Born in Slutzk, Russia, in 1805, Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik is a largely forgotten member of the prestigious Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty. Before Hayyim Soloveitchik developed the standard Brisker method of Talmudic study, or Joseph Dov Soloveitchik helped to found American Modern Orthodox Judaism, Elijah Soloveitchik wrote Qol Qore, a rabbinic commentary on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Qol Qore drew on classic rabbinic literature, and particularly on the works of Moses Maimonides, to argue for the compatibility of Christianity with Judaism. To this day, it remains the only rabbinic work to embrace the compatibility of Orthodox Judaism and the Christian Bible.
In The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament, Shaul Magid presents the first-ever English translation of Qol Qore. In his contextualizing introduction, Magid explains that Qol Qore offers a window onto the turbulent historical context of nineteenth-century European Jewry. With violent anti-Semitic activity on the rise in Europe, Elijah Soloveitchik was unique in believing that the roots of anti-Semitism were theological, based on a misunderstanding of the New Testament by both Jews and Christians. His hope was that the Qol Qore, written in Hebrew and translated into French, German, and Polish, would reach Jewish and Christian audiences, urging each to consider the validity of the other's religious principles. In an era characterized by fractious debates between Jewish communities, Elijah Soloveitchik represents a voice that called for radical unity amongst Jews and Christians alike.

In The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament, Shaul Magid presents the first-ever English translation of Rabbi Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik's Qol Qore, a rabbinic commentary on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.

About the Author
Shaul Magid is the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion at Indiana University, Bloomington and Kogod Senior Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America. His latest books are Hasidism Incarnate: Hasidism, Christianity, and the Construction of Modern Judaism and American Post-Judaism: Identity and Renewal in a Postethnic Society. Jordan Gayle Levy is an independent translator. Peter Salovey is President of Yale University and the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology.

Reviews
"[A] phenomenal and ground-breaking volume...This book should be on the bookshelf of any and every rabbi, minister, priest, Sunday School teacher, instructor in Judaism and/or Christianity in modern times, Christian divinity students, Jewish seminarians, and laypersons who care to cultivate the love and compassion taught by precept and example in the very best of Judaism and Christianity, from the time of Jesus to the present. Teachers and students who study Magid's book will learn to appreciate that the until now relatively obscure Rabbi Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik was a vital link in that chain of love. Thanks are due Shaul Magid for making him known to the world at large." * The Review of Rabbinic Judaism *
"The Bible, the Talmud, and the New Testament is a fascinating book on one of the most intriguing and forgotten rabbinic characters of the nineteenth century. Elijah Soloveitchik was, to be sure, an idiosyncratic figure, but the story of his life and work is extremely instructive for those interested in the Jewish Enlightenment as well as Jewish-Christian relations today." * Ishay Rosen-Zvi, Tel Aviv University *



Book Information
ISBN 9780812250992
Author Elijah Zvi Soloveitchik
Format Hardback
Page Count 440
Imprint University of Pennsylvania Press
Publisher University of Pennsylvania Press