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'''David Novak''' is a scholar of Jewish philosophy, law ([[Halakha]]) and ethics. He has rabbinical ordination and has trained with Catholic moral theologians. Novak taught at the [[University of Virginia]] and subsequently at the [[University of Toronto]].

Novak has contributed to [[Jewish ethics]] by advocating a Jewish social ethics drawn from both the [[natural law]] tradition and Halakha. To this end, he interprets the rabbinic approach to [[Noahide laws]] as a useful grounding for cross-cultural moral reasoning.
He also writes extensively on [[Jewish-Christian relations]]. His expertise includes [[Maimonides]], [[John Courtney Murray]], and [[Paul Tillich]].

His specific normative claims in Jewish ethics include a curious mix of what may be characterized as liberal and right-wing positions.
Novak had been affiliated with the liberal-leaning [[Conservative movement]] in Judaism and then shifted to the "Traditional Judaism" offshoot.

==Selected works==
*Law and Theology in Judaism (volumes I and II) (Vol. 1 Foreword by Louis Finkelstein. New York : Ktav Pub. House, [1974])
*Suicide and morality : the theories of Plato, Aquinas, and Kant and their relevance for suicidology. New York : Scholars Studies Press, c1975
*The image of the non-Jew in Judaism: an historical and constructive study of the Noahide Laws / David Novak. New York : E. Mellen Press, c1983.
*Halakhah in a theological dimension. Chico, Calif. : Scholars Press, c1985.
*Jewish-Christian dialogue: a Jewish justification. New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1989.
*The theology of Nahmanides systematically presented. Atlanta, Ga. : Scholars Press, c1992.
*Jewish social ethics. New York : Oxford University Press, 1992.
*The election of Israel : the idea of the chosen people. Cambridge [England] ; New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1995.
*Natural law in Judaism / David Novak. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998.
*Covenantal rights : a study in Jewish political theory / David Novak. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c2000.
*DABRU EMET: A JEWISH STATEMENT ON CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANITY. A statement by four authors. [http://www.icjs.org/what/njsp/dabruemet.html].

===Articles===
*Leo Strauss and Judaism : Jerusalem and Athens critically revisited / edited by David Novak, Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield, 1996.
*Philosophy and the Possibility of Revelation: A Theological Response to the Challenge of Leo Strauss by David Novak.

David Novak - Revision history

WikSysop at 11:37, 3 July 2006