
Collected Essays
Volume III
Haym Soloveitchik(Author)
The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (Publisher)
Published on 8. March 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
470 pages
978-1-80207-585-4 (ISBN)
Description
Continuing his contribution to medieval Jewish intellectual history, Haym Soloveitchik focuses here on the radical pietist movement of ?asidei Ashkenaz and its main literary work, Sefer {::}?{::}{::}asidim, and on the writings and personality of the Provencal commentator Ravad of Posquieres. In both areas Soloveitchik challenges mainstream views to provide a new understanding of medieval Jewish thought. Some of the essays are revised and updated versions of work previously published and some are entirely new, but in all of them Soloveitchik challenges reigning views to provide a new understanding of medieval Jewish thought.
The section on Sefer ?asidim brings together over half a century of Soloveitchik's writings on German Pietism, many of which originally appeared in obscure publications, and adds two new essays. The first of these is a methodological study of how to read this challenging work and an exposition of what constitutes a valid historical inference, while the second reviews the validity of the sociological and anthropological inferences presented in contemporary historiography. In discussing Ravad's oeuvre, Soloveitchik questions the widespread notion that Ravad's chief accomplishment was his commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh torah; his Talmud commentary, he claims, was of far greater importance and was his true masterpiece. He also adds a new study that focuses on the acrimony between Ravad, as the low-born genius of Posquieres, and R. Zerahyah ha-Levi of Lunel, who belonged to the Jewish aristocracy of Languedoc, and considers the implications of that relationship.
Volume I available: https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781904113973
Volume II available: https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781904113980
The section on Sefer ?asidim brings together over half a century of Soloveitchik's writings on German Pietism, many of which originally appeared in obscure publications, and adds two new essays. The first of these is a methodological study of how to read this challenging work and an exposition of what constitutes a valid historical inference, while the second reviews the validity of the sociological and anthropological inferences presented in contemporary historiography. In discussing Ravad's oeuvre, Soloveitchik questions the widespread notion that Ravad's chief accomplishment was his commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh torah; his Talmud commentary, he claims, was of far greater importance and was his true masterpiece. He also adds a new study that focuses on the acrimony between Ravad, as the low-born genius of Posquieres, and R. Zerahyah ha-Levi of Lunel, who belonged to the Jewish aristocracy of Languedoc, and considers the implications of that relationship.
Volume I available: https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781904113973
Volume II available: https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781904113980
Reviews / Votes
'Like all of Professor Soloveitchik's studies, the book is distinguished by the thoroughness of its scholarship and attention to even the smallest details... reading Professor Soloveitchik's three volumes of magisterial essays will certainly engage and educate the reader, and one can only hope that we will merit to see a fourth volume in the not too distant future.'Alan Jotkowitz, Lehrhaus 'In presenting new perspectives on medieval Jewish thought, these collected essays further underline Soloveitchik's well deserved reputation as an adept, learned and gifted intellectual historian. Highly recommended for all libraries.' David B Levy, Association of Jewish Libraries News and Reviews 'As can be expected from Soloveitchik's previous work, the meticulous analysis and scholarly depth found in this anthology offer invaluable perspectives on medieval Jewish civilization, historical inquiry, and halachic discourse. As the reviewer delved into its pages, he found himself immersed in a thoughtful exploration of these complex topics, guided by Soloveitchik's expertise and clarity of thought. This collection is not only informative but also thought-provoking, marking it as an impressive resource for anyone interested in Jewish intellectual history.' Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, The Rachack Review
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Liverpool University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
368 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80207-585-4 (9781802075854)
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
Person
Haym Soloveitchik is the Merkin Family Research Professor at Yeshiva University, New York, and the former director of the School of Jewish Studies at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has also taught at the Sorbonne and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He has published books in Hebrew on pawnbroking and usury, Jewish involvement in the medieval wine trade, and the use of responsa as a historical source. Three volumes of his Collected Essays have been published by the Littman Library, as well as a new edition of his landmark essay, Rupture and Reconstruction: The Transformation of Modern Orthodoxy.
Content
PART I. SEFER ?ASIDIM
Specific Studies
(1) Three Themes in Sefer ?asidim
(2) On Dating Sefer ?asidim
(3) Piety, Pietism, and German Pietism: Sefer ?asidim and the Influence of ?asidei Ashkenaz
(4) Pietists and Kibbitzers
(5) The Midrash, Sefer ?asidim, and the Changing Face of God
(6) Two Notes on the Commentary on the Torah of R. Yehudah he-?asid
(7) Topics in the ?okhmat ha-Nefesh
Methodological Issues
(8) On Reading Sefer ?asidim
(9) Sefer ?asidim and the Social Sciences
PART II. RAVAD AND PROVENCAL STUDIES
(10) Rabad of Posquieres: A Programmatic Essay
(11) The Literary Remains of the Gedol ha-Mefarshim: A Study in Personal Rivalry and the Repulsion of Opposites
(12) A Response to R. Buckwold's Critique of 'Rabad of Posquieres', Part I
(13) A Response to R. Buckwold's Critique of 'Rabad of Posquieres', Part II
(14) Jewish and Roman Law: A Study in Interaction
(15) The Riddle of Me'iri's Recent Popularity
(16) Printing and the History of Halakhah
(17) Angle of Deflection
Bibliography of Manuscripts
Source Acknowledgements
Index of Names
Index of Places
Index of Subjects
Specific Studies
(1) Three Themes in Sefer ?asidim
(2) On Dating Sefer ?asidim
(3) Piety, Pietism, and German Pietism: Sefer ?asidim and the Influence of ?asidei Ashkenaz
(4) Pietists and Kibbitzers
(5) The Midrash, Sefer ?asidim, and the Changing Face of God
(6) Two Notes on the Commentary on the Torah of R. Yehudah he-?asid
(7) Topics in the ?okhmat ha-Nefesh
Methodological Issues
(8) On Reading Sefer ?asidim
(9) Sefer ?asidim and the Social Sciences
PART II. RAVAD AND PROVENCAL STUDIES
(10) Rabad of Posquieres: A Programmatic Essay
(11) The Literary Remains of the Gedol ha-Mefarshim: A Study in Personal Rivalry and the Repulsion of Opposites
(12) A Response to R. Buckwold's Critique of 'Rabad of Posquieres', Part I
(13) A Response to R. Buckwold's Critique of 'Rabad of Posquieres', Part II
(14) Jewish and Roman Law: A Study in Interaction
(15) The Riddle of Me'iri's Recent Popularity
(16) Printing and the History of Halakhah
(17) Angle of Deflection
Bibliography of Manuscripts
Source Acknowledgements
Index of Names
Index of Places
Index of Subjects