To our members and friends,
Our New Year brings new opportunity for the National Scholar program, as our family has moved from New York City to Teaneck, New Jersey. I have been teaching classes in various communities in Bergen County and beyond, as we expand our horizons to the other side of the George Washington Bridge.
Over the summer, I gave several lecture series’ in Fort Lee, Teaneck, and Fair Lawn, New Jersey.
I also have begun doing work as the Tanakh Education Scholar at Yeshivat Ben Porat Yosef, in Paramus, New Jersey. This remarkable school blends the best of the Sephardic and Ashkenazic worlds together in many areas of Elementary and Middle School education. I am working with the faculty and administration in developing a new Tanakh curriculum that combines tradition and critical thinking to create students who are deeply religious, thinking individuals.
As National Scholar, I will continue to teach in communities across the country. Thus far, I am scheduled to be the scholar-in-residence in the following locations:
· The Lincoln Park Jewish Center in Yonkers, New York for the High Holidays (September 20-23, 29-30).
· Young Israel of Oak Park, Michigan, for the Shabbat of November 4.
· Bais Torah and the Community Synagogue of Monsey, New York, for the Shabbat of November 18.
· Baron Hirsch Synagogue in Memphis, Tennessee, for the Shabbat of February 10.
· On Wednesday, September 27, from 1:00-2:15 pm, I will give a lecture on the Book of Jonah at Lamdeinu Teaneck, 1650 Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, New Jersey. To register please go to http://www.lamdeinu.org/
In addition to promoting our vision nation-wide through teaching, I have been sending copies of my book, Increasing Peace Through Balanced Torah Study. Conversations 27 (New York: Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, 2017), to communities where I serve as scholar-in-residence. I am deeply grateful to the sponsors of that volume for making this wide distribution possible, thereby furthering our ability to reach thousands of people annually through the National Scholar program.
I currently am completing a new book of essays on Tanakh, which focuses on the interaction between tradition and contemporary academic Bible study. Thanks to several generous donations to the Institute, we will be distributing copies of these books to members of our University Network, so that we can provide further guidance in navigating the university experience through the lens of tradition.
If you would like to contribute to the distribution of this book to our University Network students, please contact me, [email protected]. There are still dedication opportunities possible, and your contribution will greatly help our ability to reach the hundreds of students in our Network. Thank you!
I now also am running the Institute’s University Network, and will provide separate updates on the great work of our Campus Fellows as the semester unfolds.
I thank you for your support and shared vision, and wish you and your families a Shanah Tovah.
Rabbi Hayyim Angel
National Scholar
Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals