Rav Soloveitchik and social issues: Jews of fate and Jews.
A number of his essays became the basis for his most famous published works, including Ish ha-halakhah (The Halakhic Man, 1944), Kol dodi dofek (Listen, My Beloved Knocks, 1956), and The Lonely Man of Faith (1965). His writings reveal a deeply erudite religious existentialist, at home in the modern world of science and philosophy, who also struggled mightily to preserve the pri- macy of Jewish.
We are pleased to be able to provide you with the enclosed essay which is based upon the famous religious Zionist derashah, KOL DODI DOFEIK, by the RAV, Rabbi Yosef Dov haLevi Soloveitchik, z”l.
In evaluating Rabbi Cardozo's critique of Rav Yoseph Dov Soloveitchik, it is important to clarify that Rabbi Cardozo criticizes Rav Soloveitchik from the perspective of the burning issues that are important to Rabbi Cardozo (i.e. changes in Halacha, daring theological approaches etc.), and it should not be seen as a general evaluation of Rav Soloveitchik's philosophical legacy as a whole.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s Kol Dodi Dofek offers an illustrative example of the contrast. Much like Netziv, Rabbi Soloveitchik refers to two “covenants” forged by the Jewish people prior to their entry to the Land of Israel. Whereas Netziv locates these covenants at Har Sinai and then Har Eival, Rabbi Soloveitchik locates the first one in Egypt prior to the exodus and the second one.
In Israel, Kol Dodi Dofek is read differently than in America. The essay was originally written to explain to Diaspora Jews the impor tance of the State of Israel, to convince them to become more con cerned with and involved in the existence and development of Israel. Obviously, for people living in Israel, these ideas are largely redundant.
Fate, the Rav says, is an existence of compulsion — “Against your will you will live out your life” (Pirkei Avot 4:29, p. 52, Kol Dodi Dofek, Theological and Halakhic Reflections on the.
Kol Dodi Dofek begins with the concept of suffering as a given charac teristic of human existence.6 The initial response of the individual exposed to the reality of suffering is shock, followed by an attempt to uncover the rationalist foundations of suffering. I would like to exten sively analyze part of the beginning of the sermon to point out its fresh ness. R. Soloveitchik writes: After.