The Image of The Non-Jew in Judaism

The image of the non-Jew has had a profound influence on how Jews have interacted with actual non-Jews they have encountered at various points in their history, says Novak (religion and philosophy, U. of Toronto), and has also shaped how they understood their own identity, by specifying just what distinguishes them from the non-Jews around them. His method is to describe the use of the concept of the seven commandments of the suns of Noah, Noahide law, which provides a framework for just about every serious Jewish treatment of the image of the non-Jew. Among his topics are the law of idolatry, sexual relations, Maimonides' theory of Noahide Law, and Hermann Cohen and the Jewish neo-Kantians. First published by the Edwin Mellon Press in 1983. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)