Reviewing: “To Be Holy but Human” by Rabbi Moshe Taragin. Kodesh Press. 2025. 248 pages. ISBN-13: 979-8-88894-038-9.
In “To Be Holy but Human” by Rabbi Moshe Taragin, the reader is exposed to the life and lessons of one of the leaders of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Rav Yehuda Amital, zt”l. Rabbi Taragin shares experiences he has had at the yeshiva, personal anecdotes regarding Rav Aaron Lichtenstein, zt”l, and eternal teachings shared by his rebbe, Rav Amital, zt”l.
Rabbi Taragin, who now teaches at Yeshivat Har Etzion and had been a student there, has had the opportunity to learn for decades from his rebbe and this publication afforded him the opportunity to not only share the words of Torah he learned and experienced, but also continue to learn from Rav Amital through this venture.
Rabbi Taragin writes that Rav Amital had a unique method of presentation where he would share a story and impart a powerful lesson from it. In imitation of his rebbe, Rabbi Taragin spends each chapter presenting either a story Rav Amital presented or an experience Rabbi Taragin had with him, and then goes on to glean lessons from not only what Rabbi Tarigan saw and learned, but also spend time contemplating these lessons and culling more insights from them.
This book contains some of the most famous stories that Rav Amital had shared over the years, along with many other stories which this talmid felt should be as popular, if not more so.
Rabbi Taragin includes the now infamous story of the crying baby. In it, the founder of the Chabad movement, the Baal HaTanya, was learning in one room, next to a room in which his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, was engrossed in his studies, followed by a third room that contained a sleeping baby. At some point the baby began to cry, however, the Tzemach Tzedek was so caught up in his learning that he was unable to notice the sounds the baby was making. The Baal HaTanya, who was two rooms away, and apparently not as involved in his learning, was able to hear the baby cry. The Baal HaTanya chided his grandson and said, in a now-famous lesson, “If a person is so absorbed in Torah study that he does not hear a child’s cry, something is wrong with his learning.”
While some might be surprised to learn this about such a yeshiva that has a reputation of having talmidim learning at very high levels, Rabbi Taragin pointed out that this story was integral in highlighting the mission of the yeshiva. He felt strongly that one should be sensitive and caring for others, which Rabbi Taragin says is a hallmark of the yeshiva. As an outsider who was only familiar with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s reputation as a stalwart Brisker, who like Rav Chaim Brisker, would be so engrossed in his Torah study that he would not be able to notice his surroundings, I was shocked to find an alternative view at this yeshiva.
While this story is insightful to an outsider, it should not be at all surprising to students and alumni of this yeshiva. Rabbi Taragin writes: “It’s not uncommon to see a yeshiva that embraces only the best, the brightest, the most pedigreed—a stance reminiscent of Shammai’s criteria for who should study Torah. Shammai held that students should be wise, humble, pedigreed and financially secure…. But Rav Amital aligned more with Hillel’s inclusive vision, believing in the need to reach and teach as many people as possible.” Again, as an outsider, I had only heard of the reputation of the yeshiva as being one with top-tier students. However, Rav Amital did not strive to have that, and wanted to be more inclusive, and provide a space for “… each student to grow in their own way.”
Aside from learning about the vision and insights of Rav Amital, one is also exposed to his unique perspective. As such, I would like to highlight just a few of the quite unexpected decisions that a person would think a rosh yeshiva would have, by taking out of context some examples of Rav Amital’s quotes, to get the reader enticed by this alluring book.
“There are many yeshivot for tzaddikim. But I want to build a yeshiva for reshaim…”
“When you daven, you should pray like a baby.”
“I want to tell you the difference between Rav Aharon [Lichtenstein] and other roshei yeshiva. Most roshei yeshiva want chasidim. You, Rav Aharon—you want talmidim. What is the difference between talmidim and chasidim? Chasidim listen to everything their rebbe says, whereas talmidim listen to nothing their rebbe says.”
Rav Amital clearly had a unique outlook. One is able to gain tremendous lessons from both Rav Amital and Rabbi Taragin in this publication. And with that, I will leave the reader with one last story of Rav Amital. There was going to be a missionary center that was starting up in Givat Mordechai. Petitioners decided to get signatures from as many people as possible, especially prominent leaders. As such, when they came to Rav Amital, he refused to sign the petition, much to their surprise. Why did he decide not to sign? You will have to read the book to find out.
Eliezer Barany is an editor and serves as a high school rebbe at Posnack Jewish Day School in South Florida.
