Soloveitchik, Joseph Baer 1903-1993 (Joseph Dov Soloveitchik, Yoseph Dov Halevi Soloveitchik)

PERSONAL:

Born February 27, 1903, in Pruzhan, Poland (now Belarus); died of heart failure, April 8, 1993, in Brookline, MA; son of Moses (a rabbi) and Pesia Soloveitchik; married Tonya Lewit, 1931 (deceased, 1967); children: three. Education: University of Berlin, Ph.D., 1932; studied at the Free Polish University, Warsaw, Poland, and Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, in Germany. Religion: Jewish.

CAREER:

Religious leader. Chief rabbi of the Orthodox Jewish community, Boston, MA, 1932-1993; Yeshiva University, New York, NY, teacher of rabbinics, beginning 1933, head of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, beginning 1941; Maimonides School, founder, 1937. Rabbinical Council of America's Halakhah Commission, chair, beginning 1952.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Religious Zionists of America, honorary president, 1952-1993.

WRITINGS:

Fir Droshes, Makhon Tal Orot (New York, NY), 1967.

Ish ha-emunah, Mosad ha-Rav Kuk (Jerusalem, Israel), 1968.

Shi'urei ha-Rav: A Conspectus of the Public Lectures of Joseph D. Soloveitchik, edited by Joseph Epstein, Hamevaser (New York, NY), 1974.

'Al Ha-teshuvah: Devarim Shebe-'al Peh, ha-Histadrut ha-Tsiyonit ha-'olamit (Jerusalem, Israel), 1975.

Mi-bet Midrasho Shel Ha-rav, (Jerusalem, Israel), 1977.

Abraham R. Besdin, Reflections of the Rav: Lessons in Jewish Thought, adapted from lectures of Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Department for Torah Education and Culture in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organization (Jerusalem, Israel), 1979, revised edition, 1981, Volume 2, Ktav Publishing House (Hoboken, NJ), 1989.

Ish Ha-halakhah, Galui Ve-nistar, ha-Histadrut ha-Tsiyonit ha-'Olamit (Jerusalem, Israel), 1979.

Kovets Hidushe Torah: Asupat Ma'amarim, Mekhon Yerushalayim (Jerusalem, Israel), 1980.

Pinchas H. Peli, On Repentance: In the Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph D. Soloveitchik, Oroth Publishing House (Jerusalem, Israel), 1980, Jason Aronson (Northvale, NJ), 1996.

Divre Hagut Ve-ha'arakhah, ha-Histadrut ha-Tsiyonit ha-'olamit (Jerusalem, Israel), 1981.

Shi'urim Le-zekher Aba Mari, Zal, Y.D. Solovetsik (Jerusalem, Israel), 1982.

Halakhic Man, translated from the Hebrew by Lawrence Kaplan, Jewish Publication Society of America (Philadelphia, PA), 1983.

Sefer Kevod Ha-Rav: Kovets Meyuhad Le-hidushe Torah Ve-'inyene Halakhah Be-hishtatfut Gedole Ha-Torah Veha-hora'ah Shelita Li-khevod Morenu Ve-rabenu Ha-ga'on Maran Rabi Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaitsik Shelita, Histadrut talmide Yeshivat Rabenu Yitshak Elhanan (New York, NY), 1984.

Sefer Yovel Li-khevod Morenu Ha-Ga'on Rabi Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Mosad ha-Rav Kuk (Jerusalem, Israel), 1984.

Perakim Be-mahshevet Ha-Rav Y.D. Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, ha-Mahlakah le-hinukh ule-tarbut Toraniyim ba-golah shel ha-Histadrut ha-Tsiyonit ha-'olamit (Jerusalem, Israel), 1984.

Pinchas Peli, Soloveitchik on Repentance, Paulist Press (New York, NY), 1984.

Kuntres Be-'inyan 'Avodat Yom Ha-Kipurim, [Jerusalem, Israel], 1985.

Yeme Zikaron, Sifriyat Aliner (Jerusalem, Israel), 1985.

The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on Jewish Tradition and Modern Thought, Seth Press (Ardmore, PA), 1986.

The Mechitza: Maintaining the Sanctity of the Synagogue, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (New York, NY), 1988.

Sefer Reshimot Shi'urim: 'al Masekhet Sukah, Ts. Y. Raikhman (New York, NY), 1989, 1992, 2000.

