Books by Martin Sicker

The Passover Seder, the most popular and widely celebrated occasion on the annual Jewish calendar, and its Haggadah, which is a unique combination of liturgy, biblical exegesis, and rabbinic lore, have both delighted and confounded celebrants for nearly two thousand years. Over time, the traditional Haggadah has become increasingly obscure as the distance between the authors and readers, in both chronological and cultural terms, widens over time. This is because the Haggadah is essentially a rabbinic work, much of which is written in a style similar to that found in the classic works of Rabbinic Judaism such as the Talmud and Midrash, works that demand much more from those who would understand them than casual perusal.Although some good translations of the Haggadah have appeared over the years, even the best is necessarily an interpretation as well, and may tend to obscure some of the nuances in the original language of composition that permit alternative explanations of the author's intent. The problem of maintaining fidelity to the original has become exacerbated as efforts to make the text more relevant to the modern reader have in some instances introduced assertions that, while essentially meaningful, bear little direct relation to the language and likely intent of the original work. This book strives to unravel the mysteries of the traditional text of the Haggadah and provide the reader insight into the highly sophisticated thought of its authors.

Judaism has always had adherents that, driven by both awe and love of God, strove to penetrate the mystery of divine wisdom and grasp what the philosopher deemed to be beyond the reach of man's rational faculty, as well as to explore other mysteries that seem to leap out from the pages of Scripture. These metarational leaps of intellect and imagination generally fit into the categories of the exoteric and the esoteric, referring to teachings traditionally considered suitable for public instruction and those deemed inappropriate for such purpose. The exoteric includes those attempts at intellectually and spiritually bridging the gap between God and man, that one finds strewn throughout the pages of the classical literature of Judaism. The esoteric includes those speculations and practices that have been more or less systematized and formulated and presented as mystical doctrines, that have been characterized since the Middle Ages as Kabbalah.The opening chapters of Aspects of Jewish Metarational Thought consider the question of the relationship between finite man and the unknowable God, and how the divine-human communication essential to that relationship takes place. Other chapters consider the purpose behind human existence and the critical aspects of the biblical account of the creation, issues relating to the idea of a visionary ascent to the celestial realm, the influence of metarational considerations on normative Jewish religious practice, and the special attributes believed to inhere in the Hebrew language and the role that these have played in metarational biblical interpretation from antiquity to the present.

Sicker argues that it is the achievement of orthocracy as the motivating concept of the state rather than democracy as its optimum form that is crucial for mankind in the 21st century, notwithstanding that the widespread adoption of substantive democracy may be the best currently conceivable means for reaching the goal of universal responsible statehood. In a critique of much modern political theory, Sicker reexamines the essential idea of the state as well as its purpose as understood from a variety of perspectives, a subject that has largely been neglected over the past several decades as a subject of interest to political theorists in the United States. He then considers the relationship of the state to its constituents, a subject that leads to a discussion of rights and obligations, and whether that relationship is defined entirely by the state or whether its constituents are endowed with natural rights that are independent of the state that the state must take into account in asserting its authority. This is followed by an extensive discussion of the corollary concepts of generic, social, political, and economic equality, and concludes with a consideration of some ideas that might serve as the motivating principles of an orthocratic state.The treatment of equality developed by Sicker differs in a number of respects from the approach taken in a good deal of modern writing on political theory, much of which is primarily concerned with the question of individual liberty. However, he argues equality must necessarily take precedence over liberty in the hierarchy of social values, that the primary social value is not liberty but equality, and that the claim of a right to individual liberty is clearly predicated on the presumed equality of men in society. This is a thoughtful analysis that will be of concern to scholars and students involved with political theory as well as the concerned citizen.

When Congress enacted Social Secuirty in 1935, with the age of retirement set at age 65, average life expectancy was 62 years. Since the enactment of Medicare, life expectancy has risen to age 76 today and may be expected to increase further in the decades to come.

Even if one has never read any Judaic literature, he or she will have some notion of what it is after reading this book. This book is written for the vast majority of adults who either attend synagogue or have a general interest in Judaism, whether Jewish or not.

A fresh look at ancient Middle Eastern and Roman history that will be invaluable for students and scholars of ancient history, post-biblical Jewish history and of Christian origins.

This volume examines the geopolitical forces and other factors that brought about the political decline of the Islamic world. It traces the long era of Muslim ascendency that reached its pinnacle with the siege of Vienna in 1529 and the subsequent decline of Ottoman power.

This work argues that much of the historical writing on modern Israel is apologetic and editorially filtered in conformity with a traditional Zionist historiography. This work aims to present an unromanticized recapitulation of the events and personalities that led to the birth of modern Israel.

The USSR's different spheres of influence each present their own special problems. Part II addresses current problems in Soviet geostrategic politics and includes discussions on their evolution and the necessity of their solution in order to preserve the viability of the USSR's spheres of influence.

In providing a rare systematic study of rabbinic political thinking -- as well as a basis for study of how its underlying theory might apply to contemporary political areanas -- The Judaic State proves to be valuable material to scholars of political philosophy, religion and society, and Jewish studies.

The author presnets a personal attempt to answer the question: "Where was God at Auschwitz?" and to discuss the central issues of Jewish thought. The text discusses early thinkers and argues that modern radical theologians have little to add to our understanding of God and the Judaic perspective.

Sicker asserts that the Mosaic canon, the Pentateuch, is first and foremost a library of essentially political teachings and documents, and that the first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis set forth in essence a general Mosaic political philosophy.

An examination of the fundamental norms of civic conduct considered essential to the emergence and moral viability of the "good society" envisioned in the source documents and traditions of Judaism. It covers the tensions in Jewish thought regarding the concept of democracy.

The geopolitical history of the Middle East in the twentieth century, which falls into three relatively distinct phases, is best understood when approached simultaneously from the global and the regional perspectives.

Sicker shows that the political history of the pre-Islamic Middle East provides ample evidence that the geopolitical and religious factors conditioning political decision-making tended to promote military solutions to political problems, making conflict resolution through war the norm, with the peaceful settlement of disputes quite rare.

Sicker examines the early stages of the process by which Palestine, an obscure and relatively miniscule backwater of the Ottoman Empire, became a critical factor in the history and convoluted politics of the modern Middle East.

Sicker examines the role of the United States within the Western Hemisphere and the geopolitical and geostrategic factors that have helped shape its policies in the region.