Legacy of the Netziv: “The Path of Torah”

Just the name, the Netziv, HaRav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin zt”l, should give a shiver of awe and inspiration to any knowledgeable Jew. His life’s story, as reflected in “My Uncle The Netziv” [ArtScroll, 1988] by his nephew, Rav Baruch HaLevi Epstein, the Torah Temimah, tells the story of the quintessential Rosh Yeshiva and Gadol Hador.

While the book is unfortunately long out of print, if you can get a copy it would be worth the effort to revisit the author’s take of his illustrious uncle. It reads remarkably like a novel that offers the reader an intimate view of the Netziv, with insights and eye-opening historical revelations that cast the subject as not only a gifted spiritual leader, but a sensitive human being with faults that needed attending to and problems that had to be addressed. All this is reflected in the book, which merits your attention and appreciation of a true leader of our people.

While “My Uncle the Netziv” may be a bit hard to obtain, I am happy to inform you that a classic book by the Netziv, long ignored and, by now, unknown, has just been published in English translation. The new edition of “The Path of Torah” [Urim Publications, 2009] is now available in most Jewish bookstores. It bears a rare approbation by one of our country’s leading rabbinical scholars, Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, the Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council.

Under its original title, “Darkah Shel Torah,” it served originally as an introduction to the Netziv’s “Haamek Sheala” dealing with the responsa of Achai Gaon. The translator, Rabbi Elchanan Greenman of Houston, has done a masterful job in bringing us a three-part book with 43 chapters that span a range of topics on Halacha, history as you have never experienced in yeshiva, aggadic material and mussar.

The footnoting is extensive as merits so scholarly a work, with a corrected Hebrew text positioned around the English rendition.

Rabbi Greenman states that he undertook this work “because it is a work of profound significance that has largely been ignored and misunderstood. After completing the translation, I realized that it is unique in providing several examples of the Vilna Gaon’s pilpul method, the first time that such complete examples have been made available in English.”

The Netziv was known to write in a poetic style that, in translation, can obscure the meaning of the text and hamper comprehension by the modern reader. Rabbi Greenman was cognizant of this literary problem and has effectively given the text a new cast that avoids this stylistic handicap. The text is lucid and easy to read despite its complicated content. He not only succeeds admirably, he has set a new standard for establishing a responsible  “flexibility” to be emulated in the future by others confronted with similar difficulties.

Rabbi Greenman studied under Rav Aharon Soloveichik at the Yeshiva Brisk of Chicago where he received his rabbinic ordination in June 1977. He also has a B.S. in Physics and a M.S. in Computer Science. For over two decades Rabbi Greenman has been employed as an engineer for the International Space Station and is currently the lead engineer for Software Quality Engineering. Despite this, Rabbi Greenman’s first love has always been the study of Torah and a specific interest in the writings and teachings of the Netziv. The work under review is a reflection of his life’s work in this field.

This book is not for casual reading. Nevertheless, it merits your serious attention given the inherent spiritual value of its content and the integrity of its sainted author.

By Alan Jay Gerber

Just the name, the Netziv, HaRav Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin zt”l, should give a shiver of awe and inspiration to any knowledgeable Jew. His life’s story, as reflected in “My Uncle The Netziv” [ArtScroll, 1988] by his nephew, Rav Baruch HaLevi Epstein, the Torah Temimah, tells the story of the quintessential Rosh Yeshiva and Gadol Hador.

While the book is unfortunately long out of print, if you can get a copy it would be worth the effort to revisit the author’s take of his illustrious uncle. It reads remarkably like a novel that offers the reader an intimate view of the Netziv, with insights and eye-opening historical revelations that cast the subject as not only a gifted spiritual leader, but a sensitive human being with faults that needed attending to and problems that had to be addressed. All this is reflected in the book, which merits your attention and appreciation of a true leader of our people.

While “My Uncle the Netziv” may be a bit hard to obtain, I am happy to inform you that a classic book by the Netziv, long ignored and, by now, unknown, has just been published in English translation. The new edition of “The Path of Torah” [Urim Publications, 2009] is now available in most Jewish bookstores. It bears a rare approbation by one of our country’s leading rabbinical scholars, Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, the Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council.

Under its original title, “Darkah Shel Torah,” it served originally as an introduction to the Netziv’s “Haamek Sheala” dealing with the responsa of Achai Gaon. The translator, Rabbi Elchanan Greenman of Houston, has done a masterful job in bringing us a three-part book with 43 chapters that span a range of topics on Halacha, history as you have never experienced in yeshiva, aggadic material and mussar. The footnoting is extensive as merits so scholarly a work, with a corrected Hebrew text positioned around the English rendition.

Rabbi Greenman states that he undertook this work “because it is a work of profound significance that has largely been ignored and misunderstood. After completing the translation, I realized that it is unique in providing several examples of the Vilna Gaon’s pilpul method, the first time that such complete examples have been made available in English.”

The Netziv was known to write in a poetic style that, in translation, can obscure the meaning of the text and hamper comprehension by the modern reader. Rabbi Greenman was cognizant of this literary problem and has effectively given the text a new cast that avoids this stylistic handicap. The text is lucid and easy to read despite its complicated content. He not only succeeds admirably, he has set a new standard for establishing a responsible  “flexibility” to be emulated in the future by others confronted with similar difficulties.

Rabbi Greenman studied under Rav Aharon Soloveichik at the Yeshiva Brisk of Chicago where he received his rabbinic ordination in June 1977. He also has a B.S. in Physics and a M.S. in Computer Science. For over two decades Rabbi Greenman has been employed as an engineer for the International Space Station and is currently the lead engineer for Software Quality Engineering. Despite this, Rabbi Greenman’s first love has always been the study of Torah and a specific interest in the writings and teachings of the Netziv. The work under review is a reflection of his life’s work in this field.

This book is not for casual reading. Nevertheless, it merits your serious attention given the inherent spiritual value of its content and the integrity of its sainted author.