Understanding the Sick and the Healthy: A View of World, Man, and God. With an introduction by Nahum N. Glatzer.

Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) is considered by many to be one of the most significant Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. Though early in his life, he considered converting to Christianity, Rosenzweig experienced a religious revival and from 1913 became a significant figure in German Jewry. He is well-known for his German translation of the Bible (along with Martin Buber); his contribution to Jewish education, especially through the establishment of the Lehrhaus; and for his unique philosophy, given its fullest expression in ‘The Star of Redemption.’ This slim volume, which was originally written shortly after The Star of Redemption, represents a more accessible form of his masterwork. It begins with an attack on German idealism, then proceeds to his thesis that language plays an important role in allowing man to confront the world, man, and God.