InTribute he was born in Pruzhin, his head on the palms of his hands on twenty-three, the Rav left Warsaw to Poland, on February 27, 1903, into the table. The students and I, and even study philosophy at the University of Tone of the most learned and the Rambam, waited in great tension for Berlin. Moving from the -cen- In commemoration of the renowned rabbinic families in Europe at my father’s words. But my father would tered culture of his childhood and his that time. The most telling and powerful raise his head and sadly state: “There is Rav’s one hundredth birthday description of his childhood is from an no answer. The words of the Rambam and tenth yahrtzeit. article the Rav wrote in the mid-1940s are difficult. No one is capable of resolv- As new issues (although it was not published until over ing these questions.” The shiur ended thirty years later). This description is not with no explanation. The students were arise, there is no only about his childhood; it is about a sad, and even my father was depressed. A set of values that shaped his entire life. sense of despair descended upon all of us. one to guide us as Rambam, the Rav recalled, was the I cried. Even the eyes of the Rambam Reflections only friend he had during his child- glistened with teardrops. clearly and as hood. Reb Moshe Soloveitchik, the With a broken heart, I would walk Rav’s father, would carefully analyze slowly to my mother and cry out to her: definitively as the Rambam in the shiurim he delivered “Mother, Father cannot answer the to his talmidim in Pruzhin. “The Rambam. What will we do? He did not Rav did. on Rambam was a constant guest in our succeed today.” And my mother would home,” wrote the Rav. tell me: “Don’t worry. Father will find family tradition to the secular metrop- I would strain my ears to catch my an answer to the Rambam. If he does olis of Berlin was a significant step for father’s every word. In my young and not succeed, then when you grow up per- the Rav. “You have no idea how enor- a impressionable mind, there developed a haps you will find an answer to the mously difficult it was for me to move dual impression: First, that the Rambam Rambam. Always remember, my son, the from the world of R. Hayyim to that was being attacked by enemies who wanted important thing about Torah is to study of Berlin University,” the Rav once to hurt him, and second, that the it in happiness and enthusiasm.” 3 told a talmid. “Even my children can- Rambam’s only defender was my father. I As a child, the Rav was deeply influ- not appreciate it because they already Life 5 felt strongly that without my father, who enced by a number of people: his two found a paved road.” Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, z”l, (1903-1993). Photo courtesy of knows what would happen to the grandfathers, Reb Chaim Brisker and One can only imagine how difficult it Department of Communications and Public Affairs, University Rambam? It was as if the Rambam himself Reb Elya Pruzhiner, both highly must have been for him on those long, were with us in the room, listening to my respected talmidei chachamim and lonely winter nights in a foreign country. By Jacob J. Schacter [RIETS].) After greeting the Rav, my and how much more important it will father’s words. The Rambam sat next to me manhigei Yisrael; his uncle, Reb Velvel Again, we do not know much about the father introduced me to him. The Rav become, with the passage of time, to on my bed. What did he look like? I don’t Brisker, “the Griz”; his Chabad Rav’s life in Berlin, but some informa- know exactly. He seemed to look like an melamed in Khaslavitch; his mother tion is forthcoming from a little-known will never forget the first time I bent over and caressed my cheek, at convey what he was to a generation exceedingly handsome and good father. His and, above all, his father. It is impossi- source. In 1994, a book of memoirs by met the Rav, zt”l. I was six years which point, one of the accom- “asher lo yada et Yosef” (Exodus 1:8), a name was also Moshe just like my father. ble to overstate the extent of his Werner Silberstein, a German Jew who Iold and lived half a block from panying him said to me, “Don’t wash generation that did not have the [When Reb Moshe defended the father’s influence. The Rav never had known the Rav in Berlin, was pri- Montefiore Medical Center in the your face for a week.” zechut to experience firsthand the Rav’s Rambam] the Rambam was comforted learned in a yeshivah, and his father vately published by his family. Silberstein Bronx, where my parents and I often I was astounded because every day extraordinary qualities—his vibrancy and smiled. I too was delighted and was his muvhak. writes: visited patients. One evening, as my my mother would say, “Yankef Yosef’l, and dynamism, his brilliance and lack joined in the feeling of joy in the room. I The Rav lived in Pruzhin until In the twenties I became acquainted father and I entered the hospital, we did you wash your face today?” And of pretension, his radical intellectual would jump from my bed and run to my 1910; he spent the next ten years in with Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, a young noticed a tall man, surrounded by a here was an adult—a —telling me honesty and demanding search for mother and cry out the good news: two small towns in White Russia man who had just arrived in Berlin large group of people. Recognizing the not to wash my face for an entire week! truth, his extraordinary power of self- “Mother, Mother, the Rambam won. He (Raseyn and Khaslavitch) where his from Warsaw. . . . It did not take long man, my father whispered to me with Ten years have elapsed since the revelation and deep-seated sense of beat the Rabad. Father helped him. father served as rabbi. Around 1920, for us to become well-acquainted and great excitement, “That’s the Rav. Rav’s passing, and the “shriek of privacy, his unswerving commitment Look how wonderful my father is!” the family moved to Warsaw. then good friends. He often came to our That’s Rabbi Soloveitchik.” (My father despair”1 that immediately follows to the mesorah and intimate knowledge But once in a great while my father e know little about the Rav’s house in Berlin, one of the few where he has the distinction of being the first death is absent. But the need to dis- of and appreciation for the philosophi- did not succeed, and despite all his life over the next six years in was able to eat without hesitation, even rabbi to receive semichah from the Rav cuss the Rav’s life, reflect upon his cal contributions of Western culture. efforts the enemies of the Rambam W Warsaw; we do know, how- on Pessach. In this connection I should at ’s Rabbi Isaac achievements and describe the values But the task is daunting and the defeated him. Their questions were as ever, that it was here where he studied like to relate an unforgettable episode. Elchanan Theological Seminary that he represented is more pressing responsibility enormous. The Rav had than ever.2 Our sense of loss has very high standards. A sentence or a strong as iron. Although my father mus- political science at Warsaw’s Free During a visit, a few days before Pessach, Rabbi Schacter is the dean of the Rabbi grown with the passage of time as new thought had to be formulated with tered all his strength, he could not save Polish University and where he was he replied to my wife Raya’s invitation Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute in issues arise, and there is no one to clarity and precision. Only Rabbi the Rambam from his detractors. first exposed to advanced secular stud- that he be our guest on Seder night: 4 Boston and a contributing editor of guide us as clearly and as definitively Soloveitchik could appropriately Salvation did not come for the Rambam. ies in a systematic fashion. “Great, but could I ask to be present Jewish Action. as the Rav did. How important it is memorialize Rabbi Soloveitchik. Deep in thought, my father would lean In the fall of 1926, at the age of when you kasher the cooking stove?”

