Comprises in-depth studies of Passover time from Rabbi Soloveitchik. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik was the leading Judaic philosopher and rabbinic teacher for modern and traditional Orthodox Judaism in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
RABBI SOLOVEITCHIK'S book on Pessah, S'firat Ha-Omer, and Shavuot consists of 11 rather technical halachic essays David Shapiro has ably cobbled together from sources ranging from tapes of Soloveitchik's lectures to the Haggada commentary edited by Yitzchak Lichtenstein, preserving in the process much of the style and language of modern Orthodoxy's preeminent teacher.
We immediately encounter Soloveitchik's characteristic brilliant technique, which is premised on the assumption that, as he puts it here, 'halacha is more than a collection of laws; it is a method of thought.' Soloveitchik, like Kook, takes redemption to be a key theological category. God, after all, presented Himself at Sinai not as the creator of the world but as the redeemer of Israel.
But far more than Kook, Soloveitchik hews close to halachic sources. In his deft hands, theology arises directly from halachic puzzles - an interpretive knot in a Maimonidean text, say - so that his ideas are generated by and act in the service of halachic exposition before they open up into something larger.
From the laws of the counting of the Omer that begins on Pessah, for instance, Soloveitchik develops a philosophy of time to explain the mix of remembrance with anticipation and expectation that characterizes both the Haggada and Halacha generally.
'The halachic approach to time is the experiential memory that reaches out for the future,' he writes.
To take another example, a detailed study of the obligation to eat matza gives Soloveitchik the chance to introduce his insistence that to perform a commandment is not necessarily to fulfill it; fulfillment goes beyond mere performance, in that it depends 'on attaining a certain degree of spiritual awareness.'
Finally, a discussion of how Jewish law regards slaves together with an examination of one of Rashi's comments on the book of Exodus yield an extraordinary riff on the dangers inherent in modern society.
'Some slaves,' Soloveitchik writes, 'are owned by real individuals; some slaves are owned by the state, that is, by a juridical person, by a corporation. It is better to have a real person as a master; at least he has a heart... That is why the Torah calls all Pharaohs by the name Pharaoh, and not by their personal names. (The relationship) was depersonalized and dehumanized. The Jews were enslaved to a soulless machine.'
These are just a few samples of the discernment to be harvested from these two books. In the end, Kook and Soloveitchik, like many of the most sensitive readers of the Exodus story before them, see in it, reflected back in amplified form, the very highest of their spiritual and intellectual impulses. And they invite us to do the same. --Benjamin Balint, Jerusalem Post
The old adage notwithstanding, my first impression of this book was generated by its cover. The title, Mei-apheila Le-Or Gadol, appears only in Hebrew, and the font size is dwarfed by the subtitle, 'Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Pesach, Sefirat ha-Omer and Shavu'ot.' Similarly, the author's name, David Shapiro, appears in a small font size at the bottom of the cover, and the entire cover is dominated by a photo of the Rav. After reading the volume, it appears that these design elements are intentional, designed to highlight the presence of the Rav and downplay the contributions of the author. While the author's humility is tangible from cover to cover, his contribution to this volume is immeasurable.
The growing library of the Rav's writings is replete with reconstructions of various kinds, each attempting to capture the grandeur and eloquence of the Rav's presentation married to his incisive analysis. This volume is markedly different. Shapiro does not pretend to re-create the Rav's dynamism or poetry; his writing is too humble, sometimes even spartan, for that. Instead, the author lets the Rav's ideas speak for themselves, unencumbered by the articulate expression we come to expect. And it is the raw presentation of the Rav's ideas that makes this volume distinctive.
This is not a light book. Unlike most of the other material that has been published in the Rav's name, this is not a book you can just read. It must be carefully learned, like any classical work of Talmudic lamdanut. Explanatory material is sparse and the writing is terse. Citations from primary sources are brought in full, but only in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, often with little to no explanation. This book is not interested in convincing the reader of the correctness of the analysis or the depth of the Rav's understanding. Rather, it assumes that the readers will be able to find relevance, construct meaning and explore on their own how the material can enrich their religious experience.
What, then, are the special contributions of this volume? Rather than relying on a single source reflecting a single iteration of the Rav's analysis, David Shapiro collects from a broad range of sources - published and unpublished, audiotapes and written notes, public and private, edited and unedited, authorized and samizdat - distilling the Rav's concepts and presenting a broader and more integrated picture of the Rav's understanding of the topic than any student would have heard even sitting in the shiur for many years. The sources for each discussion are clearly identified at the beginning of each chapter, so that the reader not only gets a comprehensive picture of the topic but a valuable index of available material for further reading.
The thoroughness of the research that went into this book reflects the seriousness of the author as a talmid hakham in his own right, and not merely as an editor of pre-existing material. The primary text is accompanied by comprehensive notes and excurses, providing valuable context for the Rav's analyses especially as they are distinct from other luminaries within the world of classical Jewish learning. The range of other sources includes R Avraham Shapira, Dr. Isidore Twersky, R Yisrael Meir Hakohen (Hafetz Hayyim), Avnei Nezer, Hatam Sofer, Hida, R Shlomo Kluger and R Yitzhak of Karlin. In addition, Shapiro has the occasional historical note on some of the figures cited, from the Amoraic sages to those of the twentieth century, and references some of the relevant academic literature, including critical editions of earlier works.
