Orthodox Semikha for Homosexuals?
Rabbi Alan Yuter takes issue with an Orthodox colleague who defends granting semikha to homosexuals.
Articles
Blessings: Thoughts for Parashat Shemini
The world would be a happier place if we could bless not just those who are closest to us but all those who act righteously and courageously. While curses deepen enmity among people, blessings promote love and mutual respect. One who blesses is worthy of the blessings of the Almighty.
The Chosen People: An Ethical Challenge
Rather than serving primarily as an ethnic description, the Chosen People concept is deeply rooted in religious ethics. It contains a universalistic message that belongs to the community of nations. All are descendants from Adam and Eve, created in God’s Image.
Judaism and The Rhythms of Nature
Jewish tradition has two roads to God: the natural world, which reveals God as Creator; and the Torah, which records the words of God to the people of Israel. But the Torah itself leads us back to the first road, the road of experiencing God as Creator. The Torah and nature are bound together.
The Disease of Hatred: Thoughts for Parashat Tazria
The Torah states that one plagued with tsara’at needed to undergo a purification process. Similarly, a society suffering from spiritual tsara’at needs to examine the roots of its disease and to purify itself. Leaders in all strata of society need to mobilize against the hatred that is cutting at the soul of our nation.
Our Journey in the Haggadah
Our Haggadah—with its core over 1,000 years old—takes us on a remarkable journey that combines narrative and observance into an intellectual and experiential event for people of all ages and backgrounds. In this manner, we travel alongside our ancestors from freedom to slavery to redemption.
A New Ladino Publication
The Diario: The Daring Escape of Two Sephardic Jews from Turkey to America During World War I, Albion Andalus Books, Boulder, 2023. Written in Ladino by Alfred Ascher, Translated and Introduced by Gloria J. Ascher
Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth
Berman’s book is an important contribution to scholarship and to our religious pursuit of truth in the context of Tanakh study. He challenges readers to examine critically the assumptions they bring to the text. Those who ignore ancient Near Eastern laws and narratives lose a vital tool to evaluate the eternal messages of the Torah.
One People: Thoughts for Parashat Tsav
Although we may have different views on many topics, we are one People. When any one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked. When the Jewish People is in peril, we set aside all differences in order to stand in defense of our People.
The Yeshiva and the Academy
This article by Rabbi Hayyim Angel explores the approaches of the yeshiva and the academy to Tanakh study. We will define the yeshiva broadly to include any traditional religious Jewish setting, be it the synagogue, study hall, adult education class, seminary, or personal study. In contrast, the academy is any ostensibly neutral scholarly setting, primarily universities and colleges, which officially is not committed to a particular set of religious beliefs.