Wondrous and heretofore unimaginable developments have
impacted the way that we view, study and teach Tanakh in at least three distinct yet interrelated
areas. One of the delightful ironies which these intersections share is their respective roles, in
earlier times, in effecting the opposite.
We are thrilled to report that Rabbi Hayyim Angel has published the third volume of his new commentary on Tanakh: The Heart of Judges. Along with The Heart of the Five Megillot and The Heart of Joshua, it is available at amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats.
This part of a project that ultimately will cover the entire Tanakh. Upcoming volumes currently in preparation are:
1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
Lekh Lekha:
Abraham and Sarah’s Laughter
When God promises Abraham and Sarah that they will have a son in their old age, both respond with laughter. Their reactions appear remarkably similar, yet God responds to them differently. Abraham receives reassurance, while Sarah is challenged for her apparent disbelief. Why does God treat their seemingly identical reactions so differently?
Da'at Press has published Rabbi Marc Angel's book, Jewish Minds for Humankind. The book is available through this link: https://www.daat.press/product-page/jewish-minds-for-humankind-rabbi-marc-angel The book is published in memory of Gilda Angel, a"h.
God foretold to Abram that there will always be cursers and haters who seek to diminish your achievements, undermine your teachings, and seek to destroy you. The cursers will indeed be cursed: their lives will be poisoned by hatred and envy, lies and self-destruction. While the cursers stew in their jealousy and malice, the blessers will enjoy loving, generous lives. God’s promises to Abram were true then. They are true today.
Judaism must not dissipate into just another culture of the past, but it also cannot shrink into a small group of intentionally pious figures and their followers. Judaism must retain its national character, and its leaders and sages must look toward addressing the needs of not just those who choose to scrupulously fulfill the law, but also to those who do no such thing.
While these three pillars represent an ideal rather than a claim of personal achievement, they are perhaps parts of a vision to which an Inclusive Orthodox Rabbi can aspire and strive. They are a route to combining openness with integrity.
Ben Rothke published an excellent review of Rabbi Hayyim Angel's book, The Heart of the Five Megillot.
Jewish Press, September 24, 2026
https://jewishpress.com/the-five-megillot-beyond-easy-answers/
The famous Hasidic Kotzker Rebbe commented that God comes where God is invited. In principle, God should be invited to every daily minyan in every synagogue throughout the world. Each worshiper should feel the presence of God when praying. The services should be conducted with love, devotion, piety…with a genuine desire to experience the Divine. Regrettably, the daily minyan experience isn’t always like this ideal model.
Jewish and Zionist identity is the inheritance of a people whose collective memory has been shaped by exile and return, persecution and creativity, political vulnerability and national renewal—and, above all, by an extraordinary determination not to disappear.