כוכב הגאולה שלה: רחל (אלזה) פרוינד ופירושה ל'כוכב הגאולה' של פרנץ רוזנצווייג

This article is dedicated to the life story and thought of Rachel Freund – a religious woman, a philosopher, a Zionist, and a social activist, pioneering and unique in all these fields, and who played a role in introducing Rosenzweig’s memory and teachings to Israel. A circle of Jerusalem scholars, some of whom were close acquaintances of Rosenzweig – Samuel Hugo Bergman,Martin Buber, Akiva Ernst Simon, and Gershom Scholem – expressed great appreciation for her work, and she corresponded with them. From her articles and letters, it appears that she saw in Rosenzweig’s book a social-Zionist message, and for this reason, she acted over the years to promote its publication in Hebrew.Through her personal biography, the story of a small segment of Orthodox Central- European Jewish immigrants to Israel is revealed, as is the intellectual fermentation surrounding Rosenzweig’s teachings that continued to affect them even here. These were religious Zionists who found in Rosenzweig’s teachings a modern Jewish theology, an Orthodox message, a social and even a Zionist mission. In him they found a true ba’al teshuvah (penitent), and in translating his writings, a creative act of social and religious significance.Alongside the biographical background, the article reviews several elements of the‘philosophy of faith’ that Freund found in Rosenzweig. This presentation is philosophical-biographical: its purpose is to describe Rosenzweig’s unique philosophy from her perspective and thus point to the close connection and reciprocal influence between her work and he rphilosophical world – a connection that is itself borrowed from Rosenzweig.