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About Twersky
Rabbi Isadore Twersky was Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy and director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. Author and editor of numerous books on Jewish philosophy and law, including Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah), he was also Rabbi of the Talner Bet Midrash in Brookline, Massachusetts. Twersky participated in the Continuing Seminar on Jewry under the auspices of the president of Israel and in the Commission on Jewish Education in North America. He played a central role in the development of the program of the Maimonides School in Boston. |
Readers interested in the life and work of Isadore Twersky may wish to consult Carmi Horowitz's intellectual biography of Twersky, "Professor Yitzhak Twersky - The Talner Rebbe z"l: A Brief Biography," published in The Torah U-Madda Journal, vol. 8 (1998-1999).
"A Bibliography of the Works of Professor Isadore Twersky" by Carmi Horowitz appears in Me'ah She'arim: Studies in Medieval Jewish Spiritual Life in Memory of Isadore Twersky, ed. Ezra Fleischer et al. (Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2001).
Twersky's Conception
The Supplement to Twersky's chapter in Visions of Jewish Education (pages 77-94) notes Twersky's suggestion that educators in the Visions Project read "Law and Philosophy," the sixth chapter of his Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah) (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1980). This suggestion reflects the importance of this chapter for understanding Twersky's conception of halakhah. The excerpts of this chapter that are reprinted in the supplement (pages 81-82 and 84-87) are given here in their full contexts, along with the chapter's introduction and conclusion.
Applications of Twersky's Conception to Particular Mitzvot
Project participants have noted the advantages of studying Twersky's conception in its application to specific mitzvot. The following are Twersky's publications on Maimonides' interpretation of various mitzvot.
Tzedakah: "Some Aspects of the Jewish Attitude Toward the Welfare State" in Tradition 5 (1963)
Tefilla: "Ve-Yireh Atzmo keilu Omed Lifnei ha-Shekhinah: Kavanat ha-Lev be-Tefilla be-Mishnat ha-Rambam" in Kenesset Ezra: Sifrut ve-Hayyim be-Veit ha-Kenesset - Asufat Ma'amarim Mugashim le-Ezra Fleischer, ed. S. Elitzur et al. (Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi, 1995)
Israel: "Eretz Yisrael ve-Galut be-Mishnato shel ha-Rambam" in Eretz Yisrael be-Hagut ha-Yehudit bi-Yimei ha-Beinayim (Jerusalem: Yad Ben Zvi, 1991)
Twersky's Method of Interpreting Maimonides
Twersky's vision hinges on his interpretation of Maimonidean sources. As mentioned in the supplement (page 77), there was some debate about his method. Twersky claimed that he was faithfully representing Maimonidean thought, which itself "merged imperceptibly" with the sources of traditional Judaism, whereas many participants pointed to the impossibility of any "objective" rearticulation.
"On Law and Ethics in the Mishneh Torah: A Case Study of Hilkhot Megillah II:17," in Tradition 24:2 (1989), in which Twersky discusses the application of Maimonides' conception of halakhah to the mitzvah of matanot la-evyonim, Purim gifts to the poor, also includes some methodological comments relating to his mode of interpreting Maimonides.
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