ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that David Hartman's thought positions the present, in a radical manner, as the temporal dimension that organizes the meaning of religious consciousness and life. In the introduction to his book A Living Covenant, Hartman presents a religious position that gives precedence to the past. The chapter then discusses Hartman's concepts of revelation and covenant. From the concepts of revelation and covenant, the goal of halakhah is to shape the life of the community and its individual members in a particular way. From this perspective, the believer should reflect upon the reasons for the commandments, since only in this manner can one see how halakhah indeed shapes personality and community life. Hartman thus enters a debate with Yeshayahu Leibowitz and Eliezer Goldman regarding the question of the reasons for the commandments and the meaning of halakhah. The chapter explores his possible response to their arguments.
