Author Description

In this volume of Ḥakirah there is a focus on the fundamentals of our faith and, most prominently, on faith, emunah, itself. We are proud to open with a forum in which prominent Roshei Yeshivah discuss the source of their own faith. They all attribute the masorah from their parents as the root of their belief, but each moves on to give insight into his own perspective and those of the rishonim and rebbeim who influenced him in later life. This forum is followed by an essay titled “The Fine-Tuning Argument for God’s Existence,” where the authors attempt to “justify the value of pursuing a science-based argument for God’s existence within the framework of the Torah” before presenting one such argument from modern physics. The other essays in the Jewish Thought section deal largely with defining proper hashkafot. The first such essay, “Shedding Light: R. Meir Simḥah ha-Kohen’s Approach to Ta‘amei ha-Mitzvot in Meshekh Ḥokhmah,”is an analysis of the philosophical thoughtof one of the twentieth century’s greatest halakhists. Another article, “Balancing Belief: Did Maimonides Prioritize the Golden Mean over Torah Truths?” refutes the claim that Rambam’s “adherence to the Golden Mean forced him to compromise on fundamental Torah truths and prophetic axioms.” In “Forgiving a Terrorist,” the author explores the Torah concept of forgiveness and explains its limits. The final essay of the section, “Torah im Derekh Eretz and Torah U-Madda: Roads that Diverge or Converge?” discusses two philosophies that are associated with two different Orthodox camps and shows that they are almost identical. The following section, “Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, ztz”l,” also deals with matters of faith. The first essay, “Who Are Soloveitchik’s Children?” reviews a book that identifies several thinkers whose ideas differ widely from the Rav’s positions as his true spiritual heirs. The reviewer takes issue both with the author’s thesis and his choice of “heirs.” The other essay, “Yosl Ra