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Notes 11. See Reb Moshe’s letter to Rabbi “With pleasure,” said Raya, “but with Eastern European yeshivot, and were all written in the mid-1940s 1. This is a quote from Rabbi Joseph B. Yehuda Leib Forer of Holyoke, the request that you tell me quite honest- School, a day school. although the latter two were not pub- Soloveitchik, “A Tribute to the Rebbitzen of Massachusetts, in Mayer S. Abramowitz, 17 ly, if something is not done correctly. I Today, continues lished until many years later.) Over Talne,” Tradition 17:2 (spring 1978): 73. Chachmei Yisrael of New England (Worcester, shall do it the way I learnt it from my to flourish, but the Heichal was closed the years, the Rav also published a 2. For preliminary biographies of the Ma., 1991), 98. Rabbi Forer was a talmid of Bobbe.” Joseph Dov came at the when the Rav succeeded his father as number of other long articles, but he Rav, see , “R. Joseph Reb Moshe’s father, Reb Chaim, and was appointed time for koshering the stove. rosh yeshivah of RIETS in 1941.13 clearly made his greatest and most Soloveitchik,” in Simon Noveck, ed., Great known as the “Illuy of Pruzhin,” the town After a while he disappeared suddenly. The Rav was deeply involved in long-lasting impact through his Torah Jewish Thinkers of the Twentieth Century where Reb Moshe spent the first ten years of “Oi,” said Raya, “I’ve obviously failed supervision in Boston and in Shebeal Peh. (Clinton, 1963), 281-97; Aaron Rakeffet- his marriage. Rabbi Forer was a close friend the test.” But lo and behold, a little later the entire New England area. At one It was also in the mid-1940s that Rothkoff, The Rav: The World of Rabbi of Reb Moshe’s; when the Boston communi- a magnificent bunch of flowers arrived, point, he took to the streets to pub- the Rav moved from the Agudas Joseph B. Soloveitchik, vol. 1 (Hoboken, NJ, ty held a memorial meeting for Reb Moshe in acceptance of our invitation to partic- licly picket non-kosher butcher stores Harabonim to the Rabbinical Council 1999), 21-78; Michael A. Bierman, shortly after he passed away in January, “Editor’s Introduction,” Memories of a ipate in our Seder.6 that had opened in Jewish neighbor- of America and from Agudas Yisrael to 1941, Rabbi Forer was one of the speakers. Giant: Eulogies in Memory of Rabbi Dr. t the University of Berlin, the hoods.14 The Rav became embroiled Mizrachi; over the next forty years, he See Hapardes 15:1 (April 1941): 6. Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l (, 2003), 12. Jewish Advocate, 16 December 1932, 1. Rav took his studies very seri- in bitter controversies against rabbis had a powerful impact on both of 19-43. A comprehensive biography of the 13. For all the Rav’s efforts in this field A ously.7 But notwithstanding and kashrut organizations that did not these organizations. Rav is a major scholarly desideratum. See during the 1930s and early 1940s, see Seth his emphasis on secular studies, the meet his standards. He ruffled many As the Rav’s reputation grew, and as Shlomo Pick, “The Rav: Biography and Farber, An American Orthodox Dreamer: study of Torah (“vehagita bo yomam feathers, and an entire campaign was his talmidim began to take positions at Bibliography,” B.D.D. 6 (winter 1998): 27- Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Boston’s valaylah”) remained central to his life, orchestrated against him by Orthodox the forefront of the Orthodox and 44; idem., “The Rav: A Pressing Need for a Maimonides School (University Press of and there is no doubt that he was fully and non-Orthodox alike. The sit- general American Jewish community, Comprehensive Biography,” B.D.D. 10 New England; forthcoming), chap. 2-3. engaged in the study of Torah uation became so bad that in 1941 the his influence began to spread through- The title page from the Rav’s doctoral (winter 2000): 37-57. 14. See, for example, Hapardes 12:1 throughout his years in Berlin. The Rav was brought up on charges of out the country and beyond. He spent dissertation from the University of Berlin. 3. “UVikkashtem MiSham,” in Ish (April 1938): 26 Rav’s son, Dr. , racketeering, fraud, corruption and tax the following decades actively involved HaHalakhah—Galuy veNistar (Jerusalem, 15. See the article by Rabbi Joseph Shubow recently published a sefer that includes evasion. The complaint was brought in teaching Torah and leading a com- 1979), 230-32. The English translation is in Hapardes 17:10 (January 1944): 23-27. To from The Rav, vol. 1, pp. 247-250. a number of chiddushei Torah on many before the Massachusetts state attorney munity that constantly sought his the best of my knowledge, this is the only time When I was six years old the Rav 4. See Jacob J. Schacter, “Facing the difficult sugyot in Shas that the Rav general, and an independent investiga- advice. He began to slow his pace in Hapardes published an article in English and caressed my check. I have continued to Truths of History,” The Torah U-Madda sent to his father during that time.8 tor was appointed to determine one by a Conservative rabbi. For more on the the mid-1980s and was niftar a little feel that caress ever since—on my Journal 8 (1998-1999): 222 and n. 97. In the fall of 1930, while completing whether the allegations were true. Two over ten years ago, on Chol HaMoed close relationship between the Rav and Rabbi cheek, my heart and my mind. The 5. Walter Wurzburger, “Rabbi Joseph B. Shubow, see The Rav, vol. II, 32-33; Seth his studies at the university, the Rav years later, the Rav was exonerated Pesach 5753. Rav was my life-long role model. Soloveitchik as of Post-Modern Farber, “Reproach, Recognition and Respect: moved to Vilna presumably to court from all of the charges.15 It was also Although it is ten years since his pass- Orthodoxy,” Tradition 29:1 (fall 1994): 9; Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Orthodoxy’s his future wife, Tonya Lewit, who lived during this period of his life, in 1935, The Rav’s shtender. Photo courtesy of the ing, Klal Yisrael misses him greatly— repr. in Marc D. Angel, Exploring the Mid-Century Attitude Toward Non-Orthodox there. They were married the following that the Rav applied for the position Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute his dazzling intellect, charismatic per- Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Denominations,” American Jewish History 89:2 June and moved back to Berlin in the of the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Tel (Hoboken, NJ, 1997), 8. sonality, spellbinding oratorical skills, (June 2001): 193-214. fall. The Rav finished his doctoral dis- Aviv. After spending the summer in 6. Werner Silberstein, My Way from Berlin charming sense of humor and over- 16. A report about the first shiur sertation and was awarded his diploma seeking support for his candida- to Jerusalem (Jerusalem, 1994), 24-26. My whelming fealty to the mesorah com- delivered by the Rav at RIETS can be at the end of the following year. cy, the Rav lost the vote to Rabbi thanks to Mr. Michael Bierman for bringing found in Hapardes (June 1941): 11. bined with an openness to the best in In August 1932, the Rav and his Moshe Avigdor Amiel of Antwerp. this work to my attention. Immediately following the story—in the world around him. We miss his wife came with their newly born On January 31, 1941 (3 Shevat 7. A. Lichtenstein, “R. Joseph the same column of that publication— courage—the courage to do what was daughter to the .9 They 5701), Reb Moshe Soloveitchik died Soloveitchik,” 283-84; J. Schacter, “Facing is a report of a kabbalat panim ten- right even when it was not easy, and the Truths of History,” 218-222. were supposed to go to the Hebrew unexpectedly. Since 1929, he had been dered in honor of Reb , often it was not easy. The Rav played a 8. See, for example, Iggerot haGrid Halevi Theological College in , but the rosh yeshivah of RIETS. A few who arrived in New York in search of major role in the revival and growth of (Jerusalem, 2001), 8, 90, 130, 141,161, affidavits for his talmidim caught in when the institution could not afford months after Reb Moshe’s passing (and Orthodoxy in America through his 211, 219, 222, 223, 231, 273. Hitler’s inferno. That these two to pay the Rav’s salary,10 the Rav’s after a complicated struggle), the Rav ability to present tradition in its most 9. For copies of the Rav and his wife’s events—the Rav’s beginning to say father went to work to find his son a was invited to succeed his father. He pristine form in a way that resonated “Declaration of Intent,” (the documents shiur and Reb Aharon’s arrival in position.11 In December, the family delivered his first shiur at RIETS on with the modern American mind. May needed to become citizens of the United America—were reported on the same moved to Boston where the Rav was May 13, 1941.16 States), including photographs of both of his memory be for a blessing. JA page in the same publication at the installed as head of that city’s eleven he Rav already had some them and the dates and places of their birth same time is no coincidence; together united Orthodox congregations.12 For national exposure, but now he and marriage, see Shaul Shimon Deutsch, they represented the beginning of a This article is an edited transcript of a the next nine years, he immersed him- T had an opportunity to turn Larger Than Life: The Life and Times of the new chapter in the history of Torah lecture delivered at a session in honor of self in raising the standards of Jewish his attention to the broader canvas of Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel learning in America. the tenth yahrtzeit and one hundredth education and kashrut in that city. He the American Orthodox community. Schneerson (New York, 1997), 280-81. 17. “Ish HaHalakhah,” Talpiyot 1:3-4 birthday of Rabbi Soloveitchik, held at founded two schools: Heichal He began to write important articles. 10. Oscar Z. Fasman, “After Fifty Years, (1944): 651-735; The Halakhic Mind (New the National Convention of the Rabbeinu Chaim Halevi, a yeshivah (“Ish HaHalakhah,” “The Halakhic an Optimist,” American Jewish History York, 1986); “UVikkashtem MiSham,” in December 2002. 69:2 (December 1979): 160. Hadarom 47 (5739): 1-83. gedolah modeled after the classical Mind” and “UVikkashtem MiSham”

