Marc-Alain Ouaknin (born 5 March 1957) both a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and a

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. He is the son of Rabbi Jacques Ouaknin (b. 1932,

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...

, Morocco) and Eliane Erlich Ouaknin (b. 1932, Lille; d. 2007, Marseille.) His father is the Grand Rabbi of the French cities of

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, Lille, Metz, and Marseille. Ouaknin dedicated his best-known work, ''The Burnt Book'', to "my father, my master, Grand Rabbi Jacques Ouaknin."

Biography

Ouaknin holds a doctorate in philosophy and is the Director of the Centre De Recherches Et D’études Juives in Paris. He is also a professor of comparative literature at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. A major focus of his work since the 1980s has been to comment upon and extend the philosophy of Emmanuel Lévinas by comparing Levinas's writings to other Jewish texts—in particular to those of Hasidism and the Kabbalah. His work is in the continental philosophical tradition and emphasizes concepts current in French intellectual life. Unlike traditional rabbinic discourse, Ouaknin regularly cites thinkers outside the Jewish tradition, such as the psychoanalyst

Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, , ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud", Lacan gave yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, and pu ...

and the phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

Literary works

Ouaknin's books and articles have been translated into more than twenty languages. His best-known book in the English-speaking world is ''The Burnt Book (Le livre brûlé'').

Partial bibliography

* ''The Burnt Book: Reading the Talmud'', translation by Llewellyn Brown of ''Le livre brûlé, Lire le Talmud'', Princeton University Press (1995) * ''Le livre brûlé, Lire le Talmud'', Lieu Commun (1986); Seuil (1992) * ''La bible de l'humour juif'', with D. Rotnemer, Ramsay (1995); J'ai lu (2002) * ''

Jean Daviot Jean Daviot (born February 20, 1962) is a French contemporary artist born in Digne. He went to the art school at the Villa Arson in Nice and lives and works in Paris. Work Jean Daviot distinguishes himself by the exploitation of various ways of ...

, Le ciel au bout des doigts, Paris Musées /Actes Sud, (2004)

References

1957 births Living people French rabbis French Orthodox rabbis 21st-century French philosophers Jewish philosophers Philosophers of Judaism French male non-fiction writers 20th-century French rabbis 21st-century French rabbis Rabbis from Paris Paris Nanterre University alumni Academic staff of Bar-Ilan University {{France-rabbi-stub