Leon M. Mozeson, Echoes of the Song of the Nightingale: The Torah as a Divine Document, Shaare Zedek Publications (West New York, NJ), 1991.

The Lonely Man of Faith, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1992, Jason Aronson (Northvale, NJ), 1997, Doubleday (New York, NY), 2006.

Sefer Hidushe Ha-Geram Veha-Gerid: Ve-hem Divre Torah She-ne'emru Ba-havurah: 'inyene Kodashim, Morashah (Riverdale, NY), 1993.

(With Hershel Schachter) Nefesh Ha-Rav: Li-melot Shanah Li-fetirat Maran Ha-Rav Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovits'ik Zatsal: Likute Amarim, Te'ure Ma'aśim Ve-divre Ha'arakhah, Reshit Yerushalayim (Jerusalem, Israel), 1994.

Shi'urei ha-Rav: A Conspectus of the Public Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Ktav (Hoboken, NJ), 1994.

Hagadah Shel Pesah: Śiah Ha-Gerid: Ve-hu Leket Hidushim, Be'urim U-ferushim She-ho'otku Mi-pi Ha-shemu'ah Mi-shi'ure … Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaitsik … al Ha-Hagadah U-mitsvat Lel Ha-seder, Y.A. Likhtenshtain (Jerusalem, Israel), 1995.

Nor'ot Ha-Rav, B.D. Schreiber (New York, NY), 1996.

Ha-Adam Ve-'olamo, Sifriyat Eliner (Jerusalem, Israel), 1997.

Before Hashem You Shall Be Purified: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on the Days of Awe, summarized and annotated by Arnold Lustiger, Ohr Publishing (Edison, NJ), 1998.

Sefer Harere Kedem: Kolel Hidushim U-ve'urim, He'arot Ve-diyukim 'amukim … 'al Sugyot … De-Seder Mo'ed …, Mishpahat Shurkin (Jerusalem, Israel), 1999.

Sefer Shi'ure Ha-Rav: 'al Inyene Avelut Ve-Tishah Be-Av: Ve-hu Likut Hidushim U-ve'urim … Mishi'ure Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Mesorah (Jerusalem, Israel), 1999.

Shi'ure Ha-rav Ha-ga'on Rabi Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovets'ik, Zatsal: 'al Mas. Gitin: Mi-pi Hashemu'ah, Tsevi Shakhter (Bayside, NY), 1999.

Be-shem Omram: Sikumim Mi-shi'urim Ha-Gerid Solovaits'ik Zatsal Lefi Reshimot Ha-r. N. Goldshtain Zal, Keren Gimel (Jerusalem, Israel), 2000.

Fate and Destiny: From Holocaust to the State of Israel, introduction by Walter Wurzburger, Ktav Publishing House (Hoboken, NJ), 2000.

Adam U-veto: Shesh Masot 'al Haye Ha-mishpahah, Hots'at 'Amutat Torat ha-Rav (Jerusalem, Israel), 2001.

Correspondence: Selections, Morasha Foundation (Riverdale, NY), 2001.

Shi'ure Ha-Rav Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Zatsal: Le-Mas. Kidushin: Mi-pi Ha-shemu'ah, Tsevi Shakhter (New York, NY), 2001.

Insights of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Discourses on Fundamental Theological Issues in Judaism, annotated and adapted by Saul Weiss, J. Aronson (Northvale, NJ), 2001.

(With Hershel Schachter) Mi-penine Ha-Rav: Maran Ha-Rav Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Zatasal: Likute Amarim, Te'ure Ma'aśim Ve-divre Ha'arakhah, Bet ha-midrash of Flatbush (Brooklyn, NY), 2001.

Family Redeemed: Essays on Family Relationships, edited by David Shatz and Joel B. Wolowelsky, Ktav Publishing House (Hoboken, NJ), 2002.

Sefer Shi'ure Ha-Rav: 'al Masekhet Halah Ve-'inyene Mitsvot Ha-teluyot Ba-Arets, Mesorah (Jerusalem, Israel), 2002.

Shi'ure Ha-rav Ha-ga'on Rabi Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Zatsal: 'al 'inyene Tsitsit, 'inyene Te-filin Ve-hilkhot Keri'at Ha-Torah, (Jerusalem, Israel), 2002.

