Shabbat Reading: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik's Droshes un ksovim

Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, Droshes un ksovim, edited by David E. Fishman (Ktav, 2009)

Yiddish has become very fashionable. I should know, I studied it for a long time. But Yiddish isn’t some fun accessory, Rabbi Soloveitchik warns. The language matters because for almost a thousand years European Jews lived, thought, and breathed in it. The Holocaust ended that lineage. Whatever the topic in Soloveitchik's Droshes un ksovim (speeches and writings), his words vibrate with this trauma. More importantly they reflect his love. He compares Yiddish to a Torah scroll cover: heilik far vos zi aynviklt, holy for what it holds and embraces. His reverence is evident on every page.