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 Torah’s teachings on Shabbat are particular to Israel and universal to humanity. Our ideal Shabbat incorporates both components—covenantal observances and grand religious vision.
On Tuesday, February 11, from 8:00-9:00 pm EST, Rabbi Hayyim Angel will teach a Zoom class on the Ten Commandments in Classical Commentary and Contemporary Scholarship.
The class is free and open to the public.
The class is sponsored by the Ben Porat Yeshiva Day School in Paramus, New Jersey.
On Monday, February 10, Rabbi Hayyim Angel begins a new trimester at the Beit Midrash of Teaneck.
We will begin this trimester (which runs through April 2) with surveys of the Books of Proverbs, Job, and Daniel, and then move into an in-depth learning exploration of Bereshit-Genesis.
Classes are free and open to the public. Sponsorship opportunities also are available.
Rabbi Hayyim Angel's classes are held on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 12:00-12:45 pm EST.
You may attend live at the Jewish Center of Teaneck: 70 Sterling Place, Teaneck, New Jersey.
Great figures such as Rabbis Benzion Uziel, Ḥaim David Halevy, Ovadiah Yosef, and Yosef Mesas have received much attention and analysis by scholars. However, many other great scholars and halakhic decisors remain almost unknown to persons who are not in-depth devotees of the topic. In