One Year Since the Passing of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Rav Lichtenstein, a noted Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and authority in Jewish law. Rav Lichtenstein received the Israel Prize for Jewish Religious Literature for 2014.

Today (the first of the Hebrew month of Iyyar) marks the anniversary of the death of Rav Lichtenstein, a noted Orthodox rabbi, rosh yeshiva and authority in Jewish law. He completed a doctorate in English literature at Harvard University. Rav Lichtenstein received the Israel Prize for Jewish Religious Literature for 2014. His demeanor was reflective of a man steeped in Jewish tradition and law, but with a liberal perspective on humanism and human rights.

Rav Lichtenstein offered his opinion on public matters. He vigorously protested against the murder committed by Baruch Goldstein in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994, but he spoke in favor of the Israeli government taking responsibility for not preventing the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre. Lichtenstein worked to fuse Jewish law with humanism, democracy and human rights, and as such he came out against radicalism in the Religious Zionist sector.

In honor of the anniversary of the rabbi's passing, the Israel Democracy Institute today released, "Humanism, Democracy, and Human Rights in the Thought of Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein." The book was published under the auspices of IDI's Center for Religion, Nation and State, headed by IDI Vice President Prof. Yedidia Stern.

See the full book (in Hebrew).