Introduction

The resources in this library have been assembled for readers of Visions of Jewish Education who are interested in continuing their study of Isadore Twersky’s conception of Jewish education. We have written these materials with the understanding that visitors to the site have read Twersky’s “What a Jew Must Study - and Why” and “Supplement: Isadore Twersky,” and we refer to specific passages from this text below.

In “Continued Study: Isadore Twersky” we hope to introduce readers to the guiding assumptions of Twersky’s work and to his sources, as well as to expand the learning that can be done around Twersky’s vision and its applications to education. The materials in this section of the website represent work in progress by teachers of Twersky’s conception in various settings. We are committed to continuing to develop Visions of Jewish Education Project resources and to making them available to teachers and learners.

Readers who prefer to begin with background materials on Twersky, or who are seeking the full text of a particular source mentioned in the Twersky Supplement, may wish to visit Further Reading: Isadore Twersky.

While the site provides information about Twersky’s work and sources, it is also interactive. There are a number of opportunities for readers to enter into the material: by answering and asking questions and downloading additional texts and resources. Project Staff are ready to answer your questions or discuss with you the materials in the Twersky library and are interested in your responses and suggestions.

Twersky’s Conception

Each conception in Visions of Jewish Education proposes an ideal Jewish education on the basis of a larger conception of a meaningful Jewish life. We can approach Twersky’s conception by considering first how he defines and describes Judaism, and how these assumptions lead to his conclusions about Jewish education.

We find it useful to think about the authors’ visions at three levels:

Their broad conception of Judaism or Jewish life

Their principles of Jewish education

Applications of these educational principles

For Twersky, Judaism in its basic definition is identified with halakhah. We will therefore be concerned first with halakhah as described by Twersky.

Halakhah as Defined by Twersky

The foundation for Twersky’s conception of Judaism is halakhah. Twersky defines halakhah as “the practical manifestation of the Jewish spiritual essence.” He views halakhah as a system that combines the practical and spiritual aspects of religion, although he recognizes that the two are often in a “coincidence of opposites,” although halakhah is also used in a more specific sense as the particular laws of the halakhic system.

“Meta-halakhah”

Twersky arrived at his definition of halakhah by working in the domain of meta-halakhah. As we note in the Supplement to Isadore Twersky (Visions of Jewish Education, pages 77-94), Twersky explored Maimonides’ writings on Judaism, ethics, science, society, and personality development - in their relationship to education. These studies led him to a domain he called "meta-halakhah": an understanding that emerges from a thorough study of halakhah and reveals "the infrastructure and superstructure, the foundations and goals, of religious law and life."

In "Talmudists, Philosophers and Kabbalists: The Quest for Spirituality in the Sixteenth Century," Twersky explains: “I use meta-Halakhah in its dual sense to connote both that area of study which comes after Halakhah as well as that which is the appropriate, indispensable culmination of the learning process by virtue of its revealing the infrastructure and superstructure, the foundations and goals, of religious law and life.”

In our experience of studying and teaching Twersky’s conception, we have noted how important this definition of meta-halakhah is for understanding Twersky’s vision of Judaism and of Jewish education. 

Twersky discussed the tension between religion in essence and religion in manifestation in three works. We have found it useful to draw on passages in his articles "Religion and Law," "Some Aspects of the Jewish Attitude Toward the Welfare State" and "Talmudists, Philosophers and Kabbalists: The Quest for Spirituality in the Sixteenth Century" when teaching and learning Twersky’s conception; to view these excerpts click here. 

The Work of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and G. van der Leeuw

Many readers have also been interested in Twersky’s sources and influences. While Twersky bases his conception on the works of Maimonides, he also referred scholars and educators to contemporary sources on the ideas of religion in essence and religion in manifestation. He saw in their work a set of ideas parallel to what he was working with in the specific domain of halakhah.

Another interesting lens for Twersky’s conception of religion in essence and manifestation is the work of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. A note in R. Soloveitchik’s Halakhic Man draws on the scholarship of religious studies as a launching point for a critique of modern religious practice. 

Click here to read a passage from R. Soloveitchik’s Halakhic Man

Click here to read a short description of G. van der Leeuw’s works and a summary of his ideas on religion in essence and religion in manifestation