Description:
This is an original, philosophical discussion in which André Neher relates the lives of prominent nineteenth- and twentieth-century Jews to traditional Jewish thought on issues of assimilation, the Holocaust, and liberal intellectualism.
Review Quotes:
"The book is an imaginative...brilliant discussion of the moral and religious plight of Jewish intellectuals in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The theme is that of Teshuvah or return. This is probably one of the best books written on this theme since Martin Buber's. The author is something of a poet, a biographer, a historian of ideas, even a sage. Few people are able to write in so profound and comprehensive a way. They Made Their Souls Anew is in a class by itself and is going to be talked about for a long time." -- Kenneth R. Seeskin, Northwestern University
"Neher thinks, in these pages, with learning, imagination, and with great honesty. He brings the past into contact with the present by focussing on a number of contemporary or near-contemporary figures (e.g., Lazare, Heine, Fondane) through whom the past and issues of Jewish identity in general are to be grasped. This gives both a sense of immediacy and a historical basis to the work. It is an interesting and valuable book." -- Berel Lang, State University of New York at Albany