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Rav drew an analogy to the slip pieces of paper to the Rav depict- on his talmidim were due to the love Communist party. He described how ing the passage of time. The first day he had for them and to his commit- the Communist leaders tried to show the system worked like a charm. I ment to being the best melamed he how every type of workers’ union was handed the Rav a sheet indicating that could be. However, outside of shiur, productive, but they had difficulty two hours had passed, and he ended his demeanor was welcoming and gen- articulating the productivity of the shiur. Everyone in the shiur was tle. I remember many times people left transportation union. Unlike every shocked. The next day, however, after I the Rav’s apartment comforted, either other union that created a product, the signaled the Rav, he continued to transportation union simply moved teach. How does a twenty-year-old goods from one location to another. deal with the fact that the hador The Rav was at Just as the union did not easily classify is not following his medically pre- as being productive, hot-za’ah, said the scribed time limit? All the students home with any Rav, did not easily classify as a forbid- had their eyes fixed on me to see how den category of work. the situation would unfold. After sugya in Shas, he Rav’s clarity, charisma and another forty-five minutes passed, I intellectual integrity made rose, closed the Rav’s Gemara and any issue in T shiur exciting, and his class- announced that shiur was over. The room became a gathering place for all entire room was quiet. The Rav turned halachah and any types of people—from young semichah to his students and said, “Even the students to veteran roshei yeshivah. Satan doesn’t have as good an assistant philosophical idea. Immediately after Sukkot or during as I do.” All the students laughed, and the first week of Nisan, when YU was shiur was over. Rather than engage in in session and other yeshivot were on conversation, I walked silently with because the Rav had a solution to their vacation, the Rav’s shiur would be the Rav to Morgenstern Dormitory. problems or simply because he had lis- attended by many guests who just He asked me what was wrong. I told tened so intently. Hearing the pain of wanted to see and hear the Rav. him that I had not ended the shiur of another Jew had an effect on the Rav. TheThe RavRav asas aa Often at the end of the shiur, there my own accord. I was just following His meetings with people—whether it would be questions on what was instructions. I would have loved to sit was with Menachem Begin or with a taught, and the Rav would answer in shiur for an extra hour. The Rav simple Jew—never became routine. them all. One time, a younger student responded, “Kenny, you know that After meeting with someone in distress, PersonalPersonal asked a question. The Rav answered when I wake up in the morning, I am it would become harder for the Rav to Rebbe walk, sleep and eat. Aware of how the Rebbe the question and ended shiur. As I was in pain, and in the afternoon many

By Kenneth Brander Photo courtesy of Department Communications and Public Affairs, Yeshiva University leaving, the Rav asked me if I knew times I am in pain. But when I deliver Rav internalized the pain of others, we where that particular student ate a shiur, I am pain free. You know bet- made sure not to schedule consecutive appointments. The Rav cared about hen most people think of Rav the Rav’s shamashim, was leaving idea. His philosophy of was lunch. I told him I thought at a ter than the doctors. You know that everyone, including Mrs. O’Shea, the Joseph B. Soloveitchik, they Yeshiva University (YU) for medical often articulated with language found restaurant called Mc’Dovids. The Rav when I am teaching I have no pain.” Irish woman who cleaned his apart- Wtend to focus on his brilliance. school. He suggested me as someone in Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard and indicated that he wanted to go there. How true that statement was. Often ment, and the security guard in the I do not have the ability to expound who could take his place; soon after, Cohen, but his ideas were predicated As we entered the place, the students the Rav entered shiur with blurred Morgenstern hallway. He was a regal on the Rav’s intellectual greatness. the Rav’s son, Dr. Haym Soloveitchik, on the ideals found in Rambam and from MTA (YU’s high school), who vision, yet he would read the gemara, person and treated everyone with However, as someone who, from age asked me to serve as the Rav’s shamash. Ramban. He used all of his knowledge were playing pinball, recognized the Rambam and as if his sight were respect. nineteen through twenty-three, was Initially, I turned down the position. to be an effective teacher, and every Rav and froze. Even the non-Jewish fine. Sometimes he would ask me to oward the end of his tenure at not only in the Rav’s shiur but also was The thought of being in the Rav’s shiur introduced us to another color in man flipping hamburgers behind the open the Gemara to the daf he was YU, one of us shamashim would one of his shamashim (assistants), I was presence, on a daily basis for long peri- the tapestry of Torah. I remember the counter, who knew who the Rav was, teaching. He would point to the froze. The Rav went over to the stu- gemara as if he were reading the Tsleep in the Rav’s apartment blessed to be able to observe the Rav ods of time, was too intimidating. Rav once explaining why hotza’ah (car- every night. The Rav would always wake closely, spending more time with him However, Rabbi , the mash- rying on ) was categorized by dent, who was trying to digest his gemara from the text, but I knew that up early, but I remember once waking than I did with my own parents. giach of YU, encouraged me to recon- Tosafot as a melachah geruah, an inferi- hamburger, and indicated that he he wasn’t; he was reciting it by heart. up around three o’clock in the morning I got the position of shamash sider; listening to Rabbi Blau was one or creative act Biblically forbidden on would base the following day’s shiur The next day in shiur, I decided I was and realizing that the Rav was not in his because my chavruta, who was one of of the best decisions of my life. Shabbat (Shabbat 2a, s.v. yeziot on the young man’s question. not going to remind the Rav when to bed. He was sitting in his chair in the Rav was fond of haShabbat). While melachot forbidden At one point, due to the Rav’s stop. However, an hour-and-a-half into living room. I asked him what was Rabbi Brander is the senior rabbi of the saying that the Rav was the melamed on Shabbat are normally creative in health, his shiur had to be limited to the shiur, the Rav turned to me and wrong. Apparently, that afternoon, some Boca Raton Synagogue and the dean of of our time. In shiur, the Rav was at nature, hot-za’ah lacks a creative two hours. During shiur, I typically sat asked how much time was left. individuals had asked him a halachic the Community and the Weinbaum home with any sugya in Shas, any issue aspect. To explain the difficulty the next to the Rav. I devised a technique The Rav had a reputation for being question. He told them to return the Yeshiva High School in Florida. in halachah and any philosophical rabbis had in classifying hotza’ah, the to deal with the time limit. I would tough in shiur. The demands he made

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION next day for the answer. The Rav said that he knew what the halachah was but that it would be heartbreaking for them. Therefore, he could not sleep. Towards a here was a special camaraderie that the Rav shared with Rav Moshe, TRav Yaakov Ruderman and the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Whenever Chabad came out with a new sefer, the Rebbe Philosophy of would send shelichim to the Rav to give him a copy. Rav Moshe, Rav Ruderman and the Rav would call one another before every chag. On Ta’anit Esther of 1986, when Rav Moshe was niftar, the Rav Halachah was not feeling well. His family was con- cerned and asked us shamashim not to By inform the Rav of the petirah (death). The next morning, The New York Times that With Kenneth Brander at his wedding. Photo courtesy of Rabbi Brander was normally delivered to the Rav’s apart- ment was somehow not received, and the because I remember the Rav turning heart. I would like to conclude with the radio next to his chair, which was always to me and saying, “Kenny, why didn’t idea Rav , zt”l, stated tuned to News Radio 88, was broken. We you tell me that Rav Moshe Feinstein at his brother’s funeral. When the Beit thought we had done a great job of shield- was niftar?” At the time, I did not Hamikdash was burning, the pirchei The RavÕs Unwritten Work ing the Rav from the news. know what to say. Eventually as we got kehunah (younger priests) went to the I begin with a word of caution and a score the remarkable creativity of the Rav’s earliest published writings, I rarely spent time in the afternoon closer to the Eastern Airlines shuttle, I rooftop to surrender the Temple keys to plea for forbearance. This article is not Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l, formally organized or rigorously struc- Halakhic Man, Halakhic Mind and in the Rav’s apartment. I was in Rav turned to him and said, “Atara [his heaven. Rav Ahron explained that this ’s kollel, and there- concludes his philosophical mono- tured. It is difficult to isolate specific “UVikkashtem MiSham.” For exam- daughter] told us not to tell you.” was not an act of greatness but rather graph, Halakhic Mind, on an exciting elements of the Rav’s thought. In his ple, the incisive analyses of mourning fore I was only in the apartment late at I thought we had done an incredible one of cowardice. Even when the Beit and tantalizing note. “Out of the thought, content is inseparable from and rejoicing as well as the dialectical night and early in the morning. job of keeping this secret and wanted Hamikdash was burning, no one had sources of Halakhah, a new world method, halachah from philosophy. nature of the religious experience have However, the week before Pesach, the to understand where we had failed. the right to surrender. And it was that view awaits formulation.” This sen- His thought is rich and stimulating already been anticipated in “UVikkashtem Rav had one of the other shamashim “Rebbe, how did you find out?” I surrender that doomed the Jewish peo- tence is exciting because it promises and, accordingly, sets one’s mind rac- MiSham.” Similarly, the profound dis- asked. He replied, “It was Rav Moshe’s ple to a long and difficult galut. new vistas of thought—a comprehen- ing with all sorts of associations. cussion of time and the Jewish existen- turn to call me to wish me a good Over the past fifty years or so, many of sive philosophy of halachah. But it is Consequently, even though I have the tialist philosophy of being and becom- The Rav’s classroom Yom Tov, and there could only be one us have had the zechut of being students of also frustratingly and endlessly tanta- topic of the philosophy of halachah in ing in Out of the Whirlwind echo the reason why he didn’t call.” the Rav. His passing is not a time to surren- lizing because the Rav, for whatever mind, it seems inordinately difficult Rav’s words in Halakhic Man. And, became a gathering When I got engaged, I wanted my der or abandon his calling but to recommit reason, never wrote the sequent vol- and, more importantly, entirely unde- most importantly for our present pur- poses, the Rav’s pioneering thesis kallah to meet with the Rav, so I asked ourselves to be both the students and teach- ume on the philosophy of halachah. A sirable, to streamline the presentation. careful review of the Rav’s writings, Hence, the reader will—indulgently, I regarding the philosophy of halachah, place for all types of his permission to bring her to the apart- ers of his tradition. We must recommit our- however, can somewhat assuage our hope—encounter a variety of associa- first articulated in Halakhic Man, ment. He immediately said yes. selves to embrace not a Torah shaped by frustration. In his writings, the Rav— tions and tangential