Saul Lieberman and the Orthodox »

Marc B. Shapiro is the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies and director of the Weinberg Judaic Studies Institute at the University of Scranton.

One of the foremost scholars of the Talmud in the last century, Saul Lieberman (1898–1983) is also an intriguing and controversial figure. Highly influential in Orthodox society, he left Israel in 1940 to accept an appointment at the Jewish Theological Seminary, a Conservative institution. During his forty years at the Seminary, Lieberman served in the Rabbinical Assembly as one of the most important arbiters of Jewish law, though his decisions were often too progressive to be recognized by the Orthodox. Marc B. Shapiro here considers Lieberman’s experiences to examine the conflict between Jewish Orthodoxy and Conservatism in the mid-1900s. This invaluable scholarly resource also includes a Hebrew appendix and previously unpublished letters from Lieberman.

Preface

R. Hayyim Ozer Grodzinski's letter to R. Louis Ginzberg

R. Moses Soloveitschik's letter to R. Louis Ginzberg

R. Abraham Isaiah Karelitz' letter to R. Saul Lieberman

R. Isaac Herzog's letter to R. Saul Lieberman

R. Isaac Nissim's letter to R. Saul Lieberman

R. Shlomo Goren's letters to R. Saul Lieberman

R. Saul Lieberman's letter to R. Louis Ginzberg

R. Saul Lieberman's letters to Solomon Zeitlin

R. Saul Lieberman's letter to Hayyim Levanon

R. Saul Lieberman's letter to Mr. Ben-Yishai

R. Saul Lieberman's letter to R. Isser Yehudah Unterman

R. Saul Lieberman's letter to the editor of Maariv

R. Saul Lieberman's responsum on women's ordination

R. Saul Lieberman's letter to the Conference on Halakhic Process

R. Jacob S. Kassin's letter to Solomon Catton

Statements of R. Shalom Messas' beit din and Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu