Halakha and Humanism

Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein (1933-2015) was an intellectual and spiritual leader of Modern Orthodox Judaism in America and Religious Zionism in Israel. An outstanding Talmudist and a thinker of astonishing depth and scope, he studied under Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik for the rabbinate and also attained a Ph.D. in English literature from Harvard University. After teaching at Yeshiva University in New York, he moved to Israel in 1971 and joined Rabbi Yehuda Amital at the helm of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shevut, which they built together over four decades into a flagship institution of Religious Zionism.


Through his teaching and writing, as well as through his exemplary personal qualities, Rabbi Lichtenstein exercised a decisive influence over generations of students, rabbinic leaders, scholars and public figures. His contributions were recognized by the State of Israel, which in 2014 awarded him its highest honor, the Israel Prize, in the category of original Torah literature. 


Halakha and Humanism: Essays on the Thought and Scholarship of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein explores many facets of Rabbi Lichtenstein’s teaching: his views on faith, Jewish identity, religious humanism, liberal arts education, Jewish law, public policy, public discourse, morality, study of the Talmud and the Bible, and more. Published a month before his passing, this volume, originally meant to analyze and celebrate Rabbi Lichtenstein’s many contributions, can now be regarded as a first attempt to contextualize, evaluate and memorialize this titan of modern Jewish life.