Time Pieces: Reflections on the Jewish Year

In this remarkable book, prolific writer and lecturer Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky delves into the ocean of Torah and brings up bits of fabulous treasure. The essays the essays span the Jewish year, from Rosh HaShanah to Tishah B’Av, in which the themes of the Jewish calendar spring to life. They tell of the remarkable lives and deeds of great men, such as Rav Aaron’s own father, Reb Bentzion Lopiansky, Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel, Rav Nochum Partzovitz, and Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. They present timeless issues such as the chareidim and the draft, modern-day Jewish marriage, negotiating with kidnappers, and comparing the completing of the Talmud with competing in the Olympics. It is a rare work that profoundly delights even as it teaches and inspires. Time Pieces is such a book. “In our mundane world, feeling and intellect are forever at odds. But when it comes to the Divine, these seemingly mutually exclusive realms converge, since Hashem is one… No professor of Jewish thought ever had tears coursing down his cheeks, overwhelmed by the depth of Shir HaShirim… One who has experienced that spark of knowledge and awareness arising from those divrei Torah [derived from in-depth exploration of the Torah] knows that no Minchah can ever be the same again.” —From the Introduction to Time Pieces An esteemed friend, who reads critically, once put the question into much sharper focus. Upon evaluating an essay of mine, he commented, “It’s nice, but will anyone daven a better minchah because of it?” An important question, and one that must be answered fully. Life is too short for things that are merely “nice”; if they don’t move a person closer to his Creator in any significant way, then one should not waste one’s time on them.