Why Leo Strauss’s Jewish Thought Matters

A refugee from Nazi Germany, a lifelong Zionist, an original and erudite scholar of the Western philosophical tradition, and a political thinker who exerted a major influence on American conservatism, Leo Strauss was a complex figure. He also authored important works about Maimonides, Judah Halevi, Spinoza, and the modern Jewish condition. In conversation with J.J. Kimche, Leora Batnitzky tries to clear up common misconceptions about Strauss while arguing that he must be considered “a significant contributor to modern Jewish thought,” whose philosophical approach cannot be understood without attention to his writings on Jewish subjects. (Audio, one hour.)