Mark Solomon

Leo Baeck College, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Faculty Member

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Address: London, United Kingdom

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Francesca Bregoli

Queens College of the City University of New York

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Giulia Sissa

Ucla

Silvia Barbantani

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Catholic University of the Sacred Heart)

Catherine Hezser

SOAS University of London

Geoffrey Kron

University of Victoria

Yehuda Halper

Bar-Ilan University

Peter W . Ochs

Boston College

Simeon Chavel

University of Chicago

Renaud Gagné

University of Cambridge

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Papers by Mark Solomon

A Strange Conjunction

The Jewish Quarterly, 2013

A Strange Conjunction

The Praise of Silence

European Judaism, 2013

&#39;The Praise of Silence&#39; is a reflection on silence in the face of the mystery of ... more &#39;The Praise of Silence&#39; is a reflection on silence in the face of the mystery of the divine, and on divine and human silence in the face of suffering and evil, as well as on the author&#39;s own ambivalence about silence. It begins by considering three traditional translations of Psalm 65:2: &#39;Praise is fitting for You, O God, In Zion,&#39; &#39;Praise waits for You, O God, in Zion,&#39; and the Targum&#39;s interpretation, &#39;To You silence is praise, O God, in Zion.&#39; The last of these is the main focus of the paper. Rashi explains the verse in two ways: firstly, the futility of multiplying words in praise of God, so that the best praise is silence. The roots of this doctrine lie in a Talmudic story, paralleled by a saying of Jesus and by teachings in other religious and philosophical systems, both eastern and western. The via negativa of Maimonides is the most powerful expression of this in Judaism. Rashi&#39;s second interpretation shifts the focus from human to divine silence, and suggests that God is to be praised for remaining silent in the face of the destruction of the Temple and the blasphemy of the wicked. This derives from a passage in Midrash Tehillim which culminates with the Psalmist&#39;s own commitment to stay silent in the face of suffering, a stance which is in tension with the moral imperative of speaking out in the face of evil. This imperative is expressed both by the mediaeval poet who rebukes God&#39;s silence in the face of Crusader atrocities, and by the motto of 1980s AIDS activism: Silence = Death. The third part of the paper looks at another difficult Talmudic passage which contrasts the silence enforced by human tyranny with the voluntary silence of those who suffer at the hand of God. Two contrasting stories in the Talmud have God, on the one hand, commanding Moses to be silent in the face of the inscrutable divine will, and on the other hand, to speak out in aid of God&#39;s work. In conclusion, there is &#39;a time to be silent&#39; in the face of mysteries beyond our grasp, but &#39;a time to speak&#39; when we must protest against human evil and end avoidable suffering.

Scandal or the Birth of a Prophet

European Judaism, 1999

THE PRAISE OF SILENCE

European Judaism, ed. J. Magonet, Volume 46, No. 2, Autumn 2013, 2013

'The Praise of Silence' is a reflection on silence in the face of the mystery of the divine, and ... more 'The Praise of Silence' is a reflection on silence in the face of the mystery of the divine, and on divine and human silence in the face of suffering and evil, as well as on the author's own ambivalence about silence. It begins by considering three traditional translations of Psalm 65:2: 'Praise is fitting for You, O God, In Zion,' 'Praise waits for You, O God, in Zion,' and the Targum's interpretation, 'To You silence is praise, O God, in Zion.' The last of these is the main focus of the paper. Rashi explains the verse in two ways: firstly, the futility of multiplying words in praise of God, so that the best praise is silence. The roots of this doctrine lie in a Talmudic story, paralleled by a saying of Jesus and by teachings in other religious and philosophical systems, both eastern and western. The via negativa of Maimonides is the most powerful expression of this in Judaism. Rashi's second interpretation shifts the focus from human to divine silence, and suggests that God is to be praised for remaining silent in the face of the destruction of the Temple and the blasphemy of the wicked. This derives from a passage in Midrash Tehillim which culminates with the Psalmist's own commitment to stay silent in the face of suffering, a stance which is in tension with the moral imperative of speaking out in the face of evil. This imperative is expressed both by the mediaeval poet who rebukes God's silence in the face of Crusader atrocities, and by the motto of 1980s AIDS activism: Silence = Death. The third part of the paper looks at another difficult Talmudic passage which contrasts the silence enforced by human tyranny with the voluntary silence of those who suffer at the hand of God. Two contrasting stories in the Talmud have God, on the one hand, commanding Moses to be silent in the face of the inscrutable divine will, and on the other hand, to speak out in aid of God's work. In conclusion, there is 'a time to be silent' in the face of mysteries beyond our grasp, but 'a time to speak' when we must protest against human evil and end avoidable suffering.

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The Virtue of Necessity: Necessary Existence in the Thought of Ḥasdai Crescas

MA dissertation (unpublished) on the concept of necessary existence and the central role it plays... more MA dissertation (unpublished) on the concept of necessary existence and the central role it plays in the thought of the Catalan Jewish philosopher Hasdai Crescas. It is argued that necessary existence is a central thread running through the thought of Crescas on the existence and nature of God, creation, freedom and determinism, and the relation of God to human beings, and that a focus on this concept, and the associated concept of goodness, demonstates the unity and consistency of Crescas's thought.

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Christ Through Jewish Eyes

Aspects of Liberal Judaism: Essays in Honour of John D. Rayner, ed. D. J. Goldberg and E. Kessler, Valentine Mitchell, 2004

This article argues that the role Christ plays theologically for Christians is played for Jews by... more This article argues that the role Christ plays theologically for Christians is played for Jews by the Torah, and that both are conceptually related to the Biblical idea of Wisdom and the of Logos of Philo of Alexandria, serving as a sacred bridge between the human and the divine. The roles of Christ and Torah, respectively, are explored through the theological prism of creation, revelation and redemption, including a discussion of sin and atonement in Judaism and Christianity. The phenomenological similarities of eucharistic ritual and the ceremony of reading the Torah are considered. The article concludes with reflection on the meaning of the disparate manifestations of the logos in the two religions, and what this might mean in a contemporary, non-literalist understanding of both the incarnation and the revelation at Sinai.

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A Strange Conjunction

The Jewish Quarterly, 2013

A Strange Conjunction

The Praise of Silence

European Judaism, 2013