The Book of Doctrines and Opinions:
What would a literary critical approach look like if applied to Orthodox Jewish texts? What if the texts chosen for a critical theory treatment were the writings of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-93)? William Kolbrener, attempts such a reading in The Last Rabbi: Joseph Soloveitchikand Talmudic Tradition (Indiana UP, 2016) using psychoanalysis, gender, and 17th century literature to read Soloveitchik as a literary text.
William Kolbrener is professor of literature at Bar Ilan University, and was educated at Oxford (MA) and Columbia University (BA, PhD.). His first book was Milton’s Warring Angels: A Study of Critical Engagements, (Cambridge University Press, 1996). His current work The Last Rabbi: Joseph Soloveitchikand Talmudic Tradition is an application of his literary studies to a contemporary Jewish thinker. Despite writing on Soloveitchik, his classes at Bar Ilan University are currently populated mainly Arab students, both Muslim and Christian. He has also recently…
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