observations along reverberates throughout both of these people–from young Parkinson’s disease especially affected the modernity but a modernity that is shaped at times in a remarkably didactically the way. new volumes. To be sure, the Rav’s Rav at night, and it was hard for him to by Torah. May Hakadosh Baruch Hu conspicuous fashion—develops ele- The occasion for this study is the elaboration and popularization of semichah students walk. But when he heard that my kallah strengthen us and give us the capacity to ments of the philosophy of halachah.1 recent posthumous publication of two these seminal ideas are extremely valu- was at the door, he got out of his chair move from being students of the mesorah, Scattered throughout the Rav’s works wonderful volumes from the Rav: able; nonetheless the singular, extraor- to veteran roshei on his own, walked to the door, opened students of moreinu verabbeinu haRav Yosef we can discern paragraphs and even Worship of the Heart (New Jersey, dinary creativity of the Rav’s earlier it and escorted her to the couch. Only Dov Soloveitchik, to being teachers of his whole chapters of the book that was 2003), which incisively analyzes the works is effectively highlighted. yeshivah. after she sat did he take a seat. mesorah. Yehi zichro baruch. JA never written.2 This article seeks to concept of prayer while lyrically Equally remarkable is that these ear- It was a tremendous berachah that the Rav clarify the concept of philosophy of depicting the experience of prayer, and lier works were all pioneering essays written in the early 1940s, a time of call the third-floor beit midrash and attended our wedding. Under the chuppah, This article is an edited transcript of a halachah and then to gather and piece Out of the Whirlwind (New Jersey, together some fragments of the book 2003), which depicts the halachic unprecedented national tragedy and, ask that I drive him to the airport. he had several memorable exchanges with lecture delivered at a session in honor of the that was never written. approach to, and quintessential reli- for the Rav, personal tragedy as well. us. Tragically, it was his last public event. tenth yahrtzeit and one hundredth birth- This was clearly not the norm. Until gious experience of, adversity, suffering (The Rav’s father, with whom he this day, every time I travel on a cer- Most people think that the Rav day of Rabbi Soloveitchik, held at the Rabbi Twersky is a rosh yeshivah at the and mourning. shared a remarkably close relationship, tain stretch of the Grand Central inherited Rav Chaim’s mind. The truth National Convention of the Orthodox Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Exciting and enthralling in their died in 1941.) One could ascribe bio- Parkway, I have a hard time steering is that he also inherited Rav Chaim’s Union in December, 2002. Seminary. own right, these volumes also under- graphical reasons for this paradoxical

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION symbiosis of tragedy and creativity. I One might have anticipated that the entific thought, exposes the funda- there is only a single source from thesis is even more remarkable—basic allowed the philosophy of halachah believe, however, that the appropriate Rav would have systematically mental misunderstanding and misdi- which a Jewish philosophical philosophical ideas and religious expe- to remain hidden whereby the Rav perspective is metaphysical, not simply addressed “modern” questions. He cer- rectedness of the attempts to histori- Weltanschauung could emerge; the riences regarding space, time and might achieve greatness in this biographical. tainly possessed the “intellectual capi- cize or psychologize halachah.9 objective order—the Halakhah. . . . causality are objectified within realm as well.16 From time immemorial, whenever the tal” to do so. He achieved “sovereign As for the vexing questions involv- Problems of freedom, causality, God- halachah. identity of the individual and community mastery” over all philosophic, scientific ing the fossil record and the like, man relationship, creation, and nihility Halachah, according to the Rav, is was shattered, man encountered God and humanistic knowledge.5 He seem- which pose external challenges and would be illuminated by halakhic not simply a legal system but also an Defining Philosophy of (e.g., the Paradisiacal man after his fall; ingly effortlessly employed modern thus did not fall within the Rav’s principles.”11 objectified philosophical system. Halachah after the episode of the golden calf). Western vernacular. And yet, the Rav purview, I believe that we can trans- Let us carefully clarify the Rav’s Within halachah, fundamental philo- Religious experience is born in crisis.3 did not address some glaringly “mod- pose an insight that the Rav was wont revolutionary breakthrough regard- sophical concepts and religious experi- What is the philosophy of halachah God reveals Himself to man in the ern” questions. He did not seek to rec- to share during his shiurim. When ing the existence of a philosophy of ences have been translated into and how is it to be derived? To under- wilderness . . . . Not in a settled and oncile apparent contradictions confronted with a question regarding halachah. Philosophy is the study of halachic norms.12 stand what the philosophy of halachah flourishing land, but rather in the plains between the dicta of modern science his analysis, the Rav would immediate- the assumptions, axioms and under- The Rav’s contribution can best is, we must clarify what it is not. It is of a great and awesome desert—a for- and Torah, such as the age of the ly intuit whether the question repre- lying principles of a particular sys- be delineated and appreciated in the possible to derive philosophy from saken land, the shadow of death—does world or the fossil record, and he did sented a possible refutation of his tem or discipline. Thus, the philoso- context of the history of Jewish halachic sources without these philo- the Almighty appear with some of the not respond to the heresies of Biblical explanation. When it did not, the Rav phy of science, for example, con- thought. In the eleventh century sophical ideas qualifying as elements of myriads of the holy . . . . The Holy One, criticism. did not feel compelled to answer it in cerns itself with the axioms and Rabbeinu Bachya “redeemed” the the philosophy of halachah. In this blessed is He, revealed himself to Adam My revered father, zt”l, observed and order to justify his interpretation. If assumptions of science. What meta- idea of “duties of the heart”13—that context methodology is crucial. While when the latter had sunk in the miry pit explained this distinctive feature of the the truth of his explanation was over- physical assumptions underlie the is, the idea that halachah does not some of the ensuing comments and of the primordial sin, which separated Rav’s writings: whelmingly clear, questions were just scientific endeavor? What defines a simply regulate activity and behav- distinctions may initially appear rather him from his Creator, and he did not [There] is no attempt to demonstrate that—questions, but not potential scientific theory? What characteris- ior, but also that it regulates thought abstract, I hope that the subsequent that traditional Judaism is completely refutations. On such occasions the Rav tics must it possess to be considered and emotion. This idea, however, its examples of the philosophy of congruent with philosophy (or any part would say, “Men shtarbt nisht fun a scientific? The laws of gravity and centrality notwithstanding, is not halachah will clarify these distinctions. This article seeks of it). This truly noteworthy feature is a kasha” (“One does not die from a relativity belong to the domain of the same as the Rav’s. Emphasizing The first crucial distinction is that result of the fact that for the Rov there question”). Similarly, the Rav was con- science. The assumption that the commandments such as bitachon, the philosophy of halachah does not to...gather and piece was nothing essentially problematic vinced that if Jews understood natural world is orderly and gov- yirah and ahavah (trust, fear and interpret halachah symbolically. about the masorah; he did not feel com- Judaism—its way of life and philoso- erned by physical laws accessible to love of God), all of which are Symbolic interpretation treats together some pelled to prove that Torah and philoso- phy—any question would be just that, man’s intellect and the insistence “duties of the heart” and not “duties halachah as a symbol and penetrates its phy or science are compatible.6 a question and no more. that a scientific theory be verifiable of the limbs,” does not expose or symbolic content. Consider, for exam- fragments of the Accordingly, the Rav undertook to Accordingly, the Rav was preoccu- or refutable, belong to the domain presuppose a philosophy of ple, the commandment of eating actively exposit, rather than reactively pied with seminal, internal issues of of the philosophy of science. halachah. A philosopher of halachah korech. At first glance, it seems anti- book that was never defend, Judaism. This does not mean Judaism and Jewish thought. Halakhic General philosophy deals with basic systematically discovers—when pre- thetical to eat matzah, which is associ- that he ignored all questions. On the Man is a pioneering tour de force, questions regarding time, space, sent—the philosophical axioms and ated with redemption, with maror, contrary, his non-apologetic stance not- which depicts the spirituality and tele- causality, et cetera—the basic, religious realities, which are objecti- which is associated with the bitterness written. withstanding, he did respond to sever- ology of halachah. It opens a window axiomatic categories of human fied within these “duties of the of enslavement. And yet the mitzvah al challenges of the day. But the Rav into the spiritual world of halachic thought and experience. What is time? heart.” The Rav did precisely this. of korech mandates this. Perhaps this is anticipate divine revelation . . . . responded only to those challenges to man. “UVikkashtem MiSham” Does it exist independently or is it just While Rabbeinu Bachya, in his trail- because the Torah is hinting that Initially God reveals Himself to man religion in general or to Judaism in describes the quest for deveikut with a descriptive category of measure- blazing work, defines the “duties of redemption is not the reversal of suf- when evil triumphs in the world, at a particular that fell within the purview God. It is essentially a pietistic work ment—(e.g., is it an hour’s drive?) If the heart” and emphasizes their cen- fering but its culmination. In particu- time when the beauty of life has been of his exposition of Yehadut. with an emphasis on intuitive knowl- time exists, is it homogenous or het- trality, he does not analyze these lar, the Exodus represented the culmi- removed . . . . The word of God initially Thus, in Halakhic Mind, in his dis- edge and immediacy of religious expe- erogeneous? Similarly, space, causality commandments in order to recon- nation, rather than the mere cessation, comes at a time of historical and meta- cussion of objectification within reli- rience, as opposed to