This past week, Rabbi Yosef Blau, the longtime Mashgiach Ruchani (religious and spiritual guide) at Yeshiva University, wrote a public letter about the current war that Israel finds itself in and the need for us to “affirm that Judaism’s vision of justice and compassion extends to all human beings.” He asked Orthodox rabbis to sign…
A recent visitor in shul, looking slightly bemused, asked me, “Is Kesher an international organization?” I answered, “Yes and no.” We are a shul, but additionally we have “members” all over the world, many of whom have lived here and some who just attend a few times a year. All of these thousands of Kesherites…
This past week, I was in Israel at the Shalom Hartman Institute. In addition to extensive textual learning, which was our main focus, we heard from several Israeli speakers regarding life in Israel at this moment in time. One who has been involved in many years of high-level negotiations contended that though Israel is in…
I spent the last week in Israel on a YU/RCA/Mizrachi trip for rabbis. Before I left, I was worried. I thought to myself, we are all feeling so much doom and anxiety and to fly to the heart of it will, no doubt, be deeply disturbing. But just the opposite was true. Instead of hopelessness…
This week I saw the movie Golda. The movie focuses on Golda Meir during the course of the Yom Kippur War. (For more on Golda Meir’s life, be sure to get the new book Golda Meir by our fellow congregant Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt.) I did not know a great deal about the Yom Kippur War,…
In 1996, I went to St. Louis to be the Rabbi at the Hillel at Washington University. Near the university was one of St. Louis’ oldest Orthodox shuls, Bais Abraham, dating from 1894. During my time at Hillel I was a congregant at Bais Abraham, and its rabbi, Rabbi Abraham Magence, was my rabbi. After…
Moses, the paradigm of Jewish leadership, is singled out for one characteristic: humility. Humility in leadership is vital because it helps a leader to always remember that leadership is not about them but about the honor, welfare, and flourishing of those being led. This is especially crucial in political leadership which, due to all the “politics” involved,…
In Hebrew, the term for being thankful is hakarat hatov, recognizing the good that is done for us. We primarily do this through the recitation of blessings which are so ubiquitous in an observant life. These are really about recognizing that we construct very little of our own lives. Much of who we are —…
Despite new alternatives to the synagogue model, I believe no other Jewish institution can equally build strong, encompassing, spiritual communities. The following are some guidelines, based on my work at Bais Abraham (Bais Abe) in St. Louis, for utilizing creativity and open-mindedness in generating more vibrant and engaging synagogue communities. Spiritual Tools It takes a…
One of the tenets of Morethodoxy as I see it is finding as many and as wide a range of opportunities as possible within halacha for all Jews to engage in Judaism and connect to God. In the case of women this means finding greater room for women’s leadership, women’s learning, women’s expression, and women’s…
Morethodoxy. One more label to add to an already thinly divided Jewish world? In subtitling our blog “Exploring the Breadth, Depth and Passion of Orthodox Judaism,” I think we aim to overcome the limitations that labels impose. To see Jewish life not as it often is seen today as a linear spectrum from insular to…
Is talking to God a prerequisite for being a Jewish leader? If so Adam would have been the first Jewish leader; but he was not. Is being a tzadik, a righteous person a prerequisite for Jewish leadership? If so Noah would have been first Jewish leader; but he was not. It is Abraham in our…
I recently went to hear Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski speak of the respect the Torah demands in relationships. He quoted the Talmud, which says, “a man must love his wife as himself and respect her more than himself.” He spoke of the fact that the Talmud forbids rape within marriage, something the western world only…
The Mishna in Berachot (53b) states: “With regard to one who ate a meal and forgot to say the bircat hamazon (grace after meals), Bais Shamai says they must return to their place and say the grace, Bais Hillel says they should say grace in the place they are when they remember.” The Talmud on this Mishna…
I and my family are living in Israel for the next 5 months on sabbatical. Though we are living in Jerusalem I commute each day to the city of Lod to learn torah in the kollel of Rabbi Israel Samet. It is a small group of mostly young married men who have finished their army…
A congregant of mine was confounded by the reports of Rabbis who were arrested for illegally trafficking in human organs. One person in the group said that some might justify their acts claiming the money would be used for yeshivahs and other important Jewish organizations. They turned to me and demanded to know if there…
With regard to wearing tefillin on chol hamoed (intermediate days of the festivals) the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states (OC 31:2): “On Chol HaMoed it is prohibited to wear tefillin for the same reason as on shabbat or a holiday, namely that Chol HaMoed is an ot, a “sign” (rendering tefillin, which is also…
“Rabbi, what will you do about the rain?” Exhausted and in shock from my first exposure to the realities of the swarming, squalid city of Mumbai, then called Bombay, I stared back, perplexed and concerned. “Don’t you know, Rabbi, there is a drought here in Maharashtra.” Their thoughts, though unsaid, were loud and clear: “We…