Shi'ure Ha-rav Ha-ga'on Rabi Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovets'ik, Zatsal: 'al Pesahim, R.h., Yo. Ha-Kip. U-Megilah: Mi-pi Ha-shemu'ah, Hershel Schachter (Jerusalem, Israel), 2002.

Shi'urim Le-zekher Aba Mari, Zal, Maran R. Mosheh Ha-Levi Solivits'ik, Mosad ha-Rav Kuk (Jerusalem, Israel), 2002.

Derashot Ha-Rav: Mi-pi Ha-shemu'ah: Selected Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, summarized and annotated by Arnold Lustiger, Ohr Publishing (Union City, NJ), 2003.

Mo'ade Ha-Rav: Shi'urim Mi-pi Ha-shemu'ah Shel … R. Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Zatsal, 'al Ha-mo'adim, ha-Makhon ha-gavoha le-Torah 'a. sh. Ludvig (Ramat-Gan, Israel), 2003.

Out of the Whirlwind: Essays on Mourning, Suffering and the Human Condition, edited by David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler, published for Toras Horav Foundation by Ktav Publishing House (Hoboken, NJ), 2003.

Worship of the Heart: Essays on Jewish Prayer, edited by Shalom Carmy, published for Toras Horav Foundation by Ktav Publishing House (Hoboken, NJ), 2003.

Tsadik Be-emunato Yihyeh: al Ha-gishah Le-limud Torah, Mekhon Binyan ha-Torah (Eli, Israel), 2003.

Shi'ure Ha-Gerid: 'al 'inyene Tefilin, Ketivat Stam Vetsitsit, Mosad ha-Rav Kuk va-'Amutat Torat harav (Jerusalem, Israel), 2003.

(With Rabbi Robert Blau) Sefer Efneh Ve-eshneh: 'al Halakhah, Agadah, Mahashavah: Kolel Gam Mivhar Shi'urim Me-pi … Soloveits'ik, Robert A. Blau (Brooklyn, NY), 2004.

Community, Covenant, and Commitment: Selected Letters and Communications of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, edited by Nathaniel Helfgot, published for the Toras HoRav Foundation by Ktav Publishing House (Jersey City, NJ), 2005.

The Emergence of Ethical Man, edited by Michael S. Berger, Ktav Publishing House (Jersey City, NJ), 2005.

Sefer Shi'ure Ha-Rav: 'al Inyene Shehitah Melihah Baśar Be-halav Ve-ta'arovot: Ve-hu Likut Hidushim Uverurim … Mi-shi'ure Yosef Dov Ha-Levi Solovaits'ik, Mesorah (Jerusalem, Israel), 2005.

'Avodah Sheba-lev: Masot 'al Ha-tefilah, 'Amutat Torat ha-Rav (Alon Shevut, Israel), 2005.

Festival of Freedom: Essays on Pesah and the Haggadah, edited by Joel B. Wolowelsky and Reuven Ziegler, published for the Toras HoRav Foundation by Ktav Publishing House (Jersey City, NJ), 2006.

Listen—My Beloved Knocks, translated and annotated by David Z. Gordon; edited by Jeffrey R. Woolf, Ktav Publishing House (Jersey City, NJ), 2006.

The Lord Is Righteous in All His Ways: Reflections on the Tish'ah Be-Av Kinot, edited by Jacob J. Schacter, published for Toras HoRav Foundation by Ktav Publishing House (Jersey City, NJ), 2006.

Sefer Shi'ure Ha-Rav: 'al Masekhet Gitin, Masorah (Jerusalem, Israel), 2006.

Days of Deliverance: Essays on Purim and Hanukkah, edited by Eli D. Clark, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler, published for the Toras HoRav Foundation by Ktav Publishing House (New York, NY), 2007.

Abraham's Journey: Reflections on the Life of the Founding Patriarch, edited by David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler, Ktav Publishing House (Jersey City, NJ), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Joseph Baer Soloveitchik was born Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik on February 27, 1903, in Pruzhan, Poland, in territory that later became part of Belarus. He was the son of an Orthodox rabbi, descended from a long line of rabbis, and his future was easy to predict. As a child growing up in Khoslavitch, Belarus, the eldest of five children, he received what was then a typical education to begin with, attending the local Jewish school. However, his mother felt he was not receiving a proper education there, and it was clear from a young age that Soloveitchik was an intelligent boy, so he began to receive special tutoring at home. His father instructed him in Jewish law, while his mother concentrated on a more secular education, introducing him to great writers such as the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and the Russian author Aleksandr Pushkin. Eventually, professional tutors were brought in to pick up where his mother had left off. Soloveitchik had continued with standard school, as well, and he graduated from the local secondary school in June of 1922. From there he studied briefly at the Free Polish University in Warsaw, and then, with his mother's encouragement, he went to Berlin, Germany. Here he focused on mathematics, philosophy, and physics. He eventually earned his doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Berlin.