discursive knowl- and other basic categories invite the struct axioms and experiences of of our experience in Egypt, whereby physical desolation.4 gious life, the Rav responds to the edge and impersonal reason.10 same scrutiny. religious philosophy, as the Rav our national character was forged. The Rav’s phenomenology of Divine derisive critics of so-called “rabbinic Halakhic Mind is the most difficult Religious philosophy investigates the did.14 Moreover, the Rav’s philoso- According to God’s plan—implement- revelation accounts for his own burst legalism”7—critics who fail to grasp and challenging of the Rav’s writings. assumptions, axioms and underlying phy of halachah is to be gleaned ed according to His inscrutable will— of creativity, as well. that halachah is the religious system In this remarkable monograph, the principles of man’s relationship with from “duties of the limbs” as well. suffering leads to redemption. The publication of these volumes par excellence of objectification and Rav develops the idea that there is a God. What relationship exists between The great medieval Jewish Accordingly, we are commanded to eat coincided with the tenth anniversary quantification of religious norms and philosophy of halachah and a method- God who is infinite, eternal and philosophers such as Rabbi Yehudah matzah with maror to signify that the of the Rav’s passing as well as the one experience. Similarly, in Halakhic ology for reconstructing it. He thus absolutely self-sufficient and man who Halevi and Maimonides constructed suffering is actually an integral part of hundredth anniversary of his birth. Man, apropos of his phenomenology revolutionizes Jewish thought with his is finite, mortal and dependent? The elaborate philosophical systems but the process of redemption. This convergence invites us to reflect of religious experience, the Rav expos- assertion that “many concepts nature of religious experience and did not systematically draw upon This explanation develops a philoso- on the corpus of the Rav’s writings es the superficiality and distortion of employed by science and philosophy related issues are scrutinized. halachah as the primary source.15 phy of Divine providence out of and philosophy in the context of his the utilitarian conception of religion as are incompatible with religious theo- Halachah, according to the Rav, Thus, to paraphrase the words of halachic materials. Moreover, the life and times. It is especially reward- a haven of tranquility.8 And in “Ma retical schemes. Elementary concepts addresses the domains of both reli- the , the Rav’s luminous pre- methodology of symbolic interpreta- ing to reflect upon the Rav’s attitude Dodech Midod,” the Rav’s depiction such as time, substance, causality and gious and general philosophy. First of decessors—Rabbeinu Bachya, Rabbi tion employed, which greatly enhances towards “modern” questions because of the conceptual, ideal world of reality, in order to become eligible for all, halachic principles can illumine Yehudah Halevi and Maimonides— our religious experience of mitzvot as this will provide insight into his entire halachic thought, which he analogizes religious knowledge, must be reviewed the nature of man’s relationship with progenitors of the exceedingly rich well as our religious perspective in literary oeuvre. to the ideal constructs of modern sci- and reinterpreted. . . . To this end God. The second element of the Rav’s tradition of Jewish thought— general, is undoubtedly valid and tra-

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION ditional. Nevertheless, this interpreta- describes Reb Chaim’s Talmudic history. We can now appreciate the such, even though it exists indepen- tive, the past does not irretrievably slip the Exodus carries with it a unique tion does not qualify as the philosophy methodology (derech halimud): Rav’s rejection of the “why” method. dently, it is meaningful only in a away like sand in an hourglass. A per- halakhah: “In every generation a man of halachah; it is a philosophy of Reb Chaim revealed the light within It has already been made clear that descriptive sense, as a unit of measure- son’s spiritual identity—his character, must regard himself as if he came forth halachic symbols. In a similar vein, this tractate (i.e., Keilim); he made it philosophically the causalistic method ment.30 “How ‘old’ are you?” “How convictions and inclinations—in the out of Egypt.” But how can a person kabbalistic interpretations which inter- shed its practical garb and introduced [i.e., the “why” method] invariably leads ‘long’ is the trip from the United present, is the composite of past influ- regard himself as one of those who left pret halachah mystically, do not reveal the concept in place of the fact, the logi- to penetrative description. The enumera- States to Eretz Yisrael?” Accordingly, the ences and experiences. Thus, the past Egypt . . .if not by including himself in the philosophy of halachah. This mode cal relationship in place of the actual tion of causes never exhausts the eidetic basic units of time are linked to motion. resonates and endures into the present. this ancient past . . .? 37 of interpretation, as well, albeit tradi- connection, ideal content in place of con- substance [the idea] itself. It discloses the Time is measured “by the rotation of And thus to change oneself and reverse The past lives into the present and tional and sacred, does not reconstruct crete objects. . . . Just as he introduced a “what has gone before” but never the “is” the earth on its axis, and its revolution the direction of one’s life is, in a reli- future in another realm as well. Our the philosophy of halachah. The phi- new interpretation to these disciplines, so of the subject matter.25 As soon as they about the sun.”31 Quantitative time gious sense, to change one’s past. The mesorah is not simply a legacy or spiri- losophy of halachah can only be recon- too he probed and weighed and inter- had begun to interpret religious phenom- has no inherent qualities, hence its factualness of the past (e.g., Reuben tual heirloom; it, too, resonates and structed by analyzing and conceptual- preted according to his method, the ena causally, they negated their very nomenclature. Or does time exist in a ate non-kosher food) is unalterable, continues into the present and future. izing the exoteric substance of method of conceptualization, all areas of object.26 The only method open is the qualitative sense as well? According to but its spiritual reality (e.g., Reuben Similarly, within the act of talmud halachah. According to the Rav, Torah. Everywhere he gazed and every retrospective which explores the objective this approach, time is not simply a sinned and contaminated himself), Torah, the sages of all generations tran- halachah, substantively interpreted, is a topic that he touched was transformed series for the sake of excavating hidden “system of reference,”32 it exists mean- which continues into the present, is scend the boundaries of past and pre- source—veritably, the most authentic into halakhic content, conceptual idea strata underlying these objective forms.27 ingfully in its own right, not simply in malleable. Our sages have expressed sent and are contemporaries. source—of Jewish philosophy. and abstract essence.22 The Rav’s In other words, only the “what” the descriptive sense of “how old,” precisely this idea in their dictum that The masorah, the process of transmis- The Rav describes the method method for reconstructing the philoso- question can lead to an understanding “how long,” et cetera. Moreover, quali- repentance can transform deliberate sion, symbolizes the Jewish people’s out- whereby the philosophy of halachah phy of halachah is essentially Reb of the beliefs and experiences objecti- tative time is perceived as “pure dura- sins into merits. Moreover, by the look regarding the beautiful and resplen- can be exposed as “reconstruction.” Chaim’s derech halimud.23 fied within the halachic norm. “What” tion.”33 same spiritual logic, the future is not dent phenomenon of time. The chain of “. . . philosophy of religion performs questions can help reconstruct the phi- According to halachah, the Rav something unborn; rather it is firmly tradition, begun millennia ago, will an act of reconstruction.”17 “. . . the The ÒWhatÓ and the losophy of halachah concretized within explains, time undoubtedly exists in a rooted in one’s present spiritual identi- continue until the end of all time. Time, method of reconstruction . . . is of halachah while “why” questions invite qualitative as well as a quantitative ty. One’s spiritual identity does not in this conception, is not destructive, all- immense importance in the field of ÒWhyÓ Question supra-halachic answers, which do not sense. Moreover, halachah, as evi- merely prognosticate the future; it consuming, and it does not simply con- Jewish philosophy.”18 The underlying constitute the philosophy of halachah. denced by the cardinal principle of encapsulates the future. Thus, in the sist of fleeting, imperceptible moments. . reasoning of this methodology is com- Before proceeding further, one final Interestingly, Reb Chaim’s derech kedushat hazeman (sanctity of time), halachic view, past, present and future . . The consciousness of halakhic man, pelling. In Judaism religious experi- note of clarification is needed. The phi- halimud also insists on posing the operates with a unique understanding coexist. And with the primordial that master of the received tradition, ence and belief are objectified. losophy of halachah does not entail “what” and disallowing the “why” of qualitative time. Qualitative time is power of teshuvah, one is sovereign embraces the entire company of the sages The Halakhah is no longer satisfied philosophizing about halachah but question. capable of heterogeneity. Time possess- over all elements of time. of the masorah. He lives in their midst, with the inner image, and it demands rather analyzing and conceptualizing it. es distinctive qualities. “Time is not a Halakhic man is engaged in self-cre- discusses and argues questions of externalization and actual representa- Philosophizing poses the “why” ques- Halachah’s Conception mere void but a ‘reality.’ Religion ation, in creating a new “I.” He does not Halakhah with them . . .38 tions. The purely experiential search ends tion whereas conceptualizing poses the ascribes to time attributes such as regret an irretrievably lost past but a Time possesses these remarkable in action.19 “what” question. In this respect the of Time ‘holy,’ ‘profane,’ but these can be past still in existence, one that stretches qualities because Hashem created it The Halakhah is distrustful of the metaphysical thesis that the problem of applied only to a substance.”34 The into and interpenetrates with the present not only as something transient but as genuineness and depth of our inner life, philosophy is . . . the “what” is correct. . . One of the most basic philosophical heterogeneity of time, viz., its division and future. . . . Halakhic man is con- something eternal as well. Transient because of its vagueness, transience, and . At this point many philosophers have quandaries concerns time. Does time into sacred and profane, the subtle dis- cerned with the image of the past that is time slips away and is forever lost. volatility. Therefore, it has introduced, blundered. The curse of the “why” ques- exist independently or is it merely a tinctions within sacred time between alive and active in the center of his pre- Eternal time is experienced and lives in the realm of the experiential norm, tion followed them relentlessly.24 category of human thought? Physical Shabbat and Yom Tov, et cetera, in the sent tempestuous and clamorous life and into the present and future. concrete media through which a religious Imagine a student questioning what bodies (a table, a tree) clearly exist halachic system, allows the Rav to with a pulsating, throbbing future that Judaism declares: There can be no feeling manifests itself in the form of a he will study in an American history even if no one is thinking about them. reconstruct halachah’s unique qualita- has already been “created.” 36 eternity without time. On the contrary, concrete act.20 course. He is told that he will learn But does time also exist independent- tive conception of time. The time consciousness of halachic everlasting life only reveals itself through Judaism insists that religious experi- about the colonies, the struggle for ly? Time certainly functions as a But halachah’s philosophy of time is man encompasses not only his own the medium of the experience of time— ence and belief be manifested in independence, the Declaration of descriptive, cognitive category. The even more resplendent. The halachic past but also the past of the Jewish the hour is transformed into infinity, the halachically prescribed forms. Independence, et cetera. The “what” earth rotates on its axis once a day, it conception of time, which the Rav dis- people. Just as halachic man’s individ- moment into eternity . . . . The fleeting, Consequently, reasons the Rav, the question has given him insight into circles the sun once a year, et cetera, covers as the underpinning of teshuvah ual past resonates and lives in the pre- evanescent moment is transformed into way to discover the religious experi- American history. A second student but does time exist in its own right (repentance), is breathtakingly new sent so does our collective, national eternity.39 ence and beliefs viz., the philosophy of questions why he must take the course. even if we are not seeking to describe and profound. past. Within halachic man, historical Enlightened by the Rav’s remarkable halachah, is to retrace the objectifica- Ultimately, the answer must be motion? Or is time merely a category Halachah’s conception of teshuvah is consciousness becomes personal con- reconstruction of halachah’s philoso- tion process. The procedure is retro- because the school board has mandat- of human thought? If time does exist epitomized within the following rab- sciousness. phy of time, we glimpse an exciting, spective.21 In other words, the task of ed it. A sensitive teacher may rational- independently, what is its nature? Is it binic apothegm: “Gedolah teshuvah The whole thrust of the various com- holistic dimension of knowledge. Our the philosopher of halachah is to ize the decision and explain that it is purely mathematical? Quantitative shezdonot na’asot lo kezechuyot.” mandments of remembrance set forth in sages teach that in creating the world, reconstruct the experiences or axioms important for people to learn about time (in this context the terms quanti- (“Great is repentance, for deliberate the Torah—for example, the remem- Hashem “looked into the Torah and concretized within the practical their heritage, but the student will tative and mathematical are used inter- sins are accounted to him as mer- brance of the Exodus, the remembrance created the world.”40 In other words, halachah. remain clueless about American histo- changeably), although it “flows its”).35 For halachah, repentance con- (according to Nahmanides) of the revela- Torah is the blueprint for Creation. At Although the Rav is breaking the ry. Whatever ideas or values emerge in equably without relation to anything sists of not merely regretting past sins tion at Mount Sinai, . . . is directed first glance, this comment is quite puz- new and fertile ground of the philoso- the answer to his question, they are external,”28 does not “actually do any- but of changing oneself. And to toward the integration of these ancient zling. Torah is comprised of religious, phy of halachah, the methodology is superimposed from without; they are thing.”29 Quantitative time is “uni- change oneself is to change the past. events into man’s time consciousness. . . . not physical, laws and concepts. How uncannily familiar. Elsewhere the Rav not part of the discipline of American form, empty, and non-creative” and, as From a religious experiential perspec- The commandment to relate the story of could Torah serve as the blueprint for

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION the universe? Upon reflection, it the timeline (or, to employ Dr. Davies’ The cause is always temporally one and two, Maimonides speaks indicates immediate acceptance and can form his character . . . The seal of becomes clear that our sages are reveal- coinage, the timescape). Undeniably, antecedent to the effect. Within the exclusively of repentance for sins in atonement. In all of these respects, the causality is indeed set upon life . . . but ing that there exists a dazzling symme- we age, but the past does not disappear halachic universe, however, where the the realm of action—viz., doing some- presentation of the mitzvah of teshu- it is in the hands of man [to determine past continues to exist and is malleable, thing that the Torah prohibits or vah in chapter seven differs from that the causes] and whither the law of try between the spiritual and physical. or slip away; similarly, the future is not 50 The physical universe reflects aspects subsequently born. Instead past, pre- mechanistic causality is dethroned. The neglecting to do something that the of chapters one and two. causality will lead him . . . . of the spiritual universe. This principle sent and future coexist. future can influence and mold the past. Torah mandates. In this context he The Rav accounts for these differ- One who discovers and exercises is especially pronounced in kabbalah, the Admittedly, we cannot travel back- Accordingly, the Rav explains, that also lists different categories of sins ences by invoking the Talmud’s dis- absolute free will also masters his emo- Jewish mystical tradition. Accordingly, wards along the timescape.42 The time “The law of causality, from this per- and details what each necessitates in tinction between teshuvah me’ahavah tions. This halachic philosophic prin- kabbalah metaphorically employs track is a one-way street. But that does spective, also assumes a new form. We attaining atonement. If one repents for (repentance out of love) and teshuvah ciple underlies many mitzvot. The physical imagery in presenting spiritu- not mean that the time of the past do not have here the determinate order neglecting to fulfill a positive com- me’yirah (repentance out of fear).49 whole concept of avelut, mourning, al concepts. does not exist—just as if I travel in a of a scientific, causal process . . . .The mandment, complete, immediate The impetus for teshuvah me’yirah is . . . is nurtured by a unique doctrine The Rav’s remarkable philosophical southerly direction, the mass of land past by itself is indeterminate, a closed atonement is granted. In all other fear of punishment or guilt. Such about man and his emotional world exposition of halachic time, when jux- to the north still exists. book . . . .The future transforms the cases, however, teshuvah as a source of repentance, the Rav explains, does not . . . . The Halakhah holds the view that taposed with the teachings of modern The physical conception of time thrust of the past.”45 atonement has to be supplemented— represent a radical transformation of man’s mastery of his emotional life is physics regarding physical time, pro- adumbrated above remarkably echoes either with the Day of Atonement or the sinner’s character. In sinning, man unqualified and that he is capable of with the Day of Atonement and suf- allows himself to succumb to an changing thought patterns, emotional vides a splendid example of such holis- the Rav’s words, which resonate so Halachic Concept of Free 51 tic symmetry. Dr. Paul Davies, a con- clearly. Both—past and future—are fering or with the Day of Atonement, unsanctified instinct—for physical structures and experiential motifs . . . . temporary physicist, contrasts the con- alive; . . . From this perspective we nei- Will suffering and death, depending upon pleasure, wealth, honor, et cetera. But This concept of absolute free will ventional, common sense understand- ther perceive the past as “no more” nor the severity of the transgression. man has other core instincts as well. that can shape and form anew the ing of time with that of modern the future as “not yet” nor the present as Free will is axiomatic to all of halachah. Subsequent to this initial presenta- Instinctively, we love ourselves and fear human personality is inextricably physics. “a fleeting moment.” Rather past, pre- In the words of Maimonides: tion of the mitzvah of teshuvah, suffering and death. Moreover, the intertwined with halachah’s concep- The past we think of as having slipped sent, future merge and blend together. 43 This doctrine is an important princi- Maimonides interpolates a discussion conscience that Hashem has imbedded tions of time and causality. As the Rav out of existence, whereas the future is Of course, there is no analogue in ple, the pillar of the Torah and com- of free will. Revisiting the mitzvah of within us arouses feelings of guilt even more shadowy, its details still the physical world to the Rav’s mandment, as it is said, “See, I set teshuvah in chapter seven, he offers a when we sin. When a person repents unformed . . . . Obvious though this halachic-spiritual concept of changing before you this day life and good, and different description. from fear or guilt, it indicates that the commonsense description may seem, it is or reliving the past in a real, spiritual death and evil,” . . . . If God had Since every human being, as we have balance between his various impulses ...the Rav develops seriously at odds with modern physics . . sense. Some realities are exclusively decreed that a person should be either explained, has free will, a man should has shifted. In repenting, he has sim- . . Physicists prefer to think of time as spiritual. Nevertheless, this does not righteous or wicked, or if there were strive to repent and make verbal confes- ply responded to the healthier impuls- the idea that there is laid out in its entirety—a timescape, detract one iota from the exciting, some force inherent in his nature which sion of his sins and renounce them . . . es and instincts. The penitent me’yirah analogous to a landscape—with all past holistic symmetry that we have irresistibly drew him to a particular Do not say that one need only repent of does not act with complete free will; and future events located there together. glimpsed within the concept of time. course, or to a special branch of knowl- sinful deeds such as fornication, robbery