An analysis of the development of the festival laws.
This work -- the first of Rav Zevin’s halachic masterpieces to appear in English -- is a classic analysis of the reasoning underlying the laws of the Festivals. It delves its way through the ancient roots of these laws, and traces their growth as they branch forth in the course of centuries of halachic debate. In its original Hebrew, HaMoadim BaHalachah is the most widely-respected work of its kind written in the twentieth century, as its twenty-five editions testify. Into the homes of scholars and laymen alike, it has brought the joy of participation in the profound and energetic give-and-take from which the Halachah emerges.

Like a colossus who spans the millennia, Rav Zevin raises his reader out of his curtained corner in the history of scholarship, and from his own vantage point shares with him a breathtaking panoramic view of the Halachah as it has flourished through the three grand historical stages -- the argumentation of the Talmudic period, the decision-making of the codifying period, and again the reasoning of the great minds of recent generations. Nor is the spellbound reader allowed to remain an idle spectator. Pointed out before his very eyes are the Torah academies of the centuries, and as he sees brain pitted against brain, argument challenged by argument, he identifies now with this scholar, now with that. Indeed, he is almost tempted to take sides ...

This translation is for the reader with the daring and determination to take up the challenge presented by this work, who is willing to tackle the thrust and parry of Talmudic reasoning. Such a reader will be hard put to find a more fascinating introduction to this discipline.

About the Author

When Rabbi Zevin died at 88, alert and active to the very end, he was universally acknowledged as one of the great Talmudic and Halachic prodigies of the century. He was born in Kazimirov, Belorussia and won early recognition as a genius of the first order. The Bolshevik Revolution ended his prospects of a fruitful rabbinic career in Russia and, although he was briefly permitted to publish a scholarly Talmudic monthly, the trend was one of generally increasing oppression and frequent arrest for members of the Russian rabbinate.

He emigrated to Eretz Yisrael in 1934 and soon won acclaim for his prolific and effective writing as much as for his unusual breadth of knowledge. He had a rare ability to simplify and clarify, and he was almost unique in his knack of presenting complex material in a form that could be grasped by knowledgeable laymen as well as accomplished scholars.

Although his most monumental and enduring achievement is undoubtedly the Talmudic Encyclopedia, he wrote prolifically, publishing many works of great scholarly and popular appeal.