NEW BOOK ON RAV SOLOVEITCHIK

 

Majesty-web

 

Yeshivat Har Etzion and the VBM are pleased to announce the publication of

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

by Rabbi Reuven Ziegler (YHE ’86)

VBM Editor-in-Chief

Director of Research, Toras Horav Foundation

 

Available worldwide on Amazon

In Israel, free shipping from Urim

 


Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik was not only one of the outstanding Talmudists and religious leaders of the twentieth century, but also one of its most creative and seminal Jewish thinkers. This comprehensive study analyzes Rav Soloveitchik's writings in an accessible and engaging manner, thereby uncovering the depth, majesty and fascination of his thought. The first half of the book is based on a VBM course and the second half is all new (contents here).

To read a review by the OU

Listen to the book launch at Yeshiva University (Sunday Feb 5, 2012)  featuring Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, Dr. David Shatz and Rabbi Reuven Ziegler.

"Scholar Shares Insights Gleaned from Rav's Manuscripts" - click here to read about Rav Ziegler's lecture in Boston, at the Maimonides School, motza’ei Shabbat Feb. 4, 8 PM.

A book launch scheduled in Ra’anana – at Kehillat Shivtei Yisrael, Wed. Feb. 29, 8:30 PM, was postponed to June, due to inclement weather.

 

An online Q&A session about the book, with Rav Ziegler and Rav Jeffrey Saks is archived here: http://blog.webyeshiva.org/podcast/online-book-launch-reuven-zieglers-majesty-humility. The participants ranged across 19 time zones – from California to New Zealand! 

 

To read Harav Aharon Lichtenstein’s preface to the book, click here.

 

“This volume is an ideal entree into Rabbi Soloveitchik’s thought – but is even more than that. By skillfully drawing connections between various writings, by clarifying many challenging ideas and passages, and by integrating the Rav’s life with his thought, Rabbi Ziegler presents fresh, penetrating perspectives and insights that will enlighten even seasoned readers. The author makes demanding philosophical works exciting and accessible. All who care about Jewish thought should read this outstanding work.”

Dr. David Shatz, Professor of Philosophy, Yeshiva University

 

“What needs to endure for the future is the substance of [R. Soloveitchik’s] ideas, the compelling nature of his teachings, and the content of his Torah. And for this we express deep and profound gratitude to Rabbi Reuven Ziegler. Rabbi Ziegler has devoted many years to studying the works of the Rav and we are the beneficiaries of his wisdom and his efforts… He has done a masterful job in formulating the teachings and world-view of the Rav in a clear, organized, thoughtful and comprehensive way. Through a careful analysis of the many works of the Rav, Rabbi Ziegler has succeeded in explicating his complex ideas and complicated language in a comprehensible manner and making them accessible to a wide audience interested in more fully understanding and appreciating the world of this spiritual and intellectual giant of Torah. Moving from theme to theme and through essay after essay in the Rav’s multi-faceted oeuvre, and with complete mastery of the growing secondary literature on his subject, Rabbi Ziegler’s careful and sensitive analysis is extraordinarily insightful, highly compelling and exceptionally well-done. The world of Rabbi Soloveitchik the person has been lost, but the world of Rabbi Soloveitchik the thinker, author and teacher has been gracefully and magnificently preserved.”

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought, Yeshiva University