Rabbi Nachum Rabinovitch (1928-2020) was one of the supreme rabbinic scholars of our time, a bold and expert decisor of Jewish law, a talmudic scholar with vast knowledge and the ability to find new depth and beauty in ancient texts, and a philosophical exegete who was able to draw deep inferences about the human condition from biblical and rabbinic sources. Pathways to Their Hearts is a synthesis of the philosophical positions Rabbi Rabinovitch had developed over the course of many decades on matters related to the life of the individual. There are chapters on free will and the human condition, the way the Torah’s commands interact with moral change, the tension between law and the purposes of law, the difference between religious and secular ethics, the importance of intellectual independence, and the nature of halakhic decision-making. There is a fascinating comparison between scientific method and the search for the reasons for the commandments, and a powerful chapter on the relationship between Torah and science. The view that Torah and science are opposed, argues Rabbi Rabinovitch, was imported into Judaism from non-Jewish sources. This outstanding work - vast in scope, monumental in scholarship - represents the distilled wisdom of one of the great Jewish minds of our generation.

Pathways to Their Hearts: Torah Perspectives on the Individual

Religion & Spirituality

Rabinovitch, Nachum L

Judaism

Maggid Books

In this groundbreaking commentary on the Tanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi's classic work, Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz seeks to reveal the author's powerful fire and spirit contained therein. In doing so, he unmasks his own burning spirit, his own love, awe, and closeness to God. Through vivid explanations and metaphors from our daily lives, along with stories from the lives of hasidim of the past, Rabbi Steinsaltz draws the world of the Tanya into our world, providing a detailed elucidation of foundational concepts in Kabbala and in Judaism in general. The Tanya is one of the most important books of mussar (ethical instruction) ever written. It provides a complete and comprehensive worldview, penetrating the depths of the spiritual struggles a person will face in life, while offering practical ideas and guidance.

The Steinsaltz Tanya: Likkutei Amarim 1-32; The Magerman Edition (1) (English and Hebrew Edition)

Politics & Social Sciences

Steinsaltz, Adin Even-Israel

Philosophy

Days Are Coming: A Journey Through the Jewish Year

Rahav-meir, Sivan

A collection of essays on aggadic, halakhic, ethical and spiritual themes by Rabbi Professor Yitzhak (Isadore) Twersky (1930-1997), dedicated to the memory of his father-in-law, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Adapted from R. Twersky's speeches by Carmi Horowitz and Dovid Shapiro, both devoted talmidim of Prof. Twersky.

Perpetuating the Masorah: Halakhic, Ethical and Experiential Dimensions

Twersky, Yitzhak

Halakha is the all-encompassing source of normative Jewish conduct, and values and ethics are among Judaism's most important and fundamental aims. In this volume, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein masterfully plots the interplay of law and ethics. Drawing on his vast knowledge of classic Jewish sources, the analytic depth of the Brisker tradition, and his wide grasp of Western scholarship and thought, Rabbi Lichtenstein charts how values are intertwined with the details of Halakha and inform its general worldview. Exploring such topics as the relationship between individual and community, the extent to which Halakha encourages or demands altruism, and the role of humanistic concerns in practical halakhic determination, Rabbi Lichtenstein analyzes rulings of halakhic giants in context of the relevant source material. The result is a first-of-its kind study that offers a lucid yet extensive presentation of detailed halakhic points that combine to form a broad tapestry of the most basic questions of values in Halakha.

Values in Halakha: Six Case Studies (Maggid Modern Classics)

