October 31, 2008
2nd of Marcheshvan, 5769
This is an email announcement regarding the documentary film, Lonely Man of Faith: The Life and Legacy of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
Welcome back, everyone, from the Holidays.
There will be two screenings on Saturday night, November 8 (11th night of Marcheshvan):
- The Brooklyn Premiere will be at Congregation Talmud Torah of Flatbush, 1305 Coney Island Ave. The screening will begin at 7:45 PM and Rabbi Kenneth Aumann will speak afterwards, possibly joined by other students of the Rav. For more information, call (718) 377-2528.
- The Edison / Highland Park, NJ Premiere will be hosted by Congregation Ohr Torah, 48 Edgemount Road, Edison, NJ. Please note the change in location. The screening is presented by the Orthodox Forum of Edison/Highland Park, in cooperation with Congregation Ahavas Achim. The screening will begin at 8 PM and it will be followed by a session featuring Dr. Arnold Lustiger, author of Before Hashem You Shall Be Purified and Derashot Harav, and editor of the High Holiday Soloveitchik machzorim. For more information: JHPaul@earthlink.net
There will be another two screenings on the weekend of November 23 (Marcheshvan 25):
- The Five Towns Premiere at Young Israel of Woodmere, 859 Peninsula Blvd. The screening is co-sponsored by Congregation Beth Sholom. Please note the date change from November 9. Also note that the date may be changed to Saturday night, November 22. More information to follow.
- The Seattle Premiere, sponsored by Seattle Hebrew Academy. I will be in the community, the Shabbat beforehand, as scholar-in-residence. More information to follow.
Once again, I'd appreciate it if you could forward this email to anyone else
who might be interested in this information. And here's a link to
the Facebook group for the film.
Since next week begins the Torah portion dealing with the story of Avraham Avinu (Abraham, the Patriarch), I wanted to bring to your attention a recently published book of lectures by Rabbi Soloveitchik.
Abraham’s Journey: Reflections on the Life of the Founding Patriarch is the ninth in the
MeOtzar HoRav
series of Selected Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. "Abraham
is not only the first Jew, but also a historical prototype, his
experiences and actions foreshadowing critical patterns in the history
of his people. In addition, Abraham serves as a spiritual and ethical
model to his descendants. He is a teacher, a paragon of kindness, a
lonely iconoclast, a master of sacrifice, and a knight of faith.
Through careful exegesis of verses, illuminating analyses of character,
and insightful readings of classical commentators, the essays in this
book seek both the eternal and the contemporary messages of the Abraham
story." Edited by David Shatz, Joel B. Wolowelsky, and Reuven Ziegler.
The book is available at your local Jewish bookseller,
KTAV publishers, and
Amazon.
October 6 (7th of Tishrei) was the
Englewood N.J. Premiere, at
The Moriah School.
Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, who both appears in the film and served as an advisor, spoke afterwards. I heard that it went very well, with over 150 in attendance.
I have yet to hear back about the recent screenings in Netanya, Jerusalem, and Rosh Pina, Israel, but I will fill you all in when I know more details.
If you have an interesting experience or story connected to the film, please don't hesitate to share them with me. You can simply reply to this email (don't worry, it will only go to me).
Shabbat Shalom,
Ethan Isenberg