SHULA JACOBS,
NEW and BRILLIANT Upload!Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), pp. 328-9. R. Gordis, “A Dynamic Halakhah: Principles and Procedures of Jewish Law”, Judaism 28/3 (1979), 263-282.—G. maintains that a century and a half of historical research has revealed ... Continue Reading ➨
Y. Rafael, ‘Sefer hamanhig’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), p. 323. Y. Rafael, ed., Sefer hamanhig, Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1978, 2 vols.—This is a sumptuous, critical edition of the work by Abraham b. Nathan of Lunel, based on the Oxford ... Continue Reading ➨
E. Weisfish, ‘Hahashmal bahalakhah’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), p. 317. E. Weisfish, ed., Hahashmal bahalakhah (Heb. with Engl, synopsis), Jerusalem: Institute for Science and Halacha, 1978, Part I, Pp. 402.—This is a digest of all that has been written ... Continue Reading ➨
Eliezer Waldinberg, ‘Tsits Eli’ezer’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), p. 317. E. J. Waldinberg, Tsits Eli’ezer, Jerusalem: E. Itah, 1978, Vol. 13, Pp. 248—In this latest volume, Rabbi Waldinberg discusses, among many other topics: What are the limits of ... Continue Reading ➨
Ben Zion Uziel, ‘Piske Uziel beshe’elot hazeman’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), p. 317. B. Z. Uziel, Piske Uziel beshe’elot hazeman, Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, 1977, Pp. 484.—Mosad Harav Kook has had the happy idea of publishing the legal decisions of the Rishon ... Continue Reading ➨
J. L. Graubart, ‘Havalim bane’imim’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), pp. 316-7. J. L. Graubart, Havalim bane’imim, Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1975, 5 parts in 2 vols.—These responsa on the four a parts of the Shulhan Arukh have been reissued with additions. Among ... Continue Reading ➨
Solomon Braun, ‘Kunteros Aharon’
Originally published in the Jewish Law Annual 4 (1981), p. 316. S. Braun, Kunteros Aharon, Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1978, Pp. 199.—The four volumes of Rabbi Solomon Braun’s She’arim Metsuyanim bahalakhah, a compendium of Halakhic decisions by famous ... Continue Reading ➨
Alexander Altmann, ‘Jewish Intellectual History’
Originally published in November 1981. Jewish Intellectual History. By Alexander Altmann. University Press of New England. £12.50. Although it is more than 20 years since the author of this profound work of scholarship left these shores, we ... Continue Reading ➨
Where do we go from here?
Originally published in New London News 2:3 (January 1970). Just what it was that differentiated New London Synagogue members from other traditional congregations in Britain was pointedly made clear one wet, cold evening in late November when ... Continue Reading ➨
Nathan Rotenstreich, ‘Tradition and Reality: The Impact of History on Modern Jewish Thought’
Nathan Rotenstreich, Tradition and Reality, The Impact of History on Modern Jewish Thought, xii + 145 pp., Contemporary Jewish Civilization Series, Moshe Davis, ed., Random House, New York, 1972, $1.95. The word ‘History’ in the sub-title of this ... Continue Reading ➨
Mumbo-Jumbo . . . or a glimpse of the infinite? An Explanation of the Priestly Blessing
Originally published in New London News 1:5 (October 1968). The priestly blessing is not something it I would have been necessary to invent if it did not exist. Some feel that we can live quite comfortably without it. Yet it does exist, having ... Continue Reading ➨
We Still Have Reason to Believe
Originally published in The New Londoner: The Magazine of the New London Synagogue 1:6 (May 1967). On January 24th 1967 Rabbi Dr. Louis Jacobs Delivered an Address at a Public Meeting held in the New London Synagogue. There has just appeared a new ... Continue Reading ➨
A Review of ‘Holy Living’ by Dean Shapiro
Originally published in The Jewish Book Review, 26th September 1990. Holy living: Saints and Saintliness in Judaism by Louis Jacobs (hardcover, 176 pages, $20) sounds like a strange title for a Jewish book, considering the fact that we don’t ... Continue Reading ➨
Chabad Movement – 2 books reviews on Chabad
Liqqutei Amarim (Tanya). By RABBI SCHNEUR ZALMAN OF LIADI. Translated by Nissan Mindel. New York: Kehot Publication Society. 38s, 6d. The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskala Movement. By RABBI JOSEPH I. SCHNEERSOHN. Translated by Zalman I. Posner. Same ... Continue Reading ➨
A Celestial Mentor – R. J. Z. Werblowsky, ‘Joseph Karo – Lawyer and Mystic’
Joseph Karo—Lawyer and Mystic. By R. J. Z. Werblowsky. Oxford University Press. 63s. Rabbi Joseph Karo is known to history chiefly as the author of the Shulchan Aruch and the gigantic work of legal synthesis, the Beth Joseph, upon which it is ... Continue Reading ➨
Boaz Cohen, ‘Law and Tradition in Judaism’; David Daube, ‘Studies in Biblical Law’
Originally published in the Jewish Chronicle, February 1971. A matter of interpretation LAW AND TRADITION IN JUDAISM. By Boaz Cohen. Ktav, New York. $6.95. STUDIES IN BIBLICAL LAW. By David Daube. Ktav, New York. $10.00. An interesting ... Continue Reading ➨
Food for thought, thoughts for action
Dear Friends, The month of Ellul is upon us, and the yamim nora’im (High Holy Days) are nigh. The time is ripe, according to our tradition, for introspection, repentance, and good deeds. Thankfully, our website has plenty of inspirational reading ... Continue Reading ➨
A Review of ‘The Talmudic Argument’ by Raphael Loewe
Originally published in the Society for Old Testament Study Booklist, 1985. Jacobs L.: The Talmudic Argument: A Study in Talmudic Reasoning and Methodology. 1984. Pp. xvi, 220. (Cambridge University Press. Price: £25.00. ISBN 0 521 26370 0) The ... Continue Reading ➨
A Review of ‘Religion and the Individual’ by Peter Baelz
Religion and the Individual: A Jewish Perspective, Louis Jacobs (Cambridge University Press 1992) xii +163pp, £27.95 hbk One of the series of Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions, this monograph examines the significance of the individual in ... Continue Reading ➨
Singular Virtues – A Review of ‘Religion and the Individual’ by Tony Bayfield
Originally published in Church Times, 13th March 1992. LOUIS JACOBS is one of our greatest Jewish scholars, and his prolific output is all the more remarkable in view of a lifetime spent as a congregational rabbi. Rabbi Jacobs’s latest book is ... Continue Reading ➨