Is there nothingness before the beginning? On the meaning and feasibility of the idea of creation ex nihilo in F. Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption

Abstract

The article analyzes, from a phenomenological point of view, the idea of creation in F. Rosenzweig’s The Star of Redemption. The analysis first establishes the degree in which the concept of creation can be considered under the category of creatio ex nihilo, and what is to be understood concretely as this type of creation. Then it explains the extent in which the conception of a creation out of nothingness advocated by Rosenzweig can be legitimately advanced as well as the epistemological status that can be assigned to it. Finally, the article discusses how creatio ex nihilo and creatio continua involve and presuppose themselves reciprocally in Rosenzweig’s thought.