Majesty and Humility: The Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik by Rabbi Reuven Ziegler

It’s no small feat to write a book on a scholarly topic that can appeal to both scholar and layman alike, capture their interest, and even teach them a thing or two, but Rabbi Reuven Ziegler has managed to pull it off.

In Majesty and Humility: The Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, (co-published by OU Press, Urim Publications, and Maimonides School), Rabbi Ziegler, Director of Research and Archives of the Toras Harav Foundation, takes on the daunting challenge of surveying the thought-world of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik — “the Rav,” as he is reverently and affectionately called by his students and followers — and presenting his teachings and world-view in a clear and organized way.  Writing in accessible and comprehensible language, Rabbi Ziegler takes the reader through the major tenets of the Rav’s thought and his significant writings and integrates the Rav’s life with his thought.

A new generation of intellectually curious, spiritually sensitive Jews is discovering the creativity and power, the wonder and excitement, of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s philosophical world.  But how does one go about entering that vast thought-world?  Majesty and Humility offers the perfect introduction to the extensive corpus of the Rav’s works and philosophy.

Long-time students of the Rav, too, will find a wealth of valuable insights in this logically structured, comprehensive, internally consistent presentation that properly places many of the Rav’s ideas into their natural biographical and intellectual context.

Majesty and Humility is perfect for both the experienced student of the Rav and for one looking for an introduction to his approach.

Majesty and Humility: The Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik is the latest publication from OU Press, the publishing house of the Orthodox Union.  OU Press is proud to be the central address for the dissemination of the Rav’s teachings and takes seriously its role in transmitting the Rav’s wisdom to future generations.  Upcoming publications include Society and Self: On the Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik by Professor Gerald (Ya’akov) Blidstein, winner of the Israel Prize in Jewish Thought, and one of the preeminent academicians in Israel.

AJL Reviews Journey to Heaven: Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife

by Nathan Aaron Rosen

Bronner, Leila Leah. Journey to Heaven: Exploring Jewish Views of the Afterlife. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2011. 206 pp. (9789655240474)

If you were ever curious about what Jewish tradition says about the afterlife, this book is for you. Bronner does an excellent job of providing a historical view of the widely diverse views of traditional Jewish commentators. She starts with the few biblical and post-biblical references to the afterlife and provides an easy to read translation and a historical context. The book continues to look at the Mishnah, Talmud references to the afterlife and then moves on to Medieval Jewish philosophers, Kabbalah and to modernity. She writes clearly with the right level of explanation.

Bronner concludes that Jewish tradition has many answers regarding the belief in the afterlife. She concludes that overall because the idea of the afterlife is so confusing there is reluctance to talk about it. But there are a variety of views, ranging from afterlife as a way to encourage moral behavior, as a psychological crutch, or as a way to escape the cruelties of this world. Bronner ends with the realization that the promise of the World to come is our affirmation that our God is the God of life.

From the AJL Reviews Nov./Dec. 2011 edition p.13.

AJL reviews Darosh Darash Yosef

by Ilka Gordon

David, Avishai C. Darosh Darash Yosef: Discourses of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik on the Weekly Parashah. Jerusalem: Urim, 2011. 472 p. (9789655240467)

Many books have been written and are being written about the teachings of Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, the recognized leader of Modern Orthodoxy in the twentieth century, a renowned scholar and an extraordinary teacher, affectionately called the Rav by his many students. Rabbi Avishai David, a devoted student of the Rav and a Rosh Yeshiva (head master of a school of Jewish learning) attended many lectures in the 1970s and 80s, given by the Rav at Yeshiva University, Moriah synagogue in New York and Saturday nights in Boston. Darosh Darash Yosef is a compilation of the Rav’s insights into the weekly Torah portion culled from these lectures. Rabbi David presents the reader with a three or four page essay on each parashah (weekly portion) of the Torah. The essays are based on the Rav’s teachings and philosophy. Concepts are presented in clear and readable prose which can be easily understood by the scholar and layman alike. Both the novice and expert in Torah study will increase his or her depth of knowledge by reading this well written book. Darosh Darash Yosef is an excellent reference book for patrons who will be speaking about the weekly Torah portion, especially Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. Darosh Darash Yosef is highly recommended for all libraries. Rabbi David makes the Rav’s complex thoughts accessible to all readers.

AJL Reviews (Sep/Oct 2011) p. 36

AJL Review of Reasonable Doubts

by Kathe Pinchuck

Berman, Cheryl
Reasonable Doubts: A Religious Skeptic Learns a Thing or Two About God
Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2010.
158 pp. $19.95 (9789655240399)

As a college student, Cheryl Berman took a philosophy course and was hooked on the analytical process. As she pursued her studies, she began to question what was once a steadfast faith in God. One day, while walking back to her dormitory, she was hit by a taxi. Not only was her knee shattered, but also her concept of good and evil. By delving into a philosophical study of the paradox of theodicy (a loving God despite the existence of evil), she was able to appreciate that “faith is a process” and “a deeper faith is one that has been challenged.” While she chronicles her research and thought process, the book alternates chapters with a story of Elihu, a sixth century BCE Jewish exile in Babylonia who is writing The Book of Job. (This is a creative tactic. There are various opinions as to who wrote it.)

Similar to When Bad Things Happen to Good People in terms of an exploration driven by personal grief, the author’s sense of humor and intelligence are evident. What was an internal dialog that moved from frustration to consternation to acceptance makes for an interesting excursion. Through a gamut of arguments from luminaries including Maimonides, Kant, Descartes, Spinoza, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, and Viktor Frankl, as well as a reading of The Book of Job, Berman is able to come to terms with the questions that had perplexed her. Short biographies of the philosophers and rabbinic sources, as well as a bibliography of works cited would have been helpful. Highly recommended for libraries whose patrons are interested in philosophy, otherwise a solid optional purchase.

The original article from the AJL Review can be found here on page 17.

Authentic Religiosity Honesty or Dream

by  Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Thoughts expressed on the Yom Hazikaron of my friend Michael Moshe Ha-Cohen Klein z.l. of Yerushalayim

Nathan Lopes Cardozo is most recently the author of For the Love of Israel and the Jewish People.

One of the great problems any religious person has to struggle with is whether or not it is actually possible to be religious. What, after all, is the essence of genuine religiosity? It is no doubt the cognizance that one lives in the presence of God and feels and acts accordingly. To do so, however, is nearly impossible. Avraham Joshua Heschel once made the profound observation: “Religion depends upon what man does with his ultimate embarrassment” (1).

What lies at the root of all religions is the awareness that it is extremely hard to live up to the awesomeness of the moment. Our ultimate concern should be to grasp, emotionally and intellectually, that we are the contemporaries of God, and to experience this in the most elevated way.  But for the majority of us it is an impossible mission.  How could man ever encounter the Divine otherness?  It is the ultimate task of religion to guide us through this nearly desperate situation. Paradoxically, admitting the impossibility of this task and responding to it in a responsible way is what makes our embarrassment a genuine religious experience.

Hadot: Philosophy as a way of life

By Alan Brill

Pierre Hadot (1922–April 24, 2010) just died.

Hadot taught all of us, or at least reminded us, that for ancients philosophy was a way of life, a way for self-perfection and eternity and not an abstract knowledge. To understand why the monotheists Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno the Stoic were important for Maimonides or for that matter any medieval Jewish thinker, then one should read Hadot. Everyone from Idel to Boyarin is dependent on Hadot’s work.