
The Last Rabbi
Joseph Soloveitchik and Talmudic Tradition
William Kolbrener(Author)
Indiana University Press
Published on 19. September 2016
Book
Hardback
242 pages
978-0-253-02224-0 (ISBN)
Description
Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, philosopher, and theologian. In this new work, William Kolbrener takes on Soloveitchik's controversial legacy and shows how he was torn between the traditionalist demands of his European ancestors and the trajectory of his own radical and often pluralist philosophy. A portrait of this self-professed "lonely man of faith" reveals him to be a reluctant modern who responds to the catastrophic trauma of personal and historical loss by underwriting an idiosyncratic, highly conservative conception of law that is distinct from his Talmudic predecessors, and also paves the way for a return to tradition that hinges on the ethical embrace of multiplicity. As Kolbrener melds these contradictions, he presents Soloveitchik as a good deal more complicated and conflicted than others have suggested. The Last Rabbi affords new perspective on the thought of this major Jewish philosopher and his ideas on the nature of religious authority, knowledge, and pluralism.
Reviews / Votes
Kolbrener's work is an erudite and remarkably thoughtful demonstration of a pivot in method that yields a new vision of a well-known Jewish intellectual.(Religious Studies Review) The Last Rabbi is a learned, compelling, and challenging read, not only about Soloveitchik's work, but about the person, and the struggles of being "the last rabbi."
(AJS Review)
Kolbrener's provocative work offers an insightful new interpretation of a major twentieth-century religious thinker.
(Religious Studies Review) The author, William Kolbrenner, a professor of English at Bar Ilan University, weaves his interests in Jewish thought and literature into his powerful examination, providing readers with a 'thought biography' that challenges us to consider Rabbi Soloveitchik as the 'reluctant modern.'
(Jewish Book Council) Recommended.
(Choice) Kolbrenner masterfully weaves a portrait of a very brilliant and complex individual who both successfully and unsuccessfully straddled the lines between the Yeshiva World and the world of Philosophy.
(Jewish History Channel) The Last Rabbi provides a refreshingly new and different understanding of this enigmatic figureAlthough much of Kolbrener's foray into Soloveitchik's psyche is speculative, it does provide an innovative and fascinating new perspective on one of the most important, yet elusive, Jewish thinkers of the past century. For those interested in Jewish though, this is certainly a thought-provoking read.
(Times Higher Education) This revolutionary work offers a powerful lens through which to read the writings of the pioneering 20th-Century talmudist and Jewish philosopher, Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, the driving force behind American modern OrthodoxyKolbrener's work musters a dazzling panoply of Jewish and general sources to re-examine the life and works of the most influential American talmudist. The Last Rabbi is a challenging, yet rewarding, read and ironically raises the threshold for future studies of Soloveitchik to the extent that this work may itself be the "last".
(Jewish Chronicle)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Bloomington, IN
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
536 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-253-02224-0 (9780253022240)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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Additional editions

E-Book
09/2016
1st Edition
Indiana University Press
from
€45.59
Available for download
Person
William Kolbrener is Professor of English at Bar Ilan University in Israel. He is author of Open Minded Torah: Of Irony, Fundamentalism, and Love.
Content
Abbreviations of Works
Preface
Introduction: The Making of Joseph Soloveitchik and the Unmaking of Talmudic Tradition
Part I: Talmudic Tradition: Mourning
1. Hermeneutics of Rabbinic Mourning
2. Pluralism, Rabbinic Poetry and Dispute
Part II: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik: Melancholy
Interlude: Primal Scene in Pruzhna
3. Love, Repentance, Sublimation
4. Joseph Soloveitchik, A Melancholy Modern
5. Beyond the Law: Repentance and Gendered Memory
6. From Interpretive Conquest to Antithetic Ethics
Conclusion: The Last Rabbi and Talmudic Irony
Notes
Index
Preface
Introduction: The Making of Joseph Soloveitchik and the Unmaking of Talmudic Tradition
Part I: Talmudic Tradition: Mourning
1. Hermeneutics of Rabbinic Mourning
2. Pluralism, Rabbinic Poetry and Dispute
Part II: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik: Melancholy
Interlude: Primal Scene in Pruzhna
3. Love, Repentance, Sublimation
4. Joseph Soloveitchik, A Melancholy Modern
5. Beyond the Law: Repentance and Gendered Memory
6. From Interpretive Conquest to Antithetic Ethics
Conclusion: The Last Rabbi and Talmudic Irony
Notes
Index