Breaking the Tablets

David Weiss Halivni is Professor Emeritus of Classical Jewish Civilization at Columbia University. Halivni survived the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Wolfsberg, and Mathausen—his entire family was murdered in the camps. Most widely known for his scholarly commentary on the Talmud, Halivni has also written a series of more general studies of the classic rabbinic literature that remains the foundation for all contemporary forms of Judaism. Rabbi Halivni was awarded The Israel Prize in Talmud, this year. The Israel Prize, the highest honor in Israel, will be awarded on Israel Independence Day, observed this year on May 8. Peter Ochs is professor of Modern Judaic Studies at the University of Virginia.

• 1 Prologue: Between Sinai and Auschwitz2 Editor's Introduction4 Chapter One: Prayer in the Shoah6 Chapter Two: Restoring Scripture8 Chapter Three: Breaking the Tablets and Begetting the Oral Law10 Chapter Four: Between Auschwitz and Sinai

Erudition, scholarship, depth of knowledge, sharp insight, brilliant commentary and innovative interpretation: all these are to be found in David Weiss Halivni's new volume on the Talmud—a field in which he has been recognized as one of this generation's great Masters.