bowlmorgraphics252b

I enjoy biographies that read like novels, and this one definitely fit the bill, but the trouble with that genre is that I always doubt whether the book is 100% factual. In this case, the author probably dramatized the known cases in which the Chasam Sofer acted as judge. Perhaps he drew from his responsa, too. (Jewish historian Rabbi Berel Wein says that responsa gives wonderful insights into the daily lives of Jews at any given period of time.) But the private conversations and inward thoughts - how can anyone really know them? So while I enjoyed the book and was thrilled to learn more about Frankfurt Jewry (about a century before George Eliot's visit), I regard this as just an appetizer. Now I'm ready for a meatier biography. Or perhaps I'll just listen to Rabbi Wein's lecture: http://www.rabbiwein.com/Rabbi-Moses-...

2022-11-14 13:36