Morris Faierstein, Gorgias Press, 2005This work, an academic study of the life and teachings of the ‘Ishbitzer’, gave me much pleasure. The thought of Ishbitz and its related schools of Kotzk and Socatchev, are fields of special interest to me. They offer an unusually intellectual and often controversial way of looking at the world. Most contentious among these thinkers was the Ishbitzer, Rabbi M.J. Leiner, who flourished in Poland in the first half of the 19th century. His ideas were considered so radical that they were originally published by a gentile! Faierstein covers the main areas of thought for which the Ishbitzer was best known – determinism, berur (personal clarification), radical reinterpretation of Biblical narrative and antinomianism. His analysis is clear, supported by extensive material from the Ishbitzer’s writings and very well-sourced. He also provides adequate, albeit not extensive background, biography and offers an interesting perspective on the Ishbitzer’s notorious split from his former friend and Rebbe, the Kotzker, in 1839. The book also contains a small amount of material on the Ishbitzer’s grandson, the Rebbe of Radzin (another contentious figure) as well as a fascinating study of the famous ‘Friday Night Incident in Kotzk’, which brought the Kotzer Rebbe much grief. A significant contribution to scholarship in this growing field.
All Is In The Hands Of Heaven
