Rabbi Soloveitchik: Marking the 30th Yahrtzeit of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zt"l

Monday, April 3, 2023

Marking the 30th Yahrtzeit of Rav Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik zt"l

THURSDAY, APRIL 13

7:00 p.m. at BMTL

(1 Rechov Asher)

Rav Moshe Lichtenstein, Rav Meyer Lichtenstein, and Rav Avishai David

THURSDAY, APRIL 20

8:00 p.m. at OYM

Rav Kenneth Brander and Rav Chaim Ilson

FRIDAY, APRIL 21

9:30 a.m. at Kehilat Nofei Hashemesh

Rav Aharon Rakefet

FRIDAY, APRIL 28

9:30 a.m. at BMTL

Rav Hershel Schachter

THURSDAY, MAY 4

8:00 p.m. at Netzach Menashe

18 רחוב ראובן

Rav Aharon Adler and Rav Dovid Miller

THURSDAY, MAY 11

8:00 p.m. at Beit Knesset Feigenson

Womens Beit Medrash Initiative

Speakers TBA

BMTL – Rechov Asher 1, Bet Shemesh, Israel 99544

Nofei HaShemesh: Rechov Sitvanit 1

Bet Haknesset Ohel Yonah Menachem 17 Shivtei Yisrael, Sheinfeld, Bet Shemesh, Israel

Netzach Menashe 18 רחוב ראובן, Bet Shemesh, Israel 99544

Beit Knesset Feigenson - Nofei Aviv 29 Hashoshan Street, Beit Shemesh, 99591, Israel

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Our interest in humanity

"There are religiously committed Jews who are indifferent to the concerns of the larger non-Jewish society. They are content to reside in isolated communities with unconcern, if not actual disdain, for the Gentile world and for the problems which afflict humanity. This introversion can be explained as a reaction to the centuries-old derision and persecution which have been the Jewish historical experience and to which they were subjected with particular ferocity in modern times. Nowadays, there are particular aspects of moral perversion afflicting the general society which are repellant to Jewish sensibilities. Nevertheless, this insularity cannot be vindicated as authentic Judaism even if it can be understood and justified in particular historical periods and situations." Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Man of Faith in the Modern World, p. 73.

The Beauty of Religion

The error of modern representatives of religion is that they promise their congregants the solution to all the problems of life − an expectation which religion does not fulfill. Religion, on the contrary, deepens the problems but never intends to solve them. The grandeur of religion lies in its mysterium tremendum its magnitude and its ultimate incomprehensibility. To cite one example, we may adduce the problem of theodicy, the justification of evil in the world, that has tantalized the inquiring mind from time immemorial till this last tragic decade. The acuteness of this problem has grown for the religious person in essence and dimensions. When a minister, rabbi, or priest attempts to solve the ancient question of Job's suffering through as sermon or lecture, he does not promote religious ends, but, on the contrary, does them a disservice. The beauty of religion with its grandiose vistas reveals itself to men, not in solutions but in problems, not in harmony but in the constant conflict of diversified forces and trends.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, "Sacred and Profane", Gesher, Vol. 3, No. 1, p. 7 in Besdin, A, Reflections of the Rav, p. 224)

Ethical Values

…the religious person is given not only a duty to follow the halakha but also a value and vision. The person performing the duty seeks to realize this ideal or vision. Kant felt that the duty of consciousness expresses only a "must" without a value. He demanded a routine form of compliance, an "ought" without aiming at a value. As a soldier carries out his duty to the commanding officer, one may appreciate his service or just obey through discipline and orders. Kant's ethics are a "formal ethics", the goal is not important. For us it would be impossible to behave this way. An intelligent person must find comfort, warmth, and a sense of fulfillment in the law. We deal with ethical values, not ethical formalisms. A sense of pleasure must be gained by fulfilling a norm. The ethical act must have an end and purpose. We must become holy.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Mesorat HaRav Siddur, p. 112-3