Comments on: Rabbi Hartman and the unanswered question

By: Reb Yid

Reb Yid — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:02:47 +0000

No one would ever mistake Hartman for Judaism-lite. His practice was straight Orthodox. However, his views are clearly incompatible with Orthodoxy, and, as such, he is rightly considered beyond the pale.

By: Reb Yid

Reb Yid — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:02:47 +0000

By: David Curwin

David Curwin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:23:18 +0000

The tension is there. But I imagine most of us, and certainly any posek, will need to make decisions that require an answer.

By: David Curwin

David Curwin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:20:44 +0000

I believe Aliza Lavie is also a student of Hartman's.

By: Elli Sacks

Elli Sacks — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:11:03 +0000

But David Curwin, is the question really answerable, or is it one of the Kierkegaardian tensions that R. Soloveitchik talks about…

By: Elli Sacks

Elli Sacks — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:08:37 +0000

Outstanding post. And a fitting tribute to R. Hartman… rather than to extol him as a leader, to ask him questions as a Rav. I'm sure he is smiling at this…

By: Gil Reich

Gil Reich — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:07:07 +0000

Excellent piece. I think for many people Judaism is about finding answers and comfort, and I think that's a legitimate part of Judaism. But for many of us Judaism is about the questions, and endless seeking of better though still incomplete answers. We're fortunate that people like Rabbi Hartman contributed so much.

By: David Sher

David Sher — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 23:48:53 +0000

I second the motion. However, it may well be that his influence on Judaism grows after his death. It seems to me that Ruth Calderon's speech in the Knesset is very reflective of that possibility.

By: Meir Moses

Meir Moses — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:43:05 +0000

Fascinating. A great loss to Judaism.