he is still a captive of impulses and a philosophy of It is a notion sometimes referred to as edge, to special views or activities, as the and theft. Just as a man needs to repent instincts. His free will is limited; it block time.41 Halachic Concept of foolish astrologers out of their own fancy of these sins involving acts, so he needs to manifests itself only in adjudicating halachah and Dr. Davies reiterates this contrast. pretend, how could the Almighty have investigate and repent of any evil dispo- between opposing instincts, in over- According to conventional wisdom, the Causality charged us through the prophets: “Do sitions that he may have, such as a hot coming a base instinct in favor of a a methodology for present moment has special significance. this and do not do that, improve your temper, hatred, jealousy, scoffing, eager noble one. It is all that is real. As the clock ticks, In a similar manner, [viz., similar to ways, do not follow your wicked impuls- pursuit of wealth or honors, greediness in By contrast the penitent me’ahavah reconstructing it. the moment passes and another comes the analysis of time], all basic concepts of es,” when, from the beginning of his exis- eating and so on. Of all these faults one transcends the level of instinctual into existence—a process that we call the reality should be subjected to reexamina- tence his destiny had already been should repent. . . . How exalted is the behavior. His teshuvah arises out of flow of time . . . . Researchers who think tion [viz., from the perspective of philos- decreed, or his innate constitution irre- degree of repentance! Just last night this love, not out of an innate albeit noble about such things, however, generally ophy of religion]. Causality, space, quan- sistibly drew him to that from which he [individual] was separated from Hashem instinct. Moreover, in acting unin- explains in Halakhic Man: argue that we cannot single out a present tity, quality, necessity, etc., will then could not set himself free? What room . . . . He cries aloud and it is not stinctively out of love rather than In this outlook we find contained the moment as special . . . Objectively, past, assume new meaning. If, for example, would there be for the whole of the answered . . . He fulfills mitzvot and instinctively out of fear, the penitent basic principle of choice and free will. present, and future must be equally real. causality be analysed, it would be seen Torah? By what right or justice could they are flung back in his face . . . . me’ahavah is able to go beyond merely Choice forms the base of creation. Now All of eternity is laid out in a four- that neither the mechanistic causality of God punish the wicked or reward the Today, the same individual [having repenting for specific actions; instead causality and creation are two irreconcil- dimensional block composed of time and science nor the sensate, teleological cau- righteous? 46 repented] is closely attached to the he totally transforms his own personal- able antagonists. . . .But the above the three spatial dimensions. sation of the humanistic sciences suffice The centrality of free will within the Divine Presence . . . . He cries and is ity. Unlike the penitent me’yirah who applies only if the general law of natural The imagery of a train traveling for religion.44 philosophy of halachah, as Maimonides immediately answered . . . He fulfills has limited free will, the penitent me’a- causality which prevails in the physical along tracks can help us understand The Rav’s philosophical depiction of describes, is immediately apparent. Its mitzvot and they are accepted with havah discovers and exercises absolute realm also operates in the world of the modern physics’ notion of time and halachic time has very definite implica- remarkable scope and magnitude, pleasure and joy . . . . 48 free will. He does not merely balance spirit . . . . But it [choice/creation] can partially reconcile it with our everyday tions for the concept of causality. however, are not as apparent. The Rav The Rav notes that in these or adjudicate innate impulses and be reconciled with the principle of experience. When a train travels along Within a universe where the past ceases revisits the laws of teshuvah in order to halachot, Maimonides predicates the instincts. Rather he forms his own causality that is rooted in the type of tracks, there is movement and change. to exist, mechanistic causality (i.e., reconstruct these features.47 mitzvah of teshuvah upon the principle instincts. Man has the capacity to legis- time consciousness we described earlier. But the tracks are not moving, nor do causality that functions automatically as a The Rav begins his analysis by not- of free will, expands the charter of late and determine the content of the When the future participates in the clar- they pass out of existence as the train machine) rules sovereign. Mechanistic ing that Maimonides, in Hilchot teshuvah to include character traits and law of cause and effect which operates ification and elucidation of the past— advances. The tracks are the analogue causality is uni-directional. Past events Teshuvah, provides two differing includes a stirring lyrical characteriza- within him. Man can be the architect of points out the way it is to take, defines to time. People and objects travel along cause present and future consequences. descriptions of teshuvah. In chapters tion of teshuvah that, inter alia, clearly his personality; with his own hands he its goals, and indicates the direction of

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION 54 its development—then man becomes a of this sort. “How can there be a of decision . . . . Free will, if a person and emphasized its revolutionary effect Yisrael (God of Israel). nation. This axiomatic halachic con- creator of worlds. Man molds the image person who will not covet in his heart knows how to exercise it appropriately in all realms of human behavior. The The Rav offers an enthralling expla- cept, the Rav explains, is predicated of the past by infusing it with the future, what is pleasing and desirable to his can mold the form in which he will Rav restored the idea of absolute free nation.62 Employing a name of upon Hashem’s love of the Jewish peo- by subjecting the “was” to the “will eyes?” To fully appreciate this question instinctively react when he arrives at a will, which can even transform Hashem in the construct state is, from ple. In a similar vein, this love is the 52 be.” and Ibn Ezra’s answer, we need to rec- moment of trial or test. With the force of impulses and instincts, to its central a grammatical perspective, quite rou- dominant theme of the two blessings The Rav reconstructs halachah’s ognize that coveting is an instinctive, free will, man is primed to shape the position and established it as a pillar in tine, but from a philosophical perspec- that we recite, morning and night, conception of absolute free will. Such emotional reaction. It is in no way religious dynamic that operates within the edifice of halachic philosophy. tive, absolutely revolutionary. The con- before the Shema. These blessings free will is unfettered by innate premeditated. Thus, the question can him; his reactions become natural, a struct state expresses a sense of belong- begin with the following phrases: 56 impulses and instincts and even be paraphrased as such: “How can the part of his spiritual mechanism . . . . ing, of ownership. For instance, the “With an abundant love have you acquired habits of the past because it is Torah prohibit an involuntary instinc- The Sefer Hachinuch, a classic four- phrase nichsei haish (the assets of the loved us Hashem” and “With an eter- free to refine or replace them and to tive reaction?” teenth-century compilation of the six- man), which is in the construct state, nal love have You loved the House of forge a new personality. Free will has Ibn Ezra answers with a parable, hundred-and-thirteen mitzvot, also We might say expresses the man’s ownership of the Israel.” the potential to be radically transfor- which provides psychological insight. assumes that internalizing belief in assets. Is it not then impossible to Thus, the Rav supplies another fun- mative. Accordingly, it not only can A poor, uneducated villager does not Divine providence can and must con- of the Rav place a name of Hashem in the con- damental element of the halachic deter repeated transgressions, it can covet the king’s daughter. Human dition our actions and even reactions. struct state? Hashem exists absolutely world view. The God-man relationship also correct character flaws. And since, nature is such that one does not covet The Sefer Hachinuch explains that the regarding free independently and is entirely self-suffi- is reciprocal; the love is mutual. when exercised to the fullest in the that which is impossible to attain. Ibn Torah prohibits taking revenge not for cient. How can one speak of Elokei? In conclusion, it should be noted form of teshuvah me’ahavah, it effects a Ezra analogizes: ethical or moral reasons but for theo- will what he And, the Rav notes quoting Ibn Ezra, that we have collected mere fragments radical character transformation and Similarly, every discerning person logical reasons. It is theologically there is no construct state of the of the philosophy of halachah. Indeed, forges a new personality, it results in must know that a person does not find a wrong and therefore pernicious to seek said of Tetragrammaton for precisely this rea- the Rav’s writings yield several addi- immediate atonement for all sins. The beautiful wife or wealth because of his revenge because man only suffers if son. And yet Hashem’s covenant with tional elements of halachah’s philo- new “I” is not punished for the mis- wisdom and intelligence—only as Hashem decrees so. One’s fellow man Maimonides Avraham Avinu establishes this revolu- sophical system, but space constraints deeds of the former “I.” Hashem apportions to him. . . . And for is never the ultimate cause of one’s tionary notion. “I will uphold My do not allow them to be included in Such is the Rav’s reconstruction of this reason a discerning person will not own suffering, and thus the desire for covenant between Me and you and the present forum. But even after that desire or covet . . . because he will recog- revenge is nonsensical. Again the regarding prayer: your offspring after you, throughout lacuna is filled, it will still be appropri- nize that he cannot acquire with his Torah expects us to refrain not only their generations, as an everlasting ate to paraphrase the Kohen Gadol In the halachic strength, thoughts and strategies that from premeditated revenge but also he redeemed covenant, to be a God to you and to (high priest): there is much more in which Hashem does not want to give instinctive revenge. Notice Sefer your offspring after you.”63 There the unwritten book of the philosophy 55 view, past, present him . . . . Hachinuch’s emphasis on internaliza- the idea. exists reciprocity between Hashem and of halachah than I have presented to Ibn Ezra explains that coveting is tion, which conditions even instinctive the Jewish people. Just as we belong to you. As for the rest—Hu yiftach and future coexist. precluded by one’s belief in Divine