The Judaic Studies Shelf

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

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

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

Rabbi Berkovits makes several suggestions, based on a thorough examination =
of halakhic sources, to improve that status. His basic thesis is that the i= nferior status of women is a vestige of ancient culture. In the course of t= ime, women have gained certain rights. But, Rabbi Berkovits emphasizes, mor=
e remains to be done, especially in the spheres of ritual participation and=
marital rights, areas in which he makes a number of concrete halakhic sugg= estions. For example, he suggests that adequate halakhic justification exis=
ts for women to take upon themselves the mitzvah of donning tefillin or est= ablishing their own prayer groups, as well as women reciting Shabbat kiddus=
h for men or participating in a mixed-gender zimmun for Grace After Meals.

Critique: An invaluable contribution to considerations and discussions of t=
he proper role of women within Jewish life and rabbinic culture, "Jewish Wo= men in Time and Torah" is an erudite, thoughtful and thought-provoking stud=
y that is unreservedly recommended for personal, rabbinic, and academic lib= rary Judaic Studies collections.

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

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

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

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

Through vivid explanations and metaphors from our daily lives, along with s= tories from the lives of hasidim of the past, Rabbi Steinsaltz draws the wo= rld of the Tanya into our world, providing a detailed elucidation of founda= tional concepts in Kabbala and in Judaism in general.

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

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

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

The Tanya is presented in a format that invites a person to put the ideas p= resented here into practice, one concept building on another, one leading t=
o the next so that the reader is guided toward attaining the level of beino=
ni that is the focus of this book. Its ideas are condensed, its words packe=
d with meaning, and the one who studies the Tanya cannot help but appreciat=
e its subtle and beautifully crafted writing style.

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

Critique: With the publication of "The Steinsaltz Tanya V1: Likkutei Amarim=
1-32". Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz provides an eloquent, informative, insi= ghtful, thoughtful and thought-provoking study that is an especially and un= reservedly recommended contribution personal, professional, synagogue, coll= ege, and university library Judaic Studies collections and supplemental cur= riculum studies lists.

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

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

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

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

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

Critique: With the focus on the impact of the Babylonian era on the develop= ment of the Israelite Talmud culture, "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel=
" is a fascinating, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking study org= anized into three major sections (Southern Babylonia; Northern Babylonia; T=
he Land of Israel). As with the first four volumes of this simply outstandi=
ng series, "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel" is unreservedly recommend=
ed for personal, professional, community, synagogue, college, and universit=
y library Judaic Studies and Talmudic Studies collections. It should be not=
ed for personal reading lists that "The Yeshivot of Babylonia and Israel" i=
s also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

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

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