<HTML>Topics like this are always fun, and Harry's post got me thinking. I
enjoyed his list. Here are some more thoughts:
It's hard to disagree with picking Rashi and the Rambam as the two most
important Jewish individuals in the *middle ages*, and this is for many
good and important reasons. But besides these two, there is competition
for *all* of the other slots on the list.
Harry's list, I think, is far too top heavy with Torah scholars from
modern times (18-20th centuries). And even among such scholars, it is
heavily weighted towards figures important to the world of the Lithuanian
yeshivot. I think it is missing the following:
Except for the Baal Shem Tov himself there are no chasidim.
The list has no Sefardim, except for two medieval authors who were picked
mostly for their halakhic codes.
Kabbala had extraordinary influence on Jewish history during this period,
yet its creators and practitioners are not mentioned (except for some
halakhists who also happen to have been kabbalists).
The great ideas and movements in modern Jewish history are not represented
at all: Figures central to Jewish political emancipation, Haskala,
Wissenschaft scholarship, Reform, German Orthodoxy, Jewish socialism,
Zionism, etc. - none of these appear at all! Not even religious Zionism is
represented on a very "religious" list. The revival of spoken Hebrew is
one of the most amazing achievements in all of Jewish history, but the
major personality behind it (Ben Yehuda) isn't on the list.
What's the point of all of this? It's not the list that really matters,
but the hashkafa behind the choices on a list. Using lists like these as a
platform for discussions of what is really important in Jewish history can
be great fun, and a great educational tool for all ages. So thanks to
Harry.
Bivrakha,
Seth Kadish
Amit Karmiel</HTML>
