"True and pure, and without blemish, was his singing, like his soul – the Creator having made it, with His handiwork contented, kissed the lovely soul, and echoes of that kiss forever after thrilled through all the poet’s numbers, by that gracious deed inspired." In these words did Heinrich Heine, the German poet, sing the praises of the most eminent poet ever to write in the Holy Language – or in any other language. That Divine Kiss left its G-dly imprint on Yehudah Halevi’s life, his poetry, his philosophy. To this day, over 800 years later, Halevi shines forth as one of the purest souls and most sublime poets of all times. Rabbi Yehudah Halevi Is, in the estimate of most students of Judaism, the most authentic Jew of the ages. To know Yehudah Halevi is, in a sense, to know what a Jew is and should be. When we study Halevi, as we shall do in this series, and ponder the sweetness of his personality, the grace of his poetry and the charm of his Jewish thought, we are really discovering for ourselves the ideal personality of Judaism. Two great centers of Jewish life and thought flourished during the Middle Ages — the Franco-German center, and that of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal. The Franco-German communities produced the most potent development of Talmudic scholarship — Rashi and the Tosaphists. Its Talmudic learning was far more Intense than that of Spanish Jewry. The Spaniards, on the other hand, were generally less intense as Talmudists, but more inclined to general culture. Spanish Jewry too had its Talmudic giants: Maimonides, Nachmanides, and a host of others. But the Sephardim, unlike the Ashekenazim, were culturally more versatile. — included: science, pottery, medicine, grammar, philosophy. — Franco-Germans reflected feudalism their environment — hemmed in; Spaniards — comparative freedom — both political and cultural — of theirs. — yet all not well time YHL born. Contemporary Moslems, Christians murdering each other in Palestine, Iberia, N.A…

An example of the finest Jewish aristocracy – that of Torah and scholarship – the "בית הרב." Lithuanian before RHV (R. Hayyim Volizhin) – a desert. After him "am basis. VY (Volozhin Yeshiva) has been termed "not a town, or school, but a concept." The "Dynasty": RHV; his son R. Issac (R. Itzelle); then his first son-in-law R. Eliezer Issac, who died young, had very brief term. Then controversy over succession between R. Israel's 2nd son-in-law, נצי"ב, and R. Joseph Baer Soloveitchik (בית הלוי).

This is a series of five lectures on five of the most distinguished and influential halakhic scholars of modern times. Each lecture presents the biography of the man in question, describes his major works, and his influence in his lifetime and over succeeding generations. A good part of each lecture is devoted to presenting some of the halakhic concepts and intellectual achieve­ments of the subject of the lecture. Since this is often quite technical, the material is simplified, and is supplemented by some brief commentaries and insights by the subject under discussion. Source material may be found in Rabbi Zevin's Ishim ve'Shitot, and in the two series by the late Rabbi Y.L. Maimon, Sarei ha־Meiah, and Midei Hodesh beHadsho, and related literature.The Gaon of Vilna. The family background of Rabbi Elijah, and the incredible genius revealed at the very earliest age. His ascetic bent, and total devotion to study. Leader of the opposition to the Hasidim. The Gaon as Kabbalist. His relation to Eretz Israel. Pioneering work in external and internal criticism of the Talmud. His attitude to philosophy and secular studies. His anti-rationalism.Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin. Family background. His relationship to the Gaon of Vilna. His sterling character. Founder of the Yeshiva of Volozhin and his educational philosophy. The leading theoretician of the Mitnaggedim. His view of classical Rabbinism and opposition to Hasidism. Unprecedented emphasis on the study of Torah. His Nefesh ha-Hayyim ("The Living Soul").Rabbi Hayyim Soleveitchik of Brisk. The Beit ha-Rav — the intellectual Torah aristocracy beginning with the Gaon. H1s father and the "Netziv." As Rosh Yeshiva in Volozhin. His Rabbinate 1n Brisk. Founder of a new talmudic methodology: the halakhic dichotomy. Examples, especially concerning laws of prayer. Attitude to Hasidim-Mitnaggedim controversy. View on suspension of the Law where there is danger to life. A man of truth and a man of compassion.Rabbi Joseph Rosen, the Gao…