Rav Soloveitchik זצ"ל : A Reminiscence

All of the discussion of rabbis, leadership, Halakhah and spirituality highlights just how much I miss the Rov zt"l. I"m not just referring to a disciple who misses his rebbe. That feeling is always there.

No, it's more than that. When I consider the multifold challenges facing the religious community in Israel, I realize just how much the kind of creative traditionalism, intellectual independence and modesty, and the rare mix of devotion to Halakha and striving for spirituality thatr characterized the Rov are needed today. The problem is that far too mant of his disciples here have bifurcated him. Some are Rashe Yeshiva who are only interested in his lomdus. Others think he was only a philosopher, and ignore the fact that he spent 95% of his time lovingly learning Talmud and Rambam. But he was all of that and it is as a totality that his teachings would make a difference.

Those who are stifled by an exclusively 'Do' and 'Don't' Orthodoxy, would have their Judaism invigorated with Man's spiritual quest for God. Those who are ensconced in philosophy would learn the humility and discipline of Talmud Torah and Halakhah as acts of revelation and surrender.

Those of us who try to see the total picture of who the Rov was and what he stood for have been too shy. We have a moral obligation to tell the truth about who he was and who he wasn't. Noone will get it totally. He was too complex for that. We can, however, balance the extremes. Aggressive advocacy of a teacher's heritage has marked the disciples of the Rambam, Ramban, Ari, GRA, Besht, Salanter and others. Within the frame of the Rov's belief in personal responsibility, we can do no less.