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rhuAs we approach the beginning of the thirteenth cycle of the Daf Yomi, the "page-a-day" study program that covers the entire Babylonian Talmud in seven-and-a-half years, a bunch of new resources are becoming available. A few months ago, I breathlessly praised Koren Publications' new translation of Rabbi Steinsaltz's explication of the Talmud.
Today, I have the pleasure to review "Relics for the Present: Contemporary Reflections on the Talmud" by Rabbi Levi Cooper, which is published by Koren's Maggid imprint in conjunction with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. (Obligatory disclaimer: Koren sent me a review copy of this book.)
Rabbi Cooper has written a collection of wortlachen -- short divrei Torah -- inspired by various points in the first half of Masechet Berachot. Sometimes he's working off of the mishna or a straightforward (peshat) interpretation of the gemara; sometimes he's building on a turn of phrase; sometimes he's expanding on a commentary by Rashi or Tosafot. Invariably, he brings in later acharonim or contemporary gedolim. His thoughts are modern (and Modern), Zionist, post-Shoah, and engaged in today's realities. Rabbi Cooper is faithful to tradition without being chained by it; he explores various understandings of the text but always with references to sources and always with fidelity to the text.
The writing is crisp and engaging. While a basic knowlege of Judaism and its vernacular are assumed, Talmudic expertise is not. The structure is reminiscent of the "Al ha-Daf" newsletters that I subscribed to two cycles ago, although I connect much more strongly to the current book's content.
I hope that this is the first of a continuing series.
If you don't have the time to learn Daf Yomi, you can certainly spare the time it would take to read one essay each day and still have an established time for study that relates to that day's daf. If you are learning the Daf, these extra few minutes will deepen your appreciation of the relevance to our own lives of the 2,000-year-old manuscript.
Today, I have the pleasure to review "Relics for the Present: Contemporary Reflections on the Talmud" by Rabbi Levi Cooper, which is published by Koren's Maggid imprint in conjunction with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. (Obligatory disclaimer: Koren sent me a review copy of this book.)
Rabbi Cooper has written a collection of wortlachen -- short divrei Torah -- inspired by various points in the first half of Masechet Berachot. Sometimes he's working off of the mishna or a straightforward (peshat) interpretation of the gemara; sometimes he's building on a turn of phrase; sometimes he's expanding on a commentary by Rashi or Tosafot. Invariably, he brings in later acharonim or contemporary gedolim. His thoughts are modern (and Modern), Zionist, post-Shoah, and engaged in today's realities. Rabbi Cooper is faithful to tradition without being chained by it; he explores various understandings of the text but always with references to sources and always with fidelity to the text.
The writing is crisp and engaging. While a basic knowlege of Judaism and its vernacular are assumed, Talmudic expertise is not. The structure is reminiscent of the "Al ha-Daf" newsletters that I subscribed to two cycles ago, although I connect much more strongly to the current book's content.
I hope that this is the first of a continuing series.
If you don't have the time to learn Daf Yomi, you can certainly spare the time it would take to read one essay each day and still have an established time for study that relates to that day's daf. If you are learning the Daf, these extra few minutes will deepen your appreciation of the relevance to our own lives of the 2,000-year-old manuscript.