versus Emmanuel Levinas

9. Beyond Forgiveness and the Impossibility of Forgiveness:

Levinas Versus Spinoza

Fourth Gate: Ethical Interpretation

10. In the Garden of Postmodern Interpretation with

Derrida and Levinas

11. When Philosophers Read the Talmud:

Levinas, R. Kook, and R. Soloveitchik

12. The Phenomenology of Pregnancy, Maternity, and Parenthood

in R. Soloveitchik and Levinas

Appendix to Gate Four

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index