In short, this volume is a significant contribution to both the literature of the Rav as well as the literature about his halakhic analysis. --Zvi Grumet, Lookstein Digest
We immediately encounter Soloveitchik's characteristic brilliant technique, which is premised on the assumption that, as he puts it here, 'halacha is more than a collection of laws; it is a method of thought.' Soloveitchik, like Kook, takes redemption to be a key theological category. God, after all, presented Himself at Sinai not as the creator of the world but as the redeemer of Israel.
But far more than Kook, Soloveitchik hews close to halachic sources. In his deft hands, theology arises directly from halachic puzzles - an interpretive knot in a Maimonidean text, say - so that his ideas are generated by and act in the service of halachic exposition before they open up into something larger.
From the laws of the counting of the Omer that begins on Pessah, for instance, Soloveitchik develops a philosophy of time to explain the mix of remembrance with anticipation and expectation that characterizes both the Haggada and Halacha generally.
'The halachic approach to time is the experiential memory that reaches out for the future,' he writes.
To take another example, a detailed study of the obligation to eat matza gives Soloveitchik the chance to introduce his insistence that to perform a commandment is not necessarily to fulfill it; fulfillment goes beyond mere performance, in that it depends 'on attaining a certain degree of spiritual awareness.'
Finally, a discussion of how Jewish law regards slaves together with an examination of one of Rashi's comments on the book of Exodus yield an extraordinary riff on the dangers inherent in modern society.
'Some slaves,' Soloveitchik writes, 'are owned by real individuals; some slaves are owned by the state, that is, by a juridical person, by a corporation. It is better to have a real person as a master; at least he has a heart... That is why the Torah calls all Pharaohs by the name Pharaoh, and not by their personal names. (The relationship) was depersonalized and dehumanized. The Jews were enslaved to a soulless machine.'
These are just a few samples of the discernment to be harvested from these two books. In the end, Kook and Soloveitchik, like many of the most sensitive readers of the Exodus story before them, see in it, reflected back in amplified form, the very highest of their spiritual and intellectual impulses. And they invite us to do the same. --Benjamin Balint, Jerusalem Post
The old adage notwithstanding, my first impression of this book was generated by its cover. The title, Mei-apheila Le-Or Gadol, appears only in Hebrew, and the font size is dwarfed by the subtitle, 'Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Pesach, Sefirat ha-Omer and Shavu'ot.' Similarly, the author's name, David Shapiro, appears in a small font size at the bottom of the cover, and the entire cover is dominated by a photo of the Rav. After reading the volume, it appears that these design elements are intentional, designed to highlight the presence of the Rav and downplay the contributions of the author. While the author's humility is tangible from cover to cover, his contribution to this volume is immeasurable.
The growing library of the Rav's writings is replete with reconstructions of various kinds, each attempting to capture the grandeur and eloquence of the Rav's presentation married to his incisive analysis. This volume is markedly different. Shapiro does not pretend to re-create the Rav's dynamism or poetry; his writing is too humble, sometimes even spartan, for that. Instead, the author lets the Rav's ideas speak for themselves, unencumbered by the articulate expression we come to expect. And it is the raw presentation of the Rav's ideas that makes this volume distinctive.
This is not a light book. Unlike most of the other material that has been published in the Rav's name, this is not a book you can just read. It must be carefully learned, like any classical work of Talmudic lamdanut. Explanatory material is sparse and the writing is terse. Citations from primary sources are brought in full, but only in the original Hebrew and Aramaic, often with little to no explanation. This book is not interested in convincing the reader of the correctness of the analysis or the depth of the Rav's understanding. Rather, it assumes that the readers will be able to find relevance, construct meaning and explore on their own how the material can enrich their religious experience.
What, then, are the special contributions of this volume? Rather than relying on a single source reflecting a single iteration of the Rav's analysis, David Shapiro collects from a broad range of sources - published and unpublished, audiotapes and written notes, public and private, edited and unedited, authorized and samizdat - distilling the Rav's concepts and presenting a broader and more integrated picture of the Rav's understanding of the topic than any student would have heard even sitting in the shiur for many years. The sources for each discussion are clearly identified at the beginning of each chapter, so that the reader not only gets a comprehensive picture of the topic but a valuable index of available material for further reading.
The thoroughness of the research that went into this book reflects the seriousness of the author as a talmid hakham in his own right, and not merely as an editor of pre-existing material. The primary text is accompanied by comprehensive notes and excurses, providing valuable context for the Rav's analyses especially as they are distinct from other luminaries within the world of classical Jewish learning. The range of other sources includes R Avraham Shapira, Dr. Isidore Twersky, R Yisrael Meir Hakohen (Hafetz Hayyim), Avnei Nezer, Hatam Sofer, Hida, R Shlomo Kluger and R Yitzhak of Karlin. In addition, Shapiro has the occasional historical note on some of the figures cited, from the Amoraic sages to those of the twentieth century, and references some of the relevant academic literature, including critical editions of earlier works.
In short, this volume is a significant contribution to both the literature of the Rav as well as the literature about his halakhic analysis. --Zvi Grumet, Lookstein Digest
About the Author
Rabbi David Shapiro was the Principal of Maimonides School in Brookline, Massachusetts and was a student of Rabbi Soloveitchik for many years.
Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter is Dean of the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute of Boston, MA.
Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter is Dean of the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute of Boston, MA.
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