In 1931 Soloveitchik married Tonya Lewit, an educated woman who had earned a Ph.D. in education. Together the couple traveled to the United States, following in the footsteps of Soloveitchik's father. They settled in Boston, and Soloveitchik was named the chief rabbi for the greater Boston area's Orthodox Jewish community. However, Soloveitchik was not content with simply serving as a spiritual leader. He maintained a love of and commitment to education, gleaned early in his youth from his mother's dedication to his own learning. In 1933 Soloveitchik began to commute to New York City, where he taught a class at Yeshiva University. It became clear to him that Orthodox Jews in the United States were sadly lacking the educational foundations he believed so necessary in order to practice the religion as it was meant to be practiced. He also felt that the younger generation was in danger of losing their religion entirely. Determined to maintain the standards of faith he demanded, Soloveitchik founded the Maimonides School, a coeducational institution that was the first Jewish day school to be opened in New England. He also continued to teach at Yeshiva and to provide Talmudic scholars with graduate-level courses. During the late 1930s, when the conditions in Germany and all over Europe were spawning an increase in Jewish refugees and immigrants were pouring into the major U.S. cities, Soloveitchik redoubled his efforts to include the newcomers. The result was the more formal settings for his classes: Hekhal Rabenu Hayim Halevi, and Yeshivath Torath Israel, which was a school dedicated to more advanced religious studies.

Soloveitchik's father passed away in 1941, and at that point Soloveitchik succeeded him in his education duties in New York, becoming the head of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University. In addition, he began to lecture in Jewish philosophy at the Bernard Revel Graduate School, also part of Yeshiva, continuing to commute from Boston, although he now kept a small apartment in New York for when traveling was too difficult or his schedule would not allow it. As his fame grew, Soloveitchik began to draw crowds when he spoke. On the first anniversary of his father's death, he presented a lecture in Yiddish as a form of memorial, and this tradition grew and multiplied as he added additional presentations during the year to honor the passing of other family members, including his mother, brother, and wife, all of whom died in 1967. He was also appointed to several important organizations, including the Rabbinical Council of America's Halakhah Commission, the board responsible for determining various religious rulings for the Orthodox community, and to which he was appointed chair. Some of his rulings allowed for Orthodox chaplains in the military and for Orthodox Jews to consort in organizations with non-Orthodox individuals, assuming the purpose of the organization was not religious.

In 1959 Soloveitchik was offered the post of Ashkenazic chief rabbi of Israel; however, he chose to decline the honor, remaining at his position in Boston until his death in 1993. During the 1960s, he suffered from cancer, but he survived the disease. Ultimately it was complications of Alzheimer's disease, which began to affect him during the 1980s, that forced him to lighten his duties and slow the pace of his schedule. He eventually died of heart failure and was laid to rest in Massachusetts.

Over the course of his career, Rabbi Soloveitchik was credited for influencing the development of Orthodox Judaism in the United States and for developing the way in which Orthodox Jews were educated about their faith. His writings reflect his desire for perfection, as well as his philosophy that only by embracing all of his weaknesses—loneliness, alienation, conflict, isolation, and helplessness—will man truly be able to accept the divine into himself, as those weaknesses make humanity needy, and what individuals need is to be embraced by God. Some of his best-known writings include his books Halakhic Man, The Lonely Man of Faith, and The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on JewishTradition and Modern Thought. The Lonely Man of Faith is a long-form essay in which Soloveitchik begins with the story of Adam and Eve and goes on to explain the role of prayer in redemption. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked that "Soloveitchik has produced a timeless spiritual guide for men and women of all religions." Seymour Kessler, reviewing for Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, found the book "a profoundly personal statement of Soloveitchik's beliefs" that "reveals deeper philosophical messages and its ‘traces of infinity.’"

