Who’s Afraid of the World to Come? The Curious Case of the Disappearance of Otherworldliness in Modern Orthodox Jewish Theology

This article examines the conspicuous absence of otherworldliness in modern Orthodox Jewish theology, particularly in the works of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and his intellectual successors, Irving Greenberg, Jonathan Sacks, and David Hartman, contrasting this with its persistence in Haredi theology. While traditional Jewish thought emphasized the world to come as a primary motivation for observance, modern Orthodox theology, as shaped by Soloveitchik’s Halakhic Man, prioritizes this-worldly sanctification, historical redemption, and covenantal responsibility. This shift is attributed not solely to engagement with modernity (as Haredi thinkers also navigated secular contexts) but to intellectual, cultural, and pastoral factors. These include Soloveitchik’s theological framework, the modern Orthodox community’s integration into secular society, and a pastoral sensitivity to audiences more responsive to immediate, empirical benefits of Jewish practice. The article argues that this reorientation reflects a strategic adaptation to affirm the dignity of the present world, offering a vision of Judaism that reconciles tradition with contemporary life.