On Sacrifice - Paperback

by Moshe Halbertal (Author)

The idea and practice of sacrifice play a profound role in religion, ethics, and politics. In this brief book, philosopher Moshe Halbertal explores the meaning and implications of sacrifice, developing a theory of sacrifice as an offering and examining the relationship between sacrifice, ritual, violence, and love. On Sacrifice also looks at the place of self-sacrifice within ethical life and at the complex role of sacrifice as both a noble and destructive political ideal.

In the religious domain, Halbertal argues, sacrifice is an offering, a gift given in the context of a hierarchical relationship. As such it is vulnerable to rejection, a trauma at the root of both ritual and violence. An offering is also an ambiguous gesture torn between a genuine expression of gratitude and love and an instrument of exchange, a tension that haunts the practice of sacrifice.

In the moral and political domains, sacrifice is tied to the idea of self-transcendence, in which an individual sacrifices his or her self-interest for the sake of higher values and commitments. While self-sacrifice has great potential moral value, it can also be used to justify the most brutal acts. Halbertal attempts to unravel the relationship between self-sacrifice and violence, arguing that misguided self-sacrifice is far more problematic than exaggerated self-love. In his exploration of the positive and negative dimensions of self-sacrifice, Halbertal also addresses the role of past sacrifice in obligating future generations and in creating a bond for political associations, and considers the function of the modern state as a sacrificial community.

Back Jacket

"Moshe Halbertal has a tremendous knack for turning arcane topics and esoteric texts into the most exciting and topical ideas to think about. On Sacrifice moves from biblical practices of animal sacrifice to modern ideas about self-sacrifice in war. The book is at its most profound in sorting out the relation between violence and sacrifice. Altogether, this is a very moving and deep book--philosophically, anthropologically, and religiously."--Avishai Margalit, author of On Compromise and Rotten Compromises

"A rich, fresh, and gently intense meditation, and one that will engage anyone interested in what the author calls 'the most primary and basic form of ritual' known to humankind. Halbertal is especially compelling in his treatment of the slippery dynamics between the violent and transcendent aspects of sacrifice, and their echoes across moral and political registers of the real."--Peter Cole, translator and editor of The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950--1492

"This is an important book, full of wonderful ideas about biblical sacrifice, which demonstrates Halbertal's unique ability to conceptualize biblical and rabbinic texts, drawing philosophically interesting implications from their language and narratives. His account of sacrifice as a gift in a hierarchically asymmetric structure provides a corrective to those who would simply appropriate Mauss' theory, and Halbertal's take on the relation between sacrifice and violence reverses in many ways Girard's approach."--Josef Stern, University of Chicago

"Halbertal's brilliant book unearths deep connections between practices of religious sacrifice and modern sacrifice for the state in war and peace."--David J. Luban, Georgetown University

Author Biography

Moshe Halbertal is the Gruss Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books include Concealment and Revelation: Esotericism in Jewish Thought and its Philosophical Implications (Princeton) and People of the Book: Canon, Meaning, and Authority.