SOURCE: Fackenheim, Emil L. “Leo Strauss and Modern Judaism.” In Jewish Philosophers and Jewish Philosophy, edited by Michael L. Morgan, pp. 97-105. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996.

In the following essay, Fackenheim considers the influence Strauss and his philosophy had on his life and studies.

This is an unusual and indeed a first occasion for me.¹ Never before have I given a lecture on Leo Strauss. I spoke publicly about him only briefly, at a memorial occasion in Toronto after his death, when a few of us spoke who felt that we had been touched by the thought of Leo Strauss. I also should say from the beginning, I seem to hear the voice of Leo Strauss himself, that I really have no great competence, and I'm quite sure there are many in this room who could give this lecture better than I can. Moreover, if controversy arises—and...