Rabbi Nataf
I often point out the influence of Netzivâs Torah commentary among Torah writers today across the spectrum. One of the reasons for this was his unique ability to find what the Torah was saying to the Modern Jew. While a traditionalist with no formal secular education, he seemed to have internalized much of the spirit of his (and our) times while maintaining a very profound sense of the Talmudic tradition that was so clearly the center of his life.  Â
In this weekâs parsha, he picks up on the issue of individualism, something he discusses in several places, perhaps most famously in his discussion of the Tower of Bavel. Because it has always been clear that Judaism has a strongly communal element, many earlier commentators missed that the Torah nevertheless recognizes the unique needs and aptitudes of every individual. Living at the height of European Romanticism and on the cusp of Nietzscheâs writings â which both contributed to a new much mo