When two Exiles Meet

Essay on Emmanuel Lévinas

Abstract

The article analyses the theme of exile in the work of Emmanuel Levinas. In the first part, the Levinasian meditations, in his Talmudic writings, are placed in the cultural context from which they arise, with particular reference to the figures of Gordin, Askénazi and Neher. Secondly, the essay discusses the distinction between the “Jewish question” and “being Jewish”, and their relationship in reference to the historical event of the birth of Israel. Finally, the link between exile, return and redemption is identified in the philosophical works, translated into phenomenological conceptuality, in order to focus on the figures of the “exile within exile” and the “encounter between exiles”.