Does Jewish tradition recognize an ethic independent of halakha? For R. Isaac Hutner, a leading mid-20th century rosh yeshiva, the question is a poorly formed one. The proper question is not whether, as faithful halakhic Jews, we are bound by moral obligations – obviously we are. And it is not the question of what the relationship between religion and morality is. The real question, rather, is what the relationship should be, how we ought to interweave our moral and religious aspirations. This course will explore R. Hutner’s ambitious moral-religious philosophy through a close reading of selections from his magnum opus, Pahad Yitzhak.
Alex S. Ozar is rabbi and co-director of the OU-JLIC program at Yale University, where he completed a doctorate in philosophy and religious studies with a dissertation entitled “Some Are Guilty, All Are Responsible: A Theory and Ethics of Prophetic Citizenship.” He holds a BA, MA, and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University. His writing has appeared in Harvard Theological Review, Journal of Religious Ethics, Dine Israel, Jewish Quarterly Review, Torah U-Madda Journal, and Tradition, and TheLehrhaus.com.
