By His Light: Character and Values in the Service of God

by Aharon Lichtenstein

Overview

In this volume, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein explores the development of the religious personality. He advocates a life centered on the service of God, but recognizes multiple paths to this goal. Acknowledging that both the Jewish value system and human experience are multifaceted, he examines the relevant issues from an unusually wide perspective.
Rabbi Lichtenstein's essays reflect not only a staunch commitment to Halakha and a firm grounding in rigorous Torah study, but also a deep spirituality, a profound moral sensitivity, and a keen awareness of both the challenges and opportunities of modernity. While being enlightened by Rabbi Lichtenstein's penetrating analyses and wide-ranging learning, the reader will also be inspired by the beauty of his vision of the religious life.

Among the topics addressed:

• character refinement
• openness and insularity
• commandment and choice
• secular studies
• Torah and career
• setting religious priorities
• religion and morality
• trust in God
• the Holocaust
• the State of Israel
• Jewish solidarity
• repentance

These essays originated as lectures, and have been selected and adapted for print by Rabbi Reuven Ziegler.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613291436
Publisher:	The Toby Press, LLC
Publication date:	01/15/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Chapter 1 To Cultivate and to Guard: The Universal Duties of Mankind 1

Chapter 2 In All Your Ways, Know Him: Two Modes of Serving God 25

Chapter 3 Mitzva: A Life of Command 45

Chapter 4 Make Your Torah Permanent: The Centrality of Torah Study 55

Chapter 5 Determining Objectives in Religious Growth: Spiritual Specialization or Spiritual Breadth? 67

Chapter 6 Being Frum and Being Good: On the Relationship Between Religion and Morality 89

Chapter 7 Bittachon: Trust in God 117

Chapter 8 I Am with Him in Distress: The Challenges of the Holocaust 141

Chapter 9 If You Remain Silent at This Time: Concern for the Jewish People 147

Chapter 10 Teshuva: Repentance and Return 159

Chapter 11 A Pure Heart: Refining Character and Balancing Values 177

Chapter 12 Centrist Orthodoxy: A Spiritual Accounting 193

Glossary of Terms 221

Glossary of Names, Books and Acronyms 229

Index of Biblical, Rabbinic and Maimonidean Sources 233

General Index 241

About the Author 251