Lichtenstein, Aharon, Rabbi

The vast and vibrant world of biblical commentary has, over the generations, shaped not only our understanding of the Tanakh, but Judaism's worldview and values as well. The biblical commentator - or parshan - is a spiritual seeker, proposing answers to the theological and existential questions raised by the text and serving as mediator between Tanakh and the reader. Keenly aware of their contemporary reality, biblical exegetes search for the Torah's answers to both timeless human issues and to the most crucial questions of their time.Dr. Avigail Rock's widely hailed work, Great Biblical Commentators, is a groundbreaking study that surveys over twenty of the greatest biblical exegetes in the course of Jewish history - beginning with Onkelos; continuing with leading medieval commentators such as Rashi, Ibn Ezra, and Ramban, and Aharonim such as Malbim and Netziv; and ending with influential twentieth-century commentators. It includes discussion of the commentators' exegetical methods, their interactions with their historical period and environment, and their contributions to the world of exegesis. Through exploration of the commentators' biographies and methodologies, and enriched by carefully chosen and insightful examples from their works, this book contextualizes and illuminates their philosophies, while giving us a glimpse into their masterful thought and analyses.

Great Biblical Commentators: Biographies, Methodologies, and Contributions

Rock, Avigail

Biographies & Memoirs

What makes a belief or a lifestyle rational? How much evidence do you need before deciding to act on a belief? If your religious beliefs are tightly bound up with your particular experiences and upbringing, doesn't that undermine their reliability? All these questions, and more, come to the fore in Samuel Lebens' A Guide for the Jewish Undecided. Bringing cutting-edge philosophy, science, and decision theory into conversation with Jewish tradition, this book makes the case that Jews today have cogent reasons to embrace Judaism and its practices. Moreover, this embrace is the most viable way in which they can answer the call to human responsibility.

A Guide for the Jewish Undecided: A Philosopher Makes the Case for Orthodox Judaism

Lebens, Samuel

Of the five megillot in the Tanakh, only Kohelet does not describe a historical event or tell a personal story. Rather, it relates life lessons, with frequent confusing or even conflicting messages. This makes it one of the most challenging biblical books to comprehend. Yet, if the Sages included it in the biblical canon, it must have a lesson for all generations. We traditionally read Kohelet every Sukkot. Can we return home, this year, with an understanding of its message? In this groundbreaking work, David Curwin draws from traditional sources and modern scholarship to take us on an eye-opening journey through Kohelet and other books of the Tanakh. Starting with a look at the life of King Shlomo, whose successes and failures are reflected in the teachings of Kohelet, the author then presents linguistic and thematic evidence suggesting strong parallels between the life of Adam and that of Shlomo, and between the book of Kohelet and the opening chapters of Bereshit.

Kohelet: A Map to Eden: an Intertextual Journey

Curwin, David

Christian Books & Bibles

Ecclesiastes (in Hebrew, Kohelet) has long been viewed as the great existential work of the Hebrew Bible, containing the famous cry "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." As part of a search for enduring meaning, it questions the nature of work, mortality, happiness, justice, goodness, and life itself. Kohelet is awash in contradictions, careful observations, disappointments, and insights, making it one of the richest and most complex books in all of Tanakh. This fresh and hopeful look at an ancient book synthesizes rabbinic commentary with modern scholarship, fine art, and poetry. It highlights expressions from Kohelet that have become common parlance while shedding light on its more obscure verses. Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning offers a comprehensive introduction to the book and includes three essays on each chapter, concluding with an epilogue on Kohelet’s liturgical use on the holiday of Sukkot - for Kohelet combines the frustrations and vulnerabilities of life "under the sun" with the temporal joys that make life worthwhile. All are regarded as a "gift from God."

Ecclesiastes and the Search for Meaning (Maggid Studies in Tanakh)

Brown, Erica

In Mimini Mikhael, Rabbi Dr. Michael Rosensweig offers a rigorous and insightful treatment of the core concepts and fundamental principles of Yom Kippur, teshuvah, Elul, and the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah. Drawing upon a vast range of sources, the chapters contain a comprehensive analysis of the essential halakhic issues and themes that stand at the center of this time period. They highlight the inimitable kedushat ha-yom of Yom Kippur, demonstrate how this heightened sanctity is concretized in specific norms and modes of observance, underscore the pivotal institution of teshuvah, and illuminate the opportunity afforded by Elul and the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah in cultivating a halakhically meaningful life inspired by the experience of "lifnei Hashem."

Mimini Mikhael: Essays on Yom Kippur and Teshuvah

Rosensweig, Michael

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