Making of a Godol

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Making of a Godol (full title: Making of a Godol: A Study of Episodes in the Lives of Great Torah Personalities) (Second edition: Making of a Godol - Improved Edition) is a 2002 book published by Rabbi Nathan Kamenetsky, son of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, about the lives of various Jewish sages of the 19th and 20th centuries who are revered by Haredi Jews. The word godol means "great [one]" in Hebrew and is used to refer to prominent Talmudic scholars who are often the heads (rosh yeshivas) of important yeshivas.

The book, which resulted from many years of research, includes numerous stories and is very detailed in its biographies. Some readers have found this tedious, while others claim that the book offers many valuable insights into the lives of these men.

Soon after its release, a group of leading Haredi rabbis issued a ban against the book, claiming that it undervalued the rabbis whose lives it describes. According to the author, he spoke with the rabbinic authority Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv before releasing a "revised version" in 2005, and was promised that the new edition would not be met with a ban. Nevertheless, a new ban was issued in 2006, with the rabbis who issued it declaring: "The book was reviewed by Rabbi Dan Segal and Rabbi Y. Rosenblum, and they told us that the book still has bad content."

[edit] Publication details

• Making of a Godol: A Study of Episodes in the Lives of Great Torah Personalities (illustrated) by Noson (Nathan) Kamenetsky. 1398 Pages (2002) ISBN 965-90379-0-2
• Making of a Godol—Improved Edition, 2 Volume set, by Noson (Nathan) Kamenetsky (2005) ISBN 965-90379-2-9