Review of Kinot IV

19 Jul 2010
OU Press

Josh Lambert of the Tablet Magazine writes:

The incongruity of Tisha B’Av—a day of mourning during a period otherwise reserved by Americans for pool parties and cookouts—can make it difficult to attain a properly somber mood. If you need help getting down, or just desire a new perspective on the fast day’s ancient rituals and searing prayers, the brand new Koren Mesorat HaRav Kinot (Orthodox Union, June) offers the complete Tisha B’Av service in Hebrew, along with translations by Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, plus a rich, elaborate commentary on the kinot adapted from transcripts of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s teachings. Expertly assembled and competitively priced, if the book covered a less depressing topic—“My foes applauded while my limbs drooped/ as they trampled upon my heroes” captures the general tone here—its publication would be cause for jubilation.

Read the full review here: link