<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
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Your Tent - In Jewish Action</title><link rel="stylesheet"
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content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body>Aspaqlaria has posted a new
item, '<a href="http://www.aishdas.org/asp/wyt-in-ja">Widen Your Tent - In
Jewish Action</a>'<br>
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<p>A review of my book, <a href="http://www.aishdas.org/asp/widen-your-tent"
target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Widen Your Tent</a>, appears in the
<a href="https://jewishaction.com/books/reviews-in-briefs/reviews-in-brief-4/"
target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">current issue</a> of <a
href="https://jewishaction.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener
noreferrer">Jewish Action</a>.</p>
<hr /><header class="article-header"><span class="article__category-name
article__category-name--blue"><a
href="https://jewishaction.com/category/books/reviews-in-briefs/">REVIEWS IN
BRIEF</a></span>
<h1>Reviews in Brief</h1>
<div class="featured-thirds__meta"><span class="article__author"><a
title="Posts by Gil Student"
href="https://jewishaction.com/author/gil_studentou-org/" rel="author">GIL
STUDENT</a></span></div>
</header>
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<p id="caption-attachment-18382" class="wp-caption-text"><em>By Rabbi Micha
Berger </em><br />Mosaica Press <br />Beit Shemesh, Israel, 2019 <br
/>395 pages</p>
</div>
<p><b><span data-contrast="none">Widen Your Tent</span></b><b><span
data-contrast="none">: </span></b><strong><i>Thoughts on Life, Integrity
& Joy</i></strong><span
data-ccp-props="{"201341983":2,"335559731":180,"335559740":240}"> </span><br
/><span data-contrast="none">Ra</span><span data-contrast="none">bbi
Shimon </span><span data-contrast="none">Shkop</span><span
data-contrast="none"> was one of the great </span><i><span
data-contrast="none">roshei</span></i><i><span
data-contrast="none"> yeshivah</span></i><span data-contrast="none"> of
Europe. A student of Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, he had a brilliant mind and
clarity of expression that left a lasting impression in yeshivah study halls.
When Reb Shimon’s yeshivah was forced to close during World War I, he wrote
a two-volume </span><i><span data-contrast="none">sefer</span></i><span
data-contrast="none"> titled </span><i><span
data-contrast="none">Sha’arei</span></i><i><span
data-contrast="none"> </span></i><i><span
data-contrast="none">Yosher</span></i><span data-contrast="none"> on the most
difficult subjects in Jewish monetary law. This </span><i><span
data-contrast="none">sefer</span></i><span data-contrast="none"> incisively
and insightfully explains the views of great halachic authorities throughout
the ages, using Reb Shimon’s conceptual approach, a uniquely philosophical
variant of his teacher’s Brisker method.</span><span
data-ccp-props="{"201341983":2,"335559731":180,"335559740":240}"> </span></p>
<p><i><span data-contrast="none">Sha’arei</span></i><i><span
data-contrast="none"> </span></i><i><span
data-contrast="none">Yosher</span></i><span data-contrast="none">, now a
staple of yeshivah libraries, contains an </span><span
data-contrast="none">often overlooked</span><span
data-contrast="none"> introduction analyzing the commandment to be holy:
“Be holy, for I am holy” (Lev. 19:2). What does God’s holiness have to
do with our attempts to be holy people? How do we achieve this daunting task?
Reb Shimon offers a characteristically unique and brilliant approach to
answering these questions. According to Reb Shimon, the commandment to become
holy “includes the entire foundation and root of the purpose of our
lives.”</span><span
data-ccp-props="{"201341983":2,"335559731":180,"335559740":240}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">In </span><i><span data-contrast="none">Widen
Your Tent</span></i><span data-contrast="none">, Rabbi Micha Berger translates
this introduction and provides a lengthy expansion and commentary on Reb
Shimon’s ideas so that contemporary readers can understand the full context
and scope of Reb Shimon’s ethical project. To Reb Shimon, holiness lies not
in withdrawal from society and worldly pleasures, but in active involvement in
community. If every single act in our lives is dedicated either directly or
indirectly to helping others, we will be set apart—holy, as God is
holy.</span><span
data-ccp-props="{"201341983":2,"335559731":180,"335559740":240}"> </span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="none">This attitude does not limit the relevance of
ritual commandments or focus on the self. Rabbi Berger invokes the teachings
of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Rabbi Shlomo </span><span
data-contrast="none">Wolbe</span><span data-contrast="none"> and many others
to explain Reb Shimon’s approach to </span><i><span
data-contrast="none">mitzvot</span></i><span
data-contrast="none"> and </span><i><span
data-contrast="none">musar</span></i><span data-contrast="none">. In this
book—full of Talmudic examples and conceptual explanations, comfortable to
yeshivah students yet accessible to novices—Rabbi Berger details a complete
worldview built on determined self-improvement, dedication to excellence in
Torah learning and devotion to communal service. </span><i><span
data-contrast="none">Widen Your Tent</span></i><span
data-contrast="none"> excites the intellect while challenging the reader to
become a better Jew.</span><span
data-ccp-props="{"201341983":2,"335559731":180,"335559740":240}"> </span></p>
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micha<br>
micha@aishdas.org</body></html>