Novak as Exegete

• In Event: The Moral Hermeneutics of David Novak

Abstract

This presentation is a study of David Novak’s exegesis of God’s covenants with Noah and Abraham. The former, described in Genesis 9, is important for Novak because of the Noahide code, where Novak first locates natural law in Judaism, while the latter, described in Genesis 15, holds significance for him primarily in the context of God’s election. For Novak, the two covenants differ in degree, rather than kind. Indeed, in the ELECTION OF ISRAEL, Novak writes that the Abrahamic covenant marks the development of a “substantive relationship” between humans and God. This account of Abraham’s covenant raises a number of questions. The first, posed by Matthew Levering, is that, in his emphasis on adherence to the Noahide code, Novak does not sufficiently account for the participation of the nations in God’s promise to Abraham. The second question is that for the rabbis of the Talmud the two covenants are categorically different from one another. According to a statement in tractate NEDARIM, one who prohibits upon himself any association with Noahides is permitted to interact with descendants of Abraham, implying that the covenant with Abraham breaks with the previous covenant. To address these questions, it is necessary to look into Novak’s exegesis of the biblical texts. Such an analysis will highlight the key differences between Novak’s interpretation and the rabbinic approach but will also raise the possibility that Novak’s views of the covenant are shaped, in part, by his biblical interpretation. The texts upon which I will base this presentation will include LAW AND THEOLOGY IN JUDAISM (first and second series), THE JEWISH SOCIAL CONTRACT, “Creation and Election,” and THE ELECTION OF ISRAEL.

Author

• Jonathan Lawrence Milevsky, Forest Hill Jewish Centre