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Love and Terror in the God Encounter: The Theological Legacy of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik
The intellectual legacy of one of the twentieth century's greatest religious thinkers―explained by a leading theologian of our day. "It is only through experiencing the contradictions in human existence, through being overwhelmed by the divine presence, through the finite human being feeling terror-stricken by the infinite majesty of God that one can develop an authentic religious personality."
― David Hartman (From Chapter 6) Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993) profoundly influenced modern Orthodox Judaism in the United States―and Judaism as a whole―by opening up a discourse between the tradition of Torah study and Western philosophical thought. The future of both religious Zionism in Israel and of Orthodoxy in America hangs to a great extent on how we interpret his intellectual legacy. Dr. David Hartman’s penetrating analysis of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s work reveals a Judaism committed to intellectual courage, integrity and openness. A renowned theologian and philosopher, Hartman meticulously explores the subtlety and complexity of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s theological thought, exposing a surprising intersection of halakhic tradition and modern Western theology―a confrontation that deepens and expands our spiritual understanding. Hartman’s provocative interpretation bears witness to the legitimacy of remaining loyal to the Judaic tradition without sacrificing one’s intellectual freedom and honesty.
― David Hartman (From Chapter 6) Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993) profoundly influenced modern Orthodox Judaism in the United States―and Judaism as a whole―by opening up a discourse between the tradition of Torah study and Western philosophical thought. The future of both religious Zionism in Israel and of Orthodoxy in America hangs to a great extent on how we interpret his intellectual legacy. Dr. David Hartman’s penetrating analysis of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s work reveals a Judaism committed to intellectual courage, integrity and openness. A renowned theologian and philosopher, Hartman meticulously explores the subtlety and complexity of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s theological thought, exposing a surprising intersection of halakhic tradition and modern Western theology―a confrontation that deepens and expands our spiritual understanding. Hartman’s provocative interpretation bears witness to the legitimacy of remaining loyal to the Judaic tradition without sacrificing one’s intellectual freedom and honesty.
- GenresJudaism
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 13, 2014
This book analyzes several of Rav Soloveitchik's responsa and essays, including:
*Soloveitchik's essay "Halakhic Man". In this essay, Soloveitchik explains and praises "halakhic man": the self-confident scholar who not only follows halakha, but has a passion for study. The goal of this legal hero is not to know God through mysticism, but to find new legal insights through rigorous analysis. According to Hartman, Soloveitchik "discerns a profound dialectic between relevation and intellectual creativity. Although halakhic man believes that every word of Torah is divine, this very word becomes his possession and plaything." So man does not merely walk obediently with God, but also creates a spiritual civilization through his own interpretive skills. But Hartman's analysis leads to a troubling (for me) question: obviously, a scholar could be highly creative at the time the Mishnah and Talmud were being shaped. But how creative can a scholar be today, when so much of Jewish law has been fixed by thousands of years of evolution? Can someone truly be a halakhic hero in such a world?
*Soloveitchik's most famous essay, "The Lonely Man of Faith." In that essay, he explains how man is torn between his desire to dominate and master the world (as shown in the Genesis 1 narrative) and his desire to submit to God. In the latter vision, Man is not satisfied with knowing "the impersonal God of the cosmos" but a more personal God who can provide "relational intensity and intimacy with God." Again, Soloveitchik sees a dialectic: here, between majesty (the human who dominates nature, and who praises God for helping him dominate nature and for creating nature) and intimacy with God. Modern, secular man has difficulty with the second type of relationship.
*Soloveitchik's writing on Judeo-Christian theological dialogue. Apparently, Soloveitchik analogizes the Jewish relationship to God to a personal relationship- just as one does not debate an intimate personal relationship, one does not debate an intimate relationship to God with (in Soloveitchik's words) "others whose relationship to God has been molded by different historical events and in different terms."
*Soloveitchik's essay on prayer. Soloveitchik has two views of petitionary prayer- first as self-discovery (insofar as the standard words of prayer teach us what our needs ought to be) and second as "acknowledging the unlimited rule of the divine and the complete feebleness of mankind." According to Hartman, Soloveitchik's work involves one difficulty: Soloveitchik writes that because human beings are so helpless before God, "they are dependent upon precedent to dare pray at all ... [and thus he] considered it presumptous to make the slightest change in the forms of prayer ... even spontaneous voluntary prayer." Yet according to Hartman, there is ample halakhic precedent in favor of spontaneous prayer. What was Soloveitchik thinking? Hartman asserts that Soloveitchik overemphasizes the terror inherent in prayer.
*Soloveitchik's essay "Halakhic Man". In this essay, Soloveitchik explains and praises "halakhic man": the self-confident scholar who not only follows halakha, but has a passion for study. The goal of this legal hero is not to know God through mysticism, but to find new legal insights through rigorous analysis. According to Hartman, Soloveitchik "discerns a profound dialectic between relevation and intellectual creativity. Although halakhic man believes that every word of Torah is divine, this very word becomes his possession and plaything." So man does not merely walk obediently with God, but also creates a spiritual civilization through his own interpretive skills. But Hartman's analysis leads to a troubling (for me) question: obviously, a scholar could be highly creative at the time the Mishnah and Talmud were being shaped. But how creative can a scholar be today, when so much of Jewish law has been fixed by thousands of years of evolution? Can someone truly be a halakhic hero in such a world?
*Soloveitchik's most famous essay, "The Lonely Man of Faith." In that essay, he explains how man is torn between his desire to dominate and master the world (as shown in the Genesis 1 narrative) and his desire to submit to God. In the latter vision, Man is not satisfied with knowing "the impersonal God of the cosmos" but a more personal God who can provide "relational intensity and intimacy with God." Again, Soloveitchik sees a dialectic: here, between majesty (the human who dominates nature, and who praises God for helping him dominate nature and for creating nature) and intimacy with God. Modern, secular man has difficulty with the second type of relationship.
*Soloveitchik's writing on Judeo-Christian theological dialogue. Apparently, Soloveitchik analogizes the Jewish relationship to God to a personal relationship- just as one does not debate an intimate personal relationship, one does not debate an intimate relationship to God with (in Soloveitchik's words) "others whose relationship to God has been molded by different historical events and in different terms."
*Soloveitchik's essay on prayer. Soloveitchik has two views of petitionary prayer- first as self-discovery (insofar as the standard words of prayer teach us what our needs ought to be) and second as "acknowledging the unlimited rule of the divine and the complete feebleness of mankind." According to Hartman, Soloveitchik's work involves one difficulty: Soloveitchik writes that because human beings are so helpless before God, "they are dependent upon precedent to dare pray at all ... [and thus he] considered it presumptous to make the slightest change in the forms of prayer ... even spontaneous voluntary prayer." Yet according to Hartman, there is ample halakhic precedent in favor of spontaneous prayer. What was Soloveitchik thinking? Hartman asserts that Soloveitchik overemphasizes the terror inherent in prayer.
March 22, 2010
Very helpful for understanding Rav Soloveitchik's complicated and seemingly paradoxical theology and religious anthropology.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews