Even as the twentieth century will be remembered for the West's loss of faith, Jewish Orthodoxy experienced in that very time a golden age of leaders and teachers who sought to bridge the world of Torah and that of the West. Some of these Torah figures were deeply impacted by an academic field, such as philosophy or literature. Others developed a Torah - based perspective on developments within the West, such as the rise of Zionism, democracy, or biotechnology. Still others reflected on the very nature of religious knowledge.

The Straus Center for Torah and Western Though at Yeshiva University invited twenty - first century thinkers to paint intellectual portraits of these luminaries, illustrating how each figure bridged the worlds of Torah and the West in a unique way. The essays are meant to inspire Orthodox Jews and all intellectually engaged individuals of faith to learn from the lives of these luminaries, and to have the courage to bridge these worlds as well.