Torah and Western Thought: Intellectual Portraits of Orthodoxy and Modernity

by Meir Y. Soloveichik (Editor), Stuart W. Halpern (Editor), Meir Y.Soloveichik (Editor)

Even as the twentieth century will be remembered for the West's loss of faith, Jewish Orthodoxy experienced in that very time a golden age of leaders and teachers who sought to bridge the world of Torah and that of the West. Some of these Torah figures were deeply impacted by an academic field, such as philosophy or literature. Others developed a Torah-based perspective on developments within the West, such as the rise of Zionism, democracy, or biotechnology. Still others reflected on the very nature of religious knowledge. The Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University invited twenty-first century thinkers to paint intellectual portraits of these luminaries, illustrating how each figure bridged the worlds of Torah and the West in a unique way. The essays are meant to inspire Orthodox Jews and all intellectually engaged individuals of faith to learn from the lives of these luminaries, and to have the courage to bridge these worlds as well. Great thinkers examined

Genres: Judaism, History, Jewish

329 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting -- collection of the greatest thinkers in modern Orthodox thinking -- from Rav Kook and Soloveichik to Lichtenstein and Twersky (and a few people who aren't related to each other too). For anyone who wants to understand their biographies as well as how their ideas have moved the movement, I recommend. It's nicely compiled into individual essays, so you can also just chunk it at opportune times. Certainly not recommended for the casual or totally uneducated reader though.

[ari poyurs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully informative

I absolutely loved this book and I really found it helpful in terms of giving me perspective on the depth and breadth of what is out there in terms of contemporary, Orthodox Judaism.

[Yehudit Epstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

[John Minster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense and insightful discussions of some of the most important modern Jewish thinkers

[The Jewish Book Council]

Review by Jonathan Fass for the Jewish Book Council.