Thinking with antisemites: contemporary Jewish engagements with Heidegger

This article discusses three contemporary cases of Jewish engagements with Martin Heidegger, three examples of “thinking with antisemites” for the sake of Jewish thought. Neither ignoring the ever-increasing proofs of his disrepute nor making it the alpha and omega of his philosophy, they take Heidegger as a crucial interlocutor for contemporary Jewish thought—not despite but because of his antisemitism. It argues that these three cases provide us with three models for approaching Heidegger and Judaism together and for constructively “thinking with antisemites”: through, with, and against. The first model can be found in the work of Elliot R. Wolfson, the second in the work of Elad Lapidot, and the third in the work of Michael Chighel. It further demonstrates that in each case Heidegger is affiliated with a particular rendition of a biblical figure that encapsulates their respective understanding of the Judaism-Heidegger relationship and serves as a model and justification for thinking with antisemites. In Wolfson and Chighel, this figure is Balaam, the Moabite biblical prophet, and in Lapidot, it is Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian commander in charge of the destruction of the first Temple.

Duke Scholars

Author Daniel M Herskowitz Religious Studies