Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances

by Samson Raphael Hirsch, Isidore Grunfeld (Translator)

Rabbi Samson Hirschs brilliant exploration of the philosophy underlying the details of practical religious observances. Horeb succeeds in capturing the unifying ideological threads that weave in and out of the 613 commandments of the Bible and constitute the fabric of the Jewish way of life. It is an excellent book both for beginning and advanced students seeking to understand the deeper meaning behind Jewish law and is beautifully translated by the distinguished rabbi and Hirschian scholar, Dayan Dr. I. Grunfeld.

Genres: Jewish, Judaism

800 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Samson Raphael Hirsch (June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed neo-Orthodoxy, his philosophy, together with that of Azriel Hildesheimer, has had a considerable influence on the development of Orthodox Judaism.

Hirsch was rabbi in Oldenburg, Emden, was subsequently appointed chief rabbi of Moravia, and from 1851 until his death led the secessionist Orthodox community in Frankfurt am Main. He wrote a number of influential books, and for a number of years published the monthly journal Jeschurun, in which he outlined his philosophy of Judaism. He was a vocal opponent of Reform Judaism and similarly opposed early forms of Conservative Judaism.

Reviews

[Craig Bolton]

Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances by Samson Raphael Hirsch (2002)