reactions. Him, in His interaction with the lebeinu beTorato (May He open our providence. Man is helpless—all illu- The reason for the mitzvah: that a world, He belongs to us! hearts through His Torah). JA sions of self-sufficiency and potency person should know and internalize Accordingly, the Rav explains, the philosophy of halachah regarding notwithstanding—to attain that which [yetain el lebo] that whatever happens God-Man Relationship Elokei is not simply a grammatical *This article was greatly enhanced by free will. Halachah does not deny that Hashem does not will him to have. to him, good or bad, is caused by variant of Elokim; it is an independent my mother’s editorial suggestions. man acts on instinct and impulse and But this represents a carefully thought Hashem . . . .Therefore when someone “Problems of freedom, causality, name. Each name expresses an actional experiences powerful emotions. But he out rational reaction. How does this causes him distress or pain . . . he should God-man relationship, creation, and attribute of Hashem that we perceive. Notes is sovereign to forge these instincts and prevent the immediate, instinctive not set his thoughts to take revenge nihility would be illuminated by And thus Elokei certainly constitutes a 1. See, for instance, Out of the impulses. Likewise “The freedom to reaction of coveting? because he is not the cause of his bad halakhic principles.”59 separate name because it expresses the Whirlwind, 9-10. “I would like to try in 57 adopt and accept emotions or to reject Clearly, according to Ibn Ezra, the plight . . . . In this sentence in Halakhic Mind, revolutionary philosophical-religious this presentation to interpret the halakhic and disown them is within the juris- Torah believes that we are capable of There is, as evidenced above, prece- the Rav adds another element to his idea of reciprocity, which is not terms and concepts that relate to mourn- diction of man.”53 Careful study of internalizing belief in Divine provi- dent in Jewish thought for the Rav’s charter for the philosophy of halachah; expressed by Elokim. ing in philosophical . . . categories . . . . the history of Jewish thought reveals dence to such an extent that this belief fundamental idea of forming instincts viz., halachic principles can illuminate Certainly this is one instance of One cannot a religious experience— ample precedent for the notion of will condition our seemingly involun- and thereby controlling even instinc- the God-man relationship. A search of halachic principles illuminating the that is, a Jewish religious experience— forging and forming instincts and tary instinctive reactions. In one sense, tive behavior. Nevertheless these prece- the Rav’s other writings will elaborate God-man relationship. It is worth not- without utilizing the materials of impulses. Let us briefly review two of instinctive reactions are involuntary. dents do not eclipse the Rav’s original- this cryptic, programmatic statement. ing that the Rav offered the above Halakhah. There can be no philosophy of these precedents and then reassess the We do not always decide to feel or ity. We might say of the Rav regarding Halachah singles out “seven names analysis in the halachic component of science or nature unless one is an expert in Rav’s novel contribution. think a certain way. We just do. free will what he said of Maimonides [of Hashem], which are prohibited to one of his celebrated yahrtzeit shiurim. the field of physics, chemistry and biology, The Torah prohibits coveting. It is However, we can control the forming regarding prayer: he redeemed the be erased.”60 According to Maimonides, This fact reiterates our earlier defini- . . . . So, too, it is impossible for one to 58 prohibited to covet the wife, house or of instincts. For instance: Ibn Ezra’s idea. Ibn Ezra and Sefer Hachinuch Elokim and Elokei are enumerated tion of philosophy of halachah and its philosophize about Judaism and speak any possession of a fellow Jew. example where internalizing belief in clearly assume that man possesses the separately.61 At first glance, this is methodology. about its experiential universe without Coveting per se is prohibited; even if Divine providence conditions our capacity to curb innate instincts and incomprehensible because they do not Fortunately, the Rav’s writings yield having the Halakhah at his fingertips.” one does not act on that feeling. The “involuntary” instinctive reactions. even forge new ones but it is a latent appear to be two different names but a second, closely related element of the And, ibid., 114 “What I have developed is eleventh century Biblical exegete and This is the point that the Rav made in assumption and applied in a narrow rather different grammatical forms of God-man relationship within halachic more a philosophy of the Halakhah.” philosopher, Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, his depiction of free will. context. The Rav brought this idea to the same name. Elokei is simply in the philosophy.64 One of the most funda- 2. Much of the material in our recon- records that many are confounded by Free will does not have to interfere the surface, established it as the forma- construct state, denoting Elokim mental Torah concepts is that the struction endeavor is culled from Halakhic how the Torah can legislate something every time a man stands before some sort tive principle of the human personality (God) of, as in the phrase Elokei Jewish people are Hashem’s chosen Man. While the book provides significant

Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION Fall 5764/2003 JEWISH ACTION material for a volume on the philosophy 14. See the section on free will and the 34. Ibid. of halachah, it was not intended to be, and source cited in note 49. 35. Talmud Bavli, Yoma 86b. As indicat- is not, that volume. Instead Halakhic Man 15. An isolated instance of the philos- ed ad loc. and discussed below, this state- portrays the spiritual world of a halachic ophy of halachah in Maimonides’ Guide ment refers to teshuvah me’ahavah. man, which while obviously overlapping for the Perplexed possibly occurs in part 36. Halakhic Man, 113-114. with the philosophy of halachah, is by no 1, ch. 59. Maimonides, having devel- 37. Ibid.,118. means identical. oped his doctrine of negative attributes, 38. Ibid.,120. 3. Halakhic Mind, 3. also reconstructs this doctrine from the 39. Ibid.,118-119. 4. “UVikkashtem MiSham,” reprinted halachah featured in Berachot 33b, 40. Bereishit Rabba 1,1. in Ish HaHalakhah Galuy veNistar which states that we are not allowed to 41. All the quotations in this paragraph (Jerusalem, 1979), 142. add to the three epithets of gadol, gibbor are from “That Mysterious Flow,” 5. The rich, suggestive phraseology in and norah (great, valiant and awesome) Scientific American (September 2002). I this sentence, as well as the phrase “intel- in the opening blessing of our tefillah. am indebted to Dr. Michael Kramer, shli- lectual capital” used previously, are taken The Talmud reasons that we are restrict- ta, for bringing this article to my atten- from my father’s incisive article “The ed from declaring the praise of Hashem. tion. Rov,” reprinted in ed., We only have dispensation for these 42. Remarkably, some physicists believe Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Man of three epithets because they appear in in the possibility of traveling backwards in Halacha, Man of Faith (New Jersey, 1998). the Torah and because the Men of the time. See, for example, Igor Novikov, The 6. Ibid., 29. Great Assembly instituted that they be River of Time (London, 1998). 7. 85. included in tefillah. 43. Halakhic Man, 114. 8. 141-3. First of all, this is an isolated instance. It 44. Halakhic Mind, 50. 9. Reprinted in Besod Hayachid is not representative of Maimonides’ 45. Halakhic Man, 114-5. Vehayachad (Jerusalem, 1976), 222. philosophical system as a whole. Second of 46. Hilchot Teshuvah 5: 3-4. 10. In conversation, my father once all, even this example does not contribute 47. Pinchas Peli ed., Al Hateshuvah: described “UVikkashtem MiSham” as an to a philosophy of halachah that elucidates Devarim Shebeal Peh (Jerusalem, 1975), outstanding work of “old-fashioned religious experience, which is the central 191 ff. pietism,” which draws upon vast mod- focus of Halakhic Mind. 48. Halachot 1, 3, 7. ern erudition with remarkable creativity 16. Vide Talmud Bavli, Chulin 7a. 49. Talmud Bavli Yoma 86a. and versatility. He intended “old-fash- 17. Halakhic Mind, 71. 50. Al Hateshuvah, 241-2. ioned” as a laudatory term, in the sense 18. Ibid., 91. 51. Whirlwind, 10, 3. of being wholly steeped in tradition. My 19. Worship of the Heart,16. 52. 116-7. father indicated that ofttimes people 20. Ibid., 16-17. 53. Whirlwind,11. who were overwhelmed by the Rav’s vast 21. Halakhic Mind, 75ff. 54. Commentary to Shemot, 20:14. It erudition drew erroneous conclusions 22. “Ma Dodech Midod,” in Besod is curious that Ibn Ezra comments in regarding his engagement of modernity Hayachid Vehayachad, 227-228. Shemot and not in Devarim. According to by failing to appreciate the traditional 23. This remarkable congruence our sages, there is a difference between “lo character of his thought. deserves further comment than is possible tachmod ” in Shemot and “lo titaveh” in 11. 46-47, 101. in the present forum. Devarim. The former prohibition is only 12. Actually, in Halakhic Mind, “phi- 24. Halakhic Mind, 86-87. See also violated if one seeks to obtain the object losophy of Halakhah” denotes a halachic Whirlwind, 44, “In a word, I am asking that he covets whereas the latter applies philosophy of religious experience. The not ‘why parah adumah?’ but ‘what is even if he takes no action whatsoever. Rav, in speaking of the philosophy of parah adumah ?’ (The distinction between Thus, Ibn Ezra’s comments seem to relate halachah, is not referring to abstract ‘why’ and ‘what?’ was introduced by to “lo titaveh.” The Rav cites this passage philosophical or theological concepts in his commentary to Deut. from Ibn Ezra in Whirlwind, 11. but exclusively to philosophical or theo- 22:6.)” 55. Commentary to Shemot, 20:14. logical concepts that are experienced by 25. Halakhic Mind, 98. 56. Al Hateshuvah, 242. halachic man. 26. Ibid., 87. 57. Mitzvah 241. 13. The Rav, in “Reflections on the 27. Ibid., 98. 58. See n. 12. Amidah,” Worship of the Heart, 44 ff, 28. Isaac Newton, quoted in Paul 59. Halakhic Mind, 101. metaphorically and suggestively applies the Davies, About Time: Einstein’s Unfinished 60. Rambam, Yesodei HaTorah 6:1. See category of redemption to the world of Revolution (New York, 1996), 31. Avodat Hamelech ad loc. ideas. The evocative imagery of redeeming 29. Davies, ibid., 17. 61. Ibid. an idea indicates that hitherto the idea was 30. Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, “Kodesh 62. Shiurim Lezecher Aba Mori, vol. 2, underappreciated. The idea was on peo- and Chol,” Gesher 3, no. 1 (1966): 14. pp. 174-175. See also “UVikkashtem ple’s radar screens, but inconspicuously so. 31. Ibid. MiSham,” 183. To restore the idea to its rightful place is 32. Halakhic Mind, 47. 63. Bereishit 17:7. to redeem it from undue obscurity. 33. Ibid. 64. “UVikkashtem MiSham,” 121-4, n. 2.

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