Understanding Halakhic Man: A Commentary and Companion Guide to the Essay

Rabbi Borah’s text Understanding Halakhic Man is a chapter by chapter guide and commentary on Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s classic work of modern Jewish religious thought, Halakhic Man. Rabbi Borah’s book assists the reader in understanding Rabbi Soloveitchik’s difficult essay and clarifies each of its many profound, yet subtle explorations of Jewish law and the nature of those individuals who have mastered it to the degree that it defines their very being. For those who are working their way through Halakhic Man for the first time, as well as those who are returning to it after previous study, Understanding Halakhic Man will be a useful and enjoyable companion in this exhilarating intellectual journey. Rabbi Borah’s text can be read on its own as it quotes liberally from the original essay, allowing the reader to digest Halakhic Man in manageable doses. It can also be used as a primer to familiarize the reader with the essay’s ideas and form before delving into the full body of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s great work.