February 2023 MBR The Judaic Studies Shelf

The Judaic Studies Shelf

Jewish Women in Time and Torah
Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits
Urim Publications
c/o KTAV Publishing House
527 Empire Boulevard, Brooklyn, New York 11225
www.UrimPublications.com
9789655243659, $24.95, HC, 144pp

https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Women-Torah-Eliezer-Berkovits/dp/9655243656

Synopsis: Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Berkovits (8 September 1908 - 20 August 1992) last book, "Jewish Women in Time and Torah", is a critical examination of the status of women in Halakhah. It offers a coherent theological approach by which the eternal Divine nature of Torah must be upheld, and yet also recognize that the ever-changing status of women, reflected in our sacred texts, is linked to historical and social movements of humanity in the world at large.

Rabbi Berkovits makes several suggestions, based on a thorough examination of halakhic sources, to improve that status. His basic thesis is that the inferior status of women is a vestige of ancient culture. In the course of time, women have gained certain rights. But, Rabbi Berkovits emphasizes, more remains to be done, especially in the spheres of ritual participation and marital rights, areas in which he makes a number of concrete halakhic suggestions. For example, he suggests that adequate halakhic justification exists for women to take upon themselves the mitzvah of donning tefillin or establishing their own prayer groups, as well as women reciting Shabbat kiddush for men or participating in a mixed-gender zimmun for Grace After Meals.

Critique: An invaluable contribution to considerations and discussions of the proper role of women within Jewish life and rabbinic culture, "Jewish Women in Time and Torah" is an erudite, thoughtful and thought-provoking study that is unreservedly recommended for personal, rabbinic, and academic library Judaic Studies collections.

Editorial Note: Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Berkovits (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_Berkovits) was born in Transylvania in 1908. He received his rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg at the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin and his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Berlin in the 1930s. After escaping Germany in December 1938, Berkovits served as a communal rabbi in Leeds, England, Sydney, Australia, and Boston, before assuming the chair of the philosophy department at the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago in 1958. He moved to Jerusalem in 1975, where he lived and worked until his death in 1992.

Tanya V1: Likkutei Amarim 1-32
Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, author
Maggid
c/o Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd.
PO Box 8531, New Milford, CT 06776-8531
www.korenpub.com
9781592645855, $34.95, HC, 815pp

https://korenpub.com/products/the-steinsaltz-tanya-v1-likkutei-amarim-1-32

Synopsis: In this groundbreaking commentary on the Tanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi's classic work, Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz seeks to reveal the author's powerful fire and spirit contained therein. In doing so, he unmasks his own burning spirit, his own love, awe, and closeness to God.

Through vivid explanations and metaphors from our daily lives, along with stories from the lives of hasidim of the past, Rabbi Steinsaltz draws the world of the Tanya into our world, providing a detailed elucidation of foundational concepts in Kabbala and in Judaism in general.

The Tanya is one of the most important books of mussar (ethical instruction) ever written. It provides a complete and comprehensive worldview, penetrating the depths of the spiritual struggles a person will face in life, while offering practical ideas and guidance.

This first section of the Tanya, Likkutei Amarim, comprises fifty-three chapters. In The Steinsaltz Tanya, this section has been divided into two volumes. Volume 1 contains chapters 1-32, and the forthcoming volume 2 comprises chapters 33-53.

This first section of the Tanya, which its author refers to as the "Book of Beinonim", presents a novel human and ethical archetype: the beinoni, or the intermediate-level person. The beinoni is neither righteous nor wicked, but he is not an average person either. The beinoni is a category of its own, which expresses the ideal level that each an every individual, in accordance with his specific capabilities, can and should aspire to achieve.

The Tanya is presented in a format that invites a person to put the ideas presented here into practice, one concept building on another, one leading to the next so that the reader is guided toward attaining the level of beinoni that is the focus of this book. Its ideas are condensed, its words packed with meaning, and the one who studies the Tanya cannot help but appreciate its subtle and beautifully crafted writing style.

The Steinsaltz Tanya includes a vocalized Hebrew Tanya text and a groundbreaking translation of the Tanya alongside Rabbi Steinsaltz's novel commentary. One does not have to come from the world of Hassidism to study the Tanya . Rabbi Steinsaltz's clear, readable elucidation makes this dense, concise work accessible to all.

Critique: With the publication of "The Steinsaltz Tanya V1: Likkutei Amarim 1-32". Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz provides an eloquent, informative, insightful, thoughtful and thought-provoking study that is an especially and unreservedly recommended contribution personal, professional, synagogue, college, and university library Judaic Studies collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz z"l (1937-2020) was a teacher, philosopher, social critic and prolific author. His lifelong work in Jewish education earned him the Israel Prize, his country's highest honor. Rabbi Steinsaltz (https://steinsaltz.org/bio) is internationally regarded as one of the greatest rabbis of this century and of the last.

Editorial Note #2: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi[1] (September 4, 1745 - December 15, 1812) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi in Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire. He was the author of many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya, and his Siddur Torah Or compiled according to the Nusach Ari. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shneur_Zalman_of_Liadi)

The Sages Volume V: The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel
Rabbi Binyamin Lau, author
Ilana Kurshan, translator
Maggid Books
c/o Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd.
PO Box 8531, New Milford, CT 06776-8531
www.korenpub.com
9781592644025, $24.95, HC, 302pp

https://www.amazon.com/Sages-Yeshivot-Babylonia-Israel/dp/1592644023

Synopsis: 'The Sages: Character, Context & Creativity' is a series by Rabbi Binyamin Lau that brings the world of the Talmud to life by revealing the stories of the people behind its pages. This is fascinating multi-volume series which explores the lives and times of the great Jewish sages (Hazal): their teachers and disciples, their families and professions, the values they cherished and ideologies they opposed, the historical challenges they faced, and the creative wisdom with which they faced them. Highly original and profoundly engaging, The Sages draws readers closer to the world of Hazal while deepening their understanding of our own. "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel" is Volume 5 of The Sages series.

Critique: With the focus on the impact of the Babylonian era on the development of the Israelite Talmud culture, "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel" is a fascinating, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking study organized into three major sections (Southern Babylonia; Northern Babylonia; The Land of Israel). As with the first four volumes of this simply outstanding series, "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel" is unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, synagogue, college, and university library Judaic Studies and Talmudic Studies collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

Editorial Note: Rabbi Binyamin Lau (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binyamin_Lau) is an Israeli community leader, educator and social activist. He is the rabbi of the Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem, founder of the Moshe Green Beit Midrash for Women's Leadership at Beit Morasha's Beren College, and a research fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. Rabbi Lau also serves as a consultant for a number of leading organizations and is frequently cited in the media. He studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion and Yeshivat Kibbutz HaDati, and received a PhD in Talmud from Bar-Ilan University.

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