Rabyam’s Principles of Faith: A Pan-Denominational,and Postmodern Jewish Theology

Abstract

This paper offers a contemporary pan-denominational and postmodern Jewish theology. It utilizes the tools of Jewish theological scholarship within a uniquely midrashic format. This format of creative narrative text and scholarly commentary grounds these theological principles within the recognizable stylized system of traditional Jewish exegesis. Rabyam’s theology and the accompanying integral commentary reflect and elucidate feminist, postmodern theological concerns and attitudes. It is my contention that this unique theology is a vital contribution to an inclusive twenty-first century understanding of the Divine. Though the principles of faith alone speak to a general audience, when combined with the annotated commentary, they fill a gap in current scholarship and contribute to a more holistic understanding of a post-modern Judaism not confined to a particular denomination or particular ethos. These principles reflect a Jewish world that is ‘fragmentary, contradictory and turbulent’, as theologian Emile Fackenheim argued (Fackenheim as cited in Goldy, 1990: 70).