Tzvi Leshem: Between Messianism and Prophecy

Rabbi Tzvi Leshem finished his PhD dissertation recently at Bar Ilan University The English title of his work (written in Hebrew) is Between Messianism and Prophecy: Hasidism According to the Piaseczner Rebbe and it can be downloaded from here. In another blog post he answers to the question why he even wrote a doctoral dissertation. The content of the explanation is apologetic and it shows that he felt he need to explain his unusual deed to his frum audience. But he also shows respect towards the academic institution he studied at. It is interesting, though that he does not name the professors he liked (nor the ones he avoided), with the exception of his advisor. He also critiques the academia’s Judaic Studies program for exposing young minds to the documentary hypothesis, a dangerous heresy in his view. The post gives an insight of the priorities and agendas of why and how a bright frum rabbi would study Kabbalah outside his regular setting.