Rav Dessler

The life and impact of Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler the Michtav MeEliyahu

In the Yeshivah world, he was one of the most influential figures of the last half century: thinker, builder, educator, expositor, brilliant and eloquent interpreter of the Maharal and other classic works of Jewish thought. Member of the Vilna Beis Din, Rabbi and teacher in London, founder and guiding light of the Gateshead Kollel and the famous Gateshead Seminary, Mashgiach of Ponevezh -- how could a man fit so much achievement into one abbreviated life? But he did do it -- and for that we are all in his debt!

Rabbi Dessler virtually invented the vocabulary and the thought processes that have evolved into the intellectual teshuvah movement. More than anyone else, he defined eternal concepts in the terms of 20th century discourse, and he blended many trends of Torah thought into a tapestry that sets the pattern for thinkers and teachers everywhere.

Great as he was as a thinker and teacher, he was just as great as a person. He was the quintessential baal mussar, with a character as fine as silk and a radar-like sensitivity to the feelings of others. A great man and a fascinating life.

In this masterpiece, Yonoson Rosenblum shows again why he is acclaimed as one of the Jewish community’s premier writers. Well-researched, beautifully written, profoundly insightful -- this book will open eyes, minds, and hearts. It shines a brilliant light on a pivotal era and one of its greatest figures.