Abstract
Rabbi Yitshak Hutner (1906–1980) was a remarkable scholar, an enigmatic religious intellectual and a charismatic teacher. Drawing upon his public discourses and his written letters, I argue that Hutner’s vocabulary—which remained rooted almost entirely in the vocabulary of traditional Talmudism—afforded him a ready garment in which to clothe a syncretic educational theory, which combines Hasidic approaches to spiritual instruction and remakes the traditions of Lithuanian piety and study for his new American audience. The present study interrogates a series of key themes that appear in Hutner’s teachings, all of which pertain to issues of pedagogy and the construction of religious education. The essay advances a historical argument by examining the works of an important and influential modern Jewish thinker, but it is also driven by a constructive question: What does Hutner’s vision of Jewish religious teaching and learning have to contribute to today’s Jewish education, and to the broader world of higher education in North America in particular?
Highlights
Rabbi Yitshak Hutner (1906–1980) was many things: a remarkable scholar, an enigmatic religious intellectual, and a charismatic teacher.1 Born into Warsaw family with Hasidic roots and deep connections to world of Lithuanian Talmudism, Hutner’s religious vision—and his educational philosophy in particular—were shaped by both of these spheres
Hutner came to embody the role of a teacher and religious educator; much of his creative effort was spent in passing on his thought and theology to his students through public addresses and personal correspondence
The present study interrogates a series of key themes that appear in Hutner’s teachings, all of which pertain to issues of pedagogy and the construction of religious education
Summary
Rabbi Yitshak Hutner (1906–1980) was many things: a remarkable scholar, an enigmatic religious intellectual, and a charismatic teacher. Born into Warsaw family with Hasidic roots and deep connections to world of Lithuanian Talmudism, Hutner’s religious vision—and his educational philosophy in particular—were shaped by both of these spheres. The institution of Slobodka combined rigorous Talmud study with mussar, a certain kind of moralistic introspection developed in the Lithuanian yeshiva world These intellectual currents, together with the figure of the Alter of Slobodka himself, left their mark on Hutner’s religious personality.. Hutner came to embody the role of a teacher and religious educator; much of his creative effort was spent in passing on his thought and theology to his students through public addresses and personal correspondence.. This may seem unsurprising for a traditional Jewish thinker, but we shall see that, despite his allegiance to Lithuanian patterns of learning, Hutner departs from Talmudic exclusivity and from intellectual totalism He paints an emotive vision of study and education as cultivating and fostering one’s creative potential, emphasizing connection to tradition through innovation reinterpretation, and constant renewal.. 117–27); and, more broadly, idem, (Freire 2018). What does Hutner have to say to spiritual education in the post-modern age, to education in our broader culture of North America, and to the world of higher education in particular?22
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