The manuscript of this book grew out of a series of Lectures which Dr. Samuel Hugo Bergman delivered in Europe several years ago. The selection of the personalities who were included in the series was influenced by autobiographical considerations: the author wanted to deal primarily with those thinkers who had been his "teachers" - who had influenced the development of his Jewish thinking decisively or enriched his understanding of the problems of faith and reason.<br><br>For this reason, Dr. Bergman does not present a complete study of each thinker's total system but concentrates on an analysis of the two major issues which he considers of paramount importance for the Jew in our time: How does the thinker resolve the tension between faith and reason, and how does he answer the question whether there still is a distinctively or uniquely Jewish way to God? Dr. Bergman's analysis makes a significant contribution to an understanding of what faith itself means, and it is published by the B'nai B'rith Hillcl Foundations as a resource for reading, study and discussion among thoughtful "students" of all ages because we share Dr. Bergman's conviction that "men who have spoken in and to our age can probably give us a deeper insight.... than men of earlier centuries into the nature and meaning of faith" and its relevance for the modern Jew.