After Soloveitchik's death, a wealth of new material was published, much of it based on notes for sermons or from scripture taken during his studies. Family Redeemed: Essays on Family Relationships was the first volume of essays to be released after his passing. These essays address various aspects of family life, from marriage to parenthood to sexual relations. Lawrence Kaplan, writing for Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, expressed some concerns about the gender distinctions that appear in the book but was quick to call the volume overall, as well as the effort to sort through the rabbi's papers, "an auspicious beginning to what promises to be a truly monumental project."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1998.

Rakeffet-Rothkoff, Aaron, The Rav: The World of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Joseph Epstein, Ktav Publishing House(Hoboken, NJ), 1999.

Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume 3: 1991-1993, Scribner (New York, NY), 2001.

PERIODICALS

American Jewish History, June, 2001, "Reproach, Recognition and Respect: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Orthodoxy's Mid-century Attitude toward Non-Orthodox Denominations," p. 193.

Booklist, May 1, 1992, Mary Deeley, review of The Lonely Man of Faith, p. 1566; November 1, 2000, George Cohen, review of Fate and Destiny: From Holocaust to the State of Israel, p. 496; February 15, 2006, George Cohen, review of Festival of Freedom: Essays on Pesah and the Haggadah, p. 22.

California Bookwatch, February, 2007, review of Days of Deliverance: Essays on Purim and Hanukkah.

Christian Century, May 20, 1992, review of The Lonely Man of Faith, p. 561.

Commentary, January, 1987, David Singer, review of The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on Jewish Tradition and Modern Thought, p. 73.

Commonweal, January 15, 1993, Michael Wyschogrod, review of The Lonely Man of Faith, p. 26.

First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life, October, 2003, review of Worship of the Heart: Essays on Jewish Prayer, p. 77.

Harvard Theological Review, July, 1999, "Is There a ‘Halakhic’ Response to the Problem of Evil?," p. 311; January 2003, "The Philosophical Foundations of Soloveitchik's Critique of Interfaith Dialogue," p. 101.

Journal of Law and Religion, January 1, 2002, Jacob Neusner, review of Family Redeemed: Essays on Family Relationships, p. 263.

Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, fall, 2001, Lawrence Kaplan, review of Family Redeemed, p. 491; fall, 2002, "Soloveitchik and Levinas: Pathways to the Other," p. 440.

Library Journal, October 15, 1983, review of Halakhic Man, p. 1966; July 1984, review of On Repentance: In the Thought and Oral Discourses of Rabbi Joseph D. Soloveitchik, p. 1337.

Modern Judaism, May, 1998, "U-vikashtem Mi-sham: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Response to Martin Buber's Religious Existentialism," p. 93; May, 2003, "Prayer and Religious Consciousness: An Analysis of Jewish Prayer in the Works of Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Yeshayahu Leibiwitz and Abraham Joshua Heschel," p. 105; May, 2004, "‘Like Pebbles on the Seashore’: J.B. Soloveitchik on Suffering," p. 150; October, 2005, "The Man of Faith and Religious Dialogue: Revisiting ‘Confrontation,’" p. 290.

New Leader, June 1, 1992, David Singer, review of The Lonely Man of Faith, p. 16.

Publishers Weekly, July 29, 1983, review of Halakhic Man, p. 58; February 10, 1992, review of The Lonely Man of Faith, p. 63.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 2005, review of Community, Covenant, and Commitment: Selected Letters and Communications of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, p. 19.

Religious Studies, September, 2006, Daniel Rynhold, review of The Emergence of Ethical Man, p. 364.

Tikkun, March-April, 2004, review of Out of the Whirlwind: Essays on Mourning, Suffering and the Human Condition, p. 81.

Time, October 8, 1984, "U.S. Judaism's Man of Paradox: The Dominant Force in Orthodoxy Is a Revered Boston Rabbi," p. 66.

ONLINE

Emes Ve-Emunah Blog,http://haemtza.blogspot.com/ (September 16, 2007), Harry Maryles, "Customs of the Rav, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik."

Jewish Political Studies Review Online,http://www.jcpa.org/ (fall, 2001), Yoel Finkelman, "Religion and Public Life in the Thought of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik."

Jewish Virtual Library Online,http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ (February 3, 2008), author biography.

OBITUARIES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, April 10, 1993.