Sunday Spotlight: Rabbi Meir Soloveichik

Rabbi Meir Soloveichik serves as the director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University and as rabbi of the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. From the archive, three of his contributions to First Things over the years.

FROM THE FEBRUARY 2003 ISSUE

The Virtue of Hate

MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK

There is, in fact, no minimizing the difference between Judaism and Christianity on whether hate can be virtuous. In disagreeing, Judaism does not deny the importance of imitating God; Jews hate the wicked because they believe that God despises the wicked as well.

FROM THE FEBRUARY 2021 ISSUE

Lincoln’s Almost Chosen People

MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK

To believe in America, to have faith in America, and to be a person of faith in America, is to hope that even as we have lost the biblical grammar of liberty, nevertheless somewhere the covenantal lessons and legacy of Abraham and Sarah still live.

FROM THE JANUARY 2024 ISSUE

The Undying People

MEIR Y. SOLOVEICHIK

As thousands upon thousands participate in anti-Semitic rallies around the world, as we see assaults on Jewish businesses in England and Spain and the burning of a synagogue in Tunis, it is clear that hatred of Israel reflects the twisted theology of anti-Semitism.