Articles

Rabbi Hayyim Angel teaches four-part series on Psalms

During this terrible time of crisis for Israel and Jews worldwide, many Jews have been reciting extra chapters of the Psalms. On four Tuesday evenings, Rabbi Hayyim Angel will give a mini-course to explain the context and meaning of the Book of Psalms to add to people's religious experience.

Dates:   December 5, 12, 26, and January 2 (no class December 19)

Time:  8:15-9:00 pm (classes are followed by recital of Psalms)

Where: Congregation Rinat Yisrael, 389 West Englewood Avenue, Teaneck, New Jersey

Classes are free and open to the public.

 

 

Light and Shadows: Thoughts for Hanukkah

This article on Hanukkah draws on teachings of Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli-American author, psychologist and economist notable for his work on hedonic psychology, psychology of judgment and decision-making. He was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with Vernon L. Smith). Since 1966, the tiny country of Israel has had 13 Nobel Prize Winners in various categories!!

END OF YEAR CAMPAIGN

The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals is celebrating its 16th anniversary!! The Institute fosters an intellectually vibrant, compassionate and inclusive Orthodox Judaism. Please support our End of Year Campaign. Thank you for your partnership in our important work.

Thoughts for Thanksgiving 2023

There are worrying trends in American life. Yet we celebrate Thanksgiving with the faith that the American Dream has the power to maintain our country as a bastion of freedom and democracy. The American Jewish community has made—and continues to make—monumental contributions to American life in so many areas. We are grateful for the blessings of America.

Faith as Protest

Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks was the Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth.This excerpt is from his book, To Heal the World, and is reprinted by permission of Schocken Books, a division of Random House. This excerpt appeared in issue 2 of Conversations, the journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Rabbi Sacks passed away in November 2020.

The Tower of Babel: A Case Study in Combining Traditional and Academic Bible Methodologies

This article on the Tower of Babel offers a “textbook lesson” in combining traditional rabbinic commentary with contemporary academic Bible scholarship. These two approaches begin with different sets of assumptions, but each gives us access to greater meaning in the Torah. Taken together, we emerge with a fuller picture than with either one by itself.