Yeshayahu Leibowitz - A breakthrough in Jewish philosophy: Religion without metaphysics

This article is an analysis of the theological-philosophical revolution that Leibowitz's thought represents in the philosophy of religion in general and in Jewish philosophy in particular. This revolution relies on a positivist viewpoint, which denies any possibility of making statements about God. In his approach, statements about God are interpreted as statements denoting the relationship between the individual and God. Conventional religious beliefs - such as the belief in the creation or in revelation - become meaningless. Leibowitz therefore suggests a new interpretation, both of theoretical religious beliefs and of the normative system - the Halakha. The belief in revelation is construed as a human judgment, which endows the halakhic system with divine validity. Halakha does not draw its meaning from its divine source but from its inner religious meaning, which Leibowitz sees in worship.