Paul R. Mendes-Flohr (born 17 April 1941) is a leading scholar of modern Jewish thought. As an intellectual historian, Mendes-Flohr specializes in 19th and 20th-century Jewish thinkers, including Martin Buber,

Franz Rosenzweig Franz Rosenzweig (, ; 25 December 1886 – 10 December 1929) was a German theologian, philosopher, and translator. Early life and education Franz Rosenzweig was born in Kassel, Germany, to an affluent, minimally observant Jewish family. His fa ...

, Gershom Scholem and

Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...

.Martina Urban; Christian Wiese. ''German-Jewish Thought Between Religion and Politics. Festschrift in Honor of Paul Mendes-Flohr on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday.'' In: ''Studia Judaica.'' 60, 2012. Mendes-Flohr holds a doctorate from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

, which was supervised by Alexander Altmann,

Nahum Glatzer Nahum Norbert Glatzer (March 25, 1903 – February 27, 1990) was a scholar of Jewish history and philosophy from antiquity to mid 20th century. Life Glatzer was born in Lemberg, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Lviv in the west ...

, and Ben Halpern. Mendes-Flohr taught at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, where he is Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor Emeritus of Modern Jewish History and Thought. He is also Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He is co-author end co-editor, with Jehuda Reinharz, of a book for modern Jewish history, ''The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History,'' and with

Arthur A. Cohen Arthur Allen Cohen (June 25, 1928 – September 30, 1986) was an American scholar, art critic, theologian, publisher, and author. Scholar David M. Stern has written of Cohen: "Though he was best known as a novelist and theologian, he also pursue ...

'','' of a book on contemporary Jewish religious thought''.'' In 2019, Mendes-Flohr published a highly regarded Martin Buber biography entitled, ''Martin Buber: A Life of Faith and Dissent.'' The German translation appeared in 2022 and in Hebrew in 2023. His most recent work, ''Cultural Disjunctions: Post-Traditional Jewish Identities'', was published in 2021. In 2021, Mendes-Flohr began work o
The Global Lehrhaus
an international platform for education and reflection on issues of common concern. The Global Lehrhaus was inspired by the Freies Jüdisches Lehrhaus (Free House of Jewish Learning), a center for continuing education established by

, and later directed by Martin Buber. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mendes-Flohr has lived in Israel since 1970 where he currently resides with his wife, artis
Rita Mendes-Flohr
He has two children, both also artists, and four grandchildren.

Selected works

* ''Identität. Die zwei Seelen der deutschen Juden'' * *

' Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989. * ''Franz Rosenzweig and the Possibility of a Jewish Theology'' (forthcoming) * * ''German Jews: a dual identity'' 1999 * ''A land of two peoples: Martin Buber on Jews and Arabs'' Edited with commentary and a new preface by Paul R. Mendes-Flohr. * Divided passions: Jewish intellectuals and the experience of modernity (1991) * Martin Buber: a contemporary perspective (2002) * * Martin Buber: a life of faith and dissent (2019)

References

1941 births Living people Jewish historians Israeli historians Philosophers of Judaism University of Chicago faculty Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences {{judaism-philo-bio-stub