Issue

Volume # 5776

Fall 2015(5776)

In this issue
Remembering Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, zt”l
Rav Aharon Lichtenstein

Remembering Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, zt”l

From fleeing Nazi-occupied France with his family to earning the Israel Prize for Torah Literature, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein left an enduring legacy. The articles in this section are poignant recollections and stories of Rav Aharon contributed by Rav Aharon’s closest friends and talmidim.

A Grandfather Figure
People

A Grandfather Figure

Since the passing of Moreinu v’Rabbeinu HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein, zt”l, many people have asked me, “Did you know him well? Did you have a relationship with him?” This seems to be a perfectly understandable question, since the sense of loss one feels with someone’s passing corresponds to the depth of the relationship one had with the niftar. In this instance, however, it’s a faulty assumption and—with all due respect—the question rings hollow.

Strength and Splendor: A Tribute to Rav Aharon Lichtenstein
People

Strength and Splendor: A Tribute to Rav Aharon Lichtenstein

“The voice of the Lord is strength (koach), the voice of the Lord is splendor (hadar)” (Psalms 29:6). Commenting on this verse, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, zt”l, suggested that “koach” refers to G-d’s imposition of His authority, while “hadar” refers to the beauty of His commands. This duality of koach and hadar applies to great rabbinic figures as well.

A Gentle Giant of Torah
People

A Gentle Giant of Torah

He entered the room with my stomach in knots; the numerous stories about the famous “Gush bechinah” (entrance exam) caused my mouth to be so dry, I could not even say a word as I sat before him.

He hardly looked at me, and he certainly did not smile. There was no chitchat or even pleasantries; rather, he began by asking me what I was learning and, without the benefit of a sefer, he began his questioning.

A Personal Reminiscence
People

A Personal Reminiscence

How might one describe Rav Aharon Lichtenstein? A brilliant Torah scholar. A pedagogue beyond compare. One who possessed extraordinary piety, courage, selflessness, clarity of vision and purpose.

Rav Aharon: An Appreciation for Complexity
People

Rav Aharon: An Appreciation for Complexity

In one of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s masterful discussions on the value of general culture for the development of a Torah personality, he reflected on the importance of being able to assess the character and uniqueness of individuals, and especially of gedolim.

On Complexity and Clarity
People

On Complexity and Clarity

When asked what he had learned at Harvard, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, zt”l, answered that there he grasped the complexity of human beings and their affairs.

Shomer Shabbat Boy Scouting: Why Orthodox Kids Become Boy Scouts
Education

Shomer Shabbat Boy Scouting: Why Orthodox Kids Become Boy Scouts

Think it’s too late for your tech-napped child? Take heart. Hope comes in unexpected forms–sometimes in a khaki uniform.

Orthodox kids across the country are putting aside their Wiis and iPhones to pitch tents, stoke campfires and learn first-aid, CPR and lifelong leadership skills. They’re shomer Shabbat Boy Scouts, and proud of it.

Education

The Forgotten Talmud: On Teaching Aggadah in High Schools

Rabbi Shmuel Eidels (1555-1631), known as the Maharsha, presents the following regret in his introduction to his commentary on the Talmud:

I regret my initial decision to divide up my commentary into two separate works, namely, one on Aggadah and one on halachah. But it was no longer possible to synthesize both into one work because it would be a cumbersome undertaking.

Lessons from the Syrian Kitchen
Food

Lessons from the Syrian Kitchen

An Ashkenazic woman takes lessons from a master of Syrian Jewish cuisine in preserving the tastes and traditions of the past and passing them down with pride.

Kibbeh Neye w’Khidrawat [Lessons from the Syrian Kitchen]
Recipes

Kibbeh Neye w’Khidrawat [Lessons from the Syrian Kitchen]

Rosh Hashanah is a time for experiencing newness—new and sweet tastes abound to usher in a sweet New Year. This year, widen your traditional menus with this sweet Syrian recipe to enhance your holiday table. This year, widen your traditional menus with this sweet Syrian recipe to enhance your holiday table.

Fabulous Fall Foods to Serve in the Sukkah
Recipes

Fabulous Fall Foods to Serve in the Sukkah

Sukkot celebrates the final gathering of the harvest before the winter. Meals are served in the Sukkah, which symbolizes the temporary shelters in which our ancestors lived during their forty years in the desert. A wonderful way to celebrate the agricultural theme is to take advantage of the bounty of the fall harvest, focusing on the glorious produce that is so plentiful at this time of year.

Review of The Well-Spiced Life: A Food Memoir
Food

Review of The Well-Spiced Life: A Food Memoir

For Barbara Bensoussan, life has been a journey both inside and outside of the kitchen. As chronicled in her new food memoir, The Well-Spiced Life, the portraits of her journey as an Ashkenazic ba’alat teshuvah acclimating to a Sephardic Moroccan family are painted with a liberal dash of spice in her recipes and charming anecdotes.

On and Off the Beaten Track in…Mitzpor Haelef
Israel

On and Off the Beaten Track in…Mitzpor Haelef

The Land of Israel is a “lovely, good and expansive land” (Birkat Hamazon). The new observation deck, Mitzpor HaElef in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion, is one of the places in Israel where those words resonate the loudest. While Israel is smaller than New Jersey, not to mention forty-three other states in the US, on a clear day, from this amazing viewpoint, you get a sense that the country stretches almost endlessly in every direction.

A Woman in Search of a Wall
Opinion

A Woman in Search of a Wall

Attending a halachah seminar for women at a prominent Orthodox institution several years ago, I found myself—along with two others—cast in the role of “rebel” for an unlikely reason.

New Books from OU Press

New Books from OU Press

Echoes of Eden: Sefer Devarim—Echoes of Sinai
By Rabbi Ari D. Kahn
OU Press and Gefen Publishing House
Each year on Simchat Torah, as we complete the reading of Sefer Devarim and begin again reading Sefer Bereishit, we celebrate.