Synopsis
In this volume, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein explores the development of the religious personality. He advocates a life centered on the service of God, but recognizes multiple paths to this goal. Acknowledging that both the Jewish value system and human experience are multifaceted, he examines the relevant issues from an unusually wide perspective.
Rabbi Lichtenstein's essays reflect not only a staunch commitment to Halakha and a firm grounding in rigorous Torah study, but also a deep spirituality, a profound moral sensitivity, and a keen awareness of both the challenges and opportunities of modernity. While being enlightened by Rabbi Lichtenstein's penetrating analyses and wide-ranging learning, the reader will also be inspired by the beauty of his vision of the religious life.
These essays originated as lectures, and have been selected and adapted for print by Rabbi Reuven Ziegler.
About the Author
RABBI AHARON LICHTENSTEIN (1933 2015) was an eminent rabbinic educator, scholar and thinker who served as rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion for over forty years.
Born in France, he escaped with his family to the United States in 1941. He was educated at Yeshivat Rabbi Chaim Berlin and RIETS, where he was granted rabbinic ordination by his mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. After receiving his Ph.D. in English literature from Harvard University, he briefly taught literature at Yeshiva University and afterwards taught Talmud there. As founder of YU s kollel and its head for a decade, he set the tone for its continued development.
Moving to Israel in 1971, he joined Rabbi Yehuda Amital in heading Yeshivat Har Etzion, and together they built it into a world-renowned center of advanced Torah learning and service to the Jewish people. A tireless pedagogue, he lectured extensively on Talmud, Jewish law and Jewish thought and published several volumes of studies on these topics. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Israel Prize for Torah Literature in 2014. Rabbi Lichtenstein s views on religious, social and personal issues were widely sought both in Israel and the Diaspora, and his influence was extended by his many disciples who serve as rabbis, educators and communal leaders worldwide. He continues to be regarded by many as an intellectual and spiritual beacon, and as a role model par excellence of Judaism s highest ideals.
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