Littman Library of Jewish Civilization; 368 pages, $46.85)
Israel, the Jewish people, and Jewish thinkers have always been caught in the struggle between universalism and particularism. Theodore Herzl envisaged Jewish sovereignty as a way for Jews to become “normal”, allowing them to take a seat among the nations of the world. Yet many Zionists are more like Yeshayahu Leibovitz, who valued sovereignty simply because it freed him from subordination to goyim. Herzl wanted Jews to become part of the larger world; Leibovitz wanted to stay away. The Tanakh, too, suffers from this dialectic: Jews have a universal mission in the world “to be a blessing to all the nations of the earth” (Gen. 12:3), but also are “a people who dwells apart” (Numb. 23:9).