Aggadot HaRav Vol. 2 The Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Aggadah

Aggadot HaRav presents Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s shiurim on the aggadic passages of the Talmud. This volume contains the Rav’s shiurim on Masekhet Berakhot, daf 10a-20a, delivered, in Yiddish, at the Moriah Synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side in the 1950s-60s. In these lectures, the Rav brings his Brisker analytic method to the study of aggadah, revealing its philosophical richness and enduring relevance. Drawing on sources from the Talmud and Midrash, medieval Jewish thought, and homiletic literature, as well as his own personal reflections, the Rav illuminates central principles of Jewish belief and ethics, including such concepts as Jewish distinctiveness, parental and rabbinic authority, and religious sacrifice. This volume brings to light a remarkable body of the Rav’s Torah, offering readers unprecedented access to an essential dimension of his teaching.

Aggadot HaRav offers a rare glimpse into the Rav’s profound approach to Aggadah. Translated from his original Yiddish shiurim, this volume demonstrates how the Rav applied his incisive analysis to extract the depths of meaning from often ignored sections of the Gemara.