In these 48 essays, most of which were published in Haaretz newspaper, Yaacov Shavit wanders between various episodes in Jewish and Christian history and culture.

Israel's recent constitutional political crisis marks the moment when civil duty becomes an existential question: are civilians obliged to obey an administration chosen in a democratic process, even if it means harm to justice, decency or elementary democratic values? The main claim made in this essay is that two types of civil disobedience are to be categorized: disobedience of law or policy, and disobedience of legality.

When is a state authorized to demand of its civilians to sacrifice their lives in war? When is it authorized to demand of its soldiers to kill soldiers of an opposing army in war? According to politico-liberal theory, a state is authorized to oblige its civilians to participate only in a defensive war. However, some groups in Israel believe that a state is authorized to demand of its civilians to participate in a war of necessity, such as a war rooted in religious elements.

This book offers a rich selection of literary dialogues and articles by Iris Murdoch (1919-1999). Murdoch offers a new literary and philosophical perspective on love, ethics, religion and art.

This book examines the essentiality of the component of enjoyment to a good life. John Kekes reflects upon historical episodes and literary works, and shows how literature is a better guide than the search for general theories and principles, which constitute a central part of contemporary deontological ethics, consequentialism, and concrete thought.

The Shema prayer is, among other things, the demand to understand. Prominent thinkers such as Saadia Gaon, Bahya ibn Paquda and the Rambam all made tremendous efforts to understand it, which were highly controversial. This controversy pushed aside the discussion of the uniqueness of God, which ended up in the field of the history of ideas. This book is an attempt to revive the metaphysical reading of the uniqueness of God, while addressing these controversies. It offers a explanation of Shema, which is loyal to the constitutive Jewish sources on the one hand and in dialogue with modern thought on the other.