Category Archives: R. J. B. Soloveitchik

Rabbis Thirsting For Honor

I grew up a Seventh-Day Adventist. I was a preacher’s kid. I knew dozens of clergy. Almost all of them said they felt a divine call to become a pastor. By contrast, I don’t know any rabbis who felt a … Continue reading

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Should We Look To Rabbis For Temporal And Political Guidance?

Jonathan Baker writes: This is a set of summaries of a series of six lectures on the teachings of Harav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zt”l by Rabbi Aaron Rothkoff-Rakeffet at Lincoln Square Synagogue from 7 June to 12 July 1993. … Continue reading

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What’s The Difference Between A Torah Scholar And A Gadol?

In a lecture on rabbinic biographies for Torah in Motion, Orthodox rabbi and history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “In the haredi world [ultra-Orthodoxy], [Rav J.B. Soloveitchik] is recognized as a Torah scholar but not as a gadol [great rabbi]. … Continue reading

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The Last Of The Pure Sephardic Poskim

In a 2008 lecture for Torah in Motion on Rabbi Ben Zion Uzziel (former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel), history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: He’s one of the last of the few Sephardic poskim (deciders of Jewish law). The … Continue reading

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The Rav Forbade Congregational Singing

In his part two lecture on Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer for Torah in Motion, Dr. Marc B. Shapiro says: “Congregational singing wasn’t even done in Germany. It was choir singing. It’s an American thing. It might be a development of the … Continue reading

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