Collected Essays: Volume I

by Haym Soloveitchik

Written at different times and for different audiences - some for scholars of rabbinic literature, some for laymen or for scholars not necessarily Jewish - the essays gathered together in this volume nevertheless have an inner coherence. They reflect the author's lifetime interest in the history of halakhah - not as intellectual history per se, but rather a concern to identify measurable deflection in the unfolding of halakhic ideas that could point to an undetected force at work. What was it that stimulated change, and why? What happened when strong forces impinged upon halakhic observance, and both the scholarly elite and the community as a whole had to grapple with upholding observance while adapting to a new set of circumstances? Haym Soloveitchik's elegant presentation shows skilfully that the line between adaptation and deviance is a fine one, and that where a society draws that line is revelatory of both its values and its self-perception.

Many of the articles presented here are well known in the field but have been updated for this publication (the major essay on pawnbroking has been expanded to half again its original size); some have been previously published only in Hebrew, and two are completely new. An Introduction highlights the key themes of the collection and explains the underlying methodology. Having these essays in a single volume will enable scholars and students to consult all the material on each theme together, while also tracing the development of ideas. The opening section of the volume is a brief description and characterization of the dramatis personae who figure in all these Rashi and the Tosafists. It covers the halakhic commentaries and their authors; the creativity of Ashkenaz; and the halakhic isolation of the Ashkenazic community. The second section focuses on usury and money-lending, including the practice of pawn-broking, while the third section deals with the ban on Gentile wine and
how that connected to the development of money-lending.

The final section presents general conclusions in the form of four studies of the communal self-image of Ashkenaz and its attitude to deviation and change.

Genres: Judaism

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2012

Reviews

[Ben Rothke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many people know of Professor Haym Soloveitchik from his landmark 1994 paper Rupture and Reconstruction: The Transformation of Contemporary Orthodoxy. That paper achieved significant praise, but also some criticism. However, when pressed to name something else Professor Soloveitchik has written, many people will not be able to do that.

But far from being a one-hit-wonder, Soloveitchik is perhaps the most prominent halachic historian of our times. In Collected Essays: Volumes 1-3 (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization), the extreme depth and breadth of his knowledge are a sight to see. These three volumes cover 50 years of his writings and thoughts.

In volume 1, there are a number of essays on usuary and moneylending, with a specific focus on how Rashi and the Tosafists dealt with the issue. In addition to essays on the prohibition of gentile wine and its link to moneylending. Soloveitchik does not just rely on halachic texts; he also researched non-halachic texts. When dealing with the prohibition of gentile wine, he examines wine consumption in France during the time and shows the significant amount of wine consumed by the average person. Wine was a fundamental beverage during those times, as water was a drink only for animals and the poorest of people.

Wine was so essential a beverage during those times, that he dispels the myth that Rashi was a wine merchant. He notes that everyone in France at that time made their own wine. Moreover, when Rashi wrote in his commentary that he had to stop writing to go to his vineyard, it was due to necessity, not that it was his profession. As to the notion that Rashi was a vintner, he writes that “Rashi may have been a vintner, but by the same token, he may have been an egg salesman.”
I started reading volume one some years ago and recently completed volume three. Volume 2 is a tour de force with several brilliant essays on the development of halacha in medieval Ashkenaz.
Volume 3 deals with Sefer Hasidim, from Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid of 13th-century France, and his contemporary, the Ravad of Posquières. I found the essays in volume 3 to be the most demanding and intricate.

Soloveitchik is a student of his father, the Rav, historian Jacob Katz, and Rabbi Saul Lieberman. Each of them were demanding scholars in their own right. These three volumes will undoubtedly make them proud of their brilliant student.