Abstract

Many thinkers consider Emil L. Fackenheim's post-1967 thought marginal because it seeks to uncover religious meaning in the events of the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel. I find Fackenheim's later thought to be of compelling relevance for North American Jewry precisely because the Holocaust and the State of Israel are two major wellsprings of contemporary Jewish identity. I contend that a renewed encounter with Fackenheim can indeed be fruitful for North American Jews. This study will present facets of Fackenheim's thinking in a way that points to their relevance to questions of Jewish identity today. I will show that Fackenheim's attempts to uncover religious and philosophical meaning in the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel--however incomplete and problematic his formulations may be--are important for contemporary North American Jews seeking to come to terms with these two monumental events of the twentieth century