Zwischen Gesetz und Geschichte: Leo Baecks Offenbarungsverhältnis

Abstract

This article examines Leo Baeck's theology of history, as it is particularly evident in his work Dieses Volk (This People), which he wrote during his internment in Theresienstadt. For Baeck, revelation is not a completed event, but an ongoing process that takes place in the actions, memories and thoughts of the Jewish people throughout history. For him, history is not merely a chronological sequence, but a spiritual space in which the relationship between God and Israel is constantly unfolding anew.

At the centre is the covenant – not as a metaphysical idea, but as an ethical obligation. For Baeck, law, memory and tradition form a unity: the Torah is not a rigid set of rules, but an expression of living faithfulness that must be renewed in every age. The concept of ‘remembrance’ plays a central role here: memory is not a nostalgic look back, but a moral act in the present. Especially in liturgy, such as at Passover, history is relived again and again – as both an obligation and a hope.

Baeck’s theology avoids any theodicy. He does not interpret suffering, but insists on faithfulness in the face of destruction. This people thus becomes an act of spiritual resistance: a call that understands history not as defeat, but as an ongoing mission. Jewish tradition does not appear as backward-looking preservation, but as an ongoing dialogue – a living, ethically grounded revelation that makes hope possible even under the most inhuman conditions. Baeck shows that remembering history means taking responsibility – even and especially in times of greatest threat.