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Conflicts of Knowledge in Rabbinic Biography : Contextualizing and appraising a new documentary book on the Rebbe's early years
The perceived conflict between legitimate Torah knowledge and secular knowledge and culture has often figured as a point of controversy around the publication of biographies of rabbinic figures. Following the work of historian Prof. Immanuel Etkes, Dr. Naftali Loewenthal argues that this black and white perception was not shared by rabbis in the pre-enlightenment era. Within this context he appraises recent biographical works on the Rebbe, culminating with "Early Years: The formative years of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, as told by documents and archival data, 1902-1929" by Boruch Oberlander and Elkanah Shmotkin.
| See Also: | New Book Reveals Hundreds of Documents About the Rebbe’s Early Life |
| Audio: | Listen to Audio | Download this MP3 |
| Topics: | Jewish History, Lubavitcher Rebbe |
Dr. Tali Loewenthal is Lecturer in Jewish Spirituality at University College London, director of the Chabad Research Unit, author of Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School and of Hasidism Beyond Modernity: Studies in Habad Thought and History (Littmann Library, 2020), and a frequent contributor to the Chabad.org weekly Torah reading section.
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