Leaves of Faith by R Aharon Lichtenstein
To put Leaves of Faith into context, it is worth dwelling briefly on Lichtenstein's background. Born in 1933 in France, his family escaped the Holocaust and fled to the States, ultimately coming to study under Rabbi JB Soleveitchik, of whom he became a lifelong talmid (and son-in-law) of. He also completed a PhD at Harvard University in English Literature, a subject that continued to influence his religious works, outlook and style, explicitly and implicitly. He then lived and worked in Israel as head of a talmudic college for over four decades; lecturing, mentoring and writing. Leaves of Faith is a unique two volume work on Jewish learning and living, made up of the extraordinary intellectual contribution of the thought of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, one of the greatest twentieth century post-war thinkers. The author is not at all scared of tackling the most fundamental questions in Jewish life, and he does so with style, humility and rigour. Volume 1, 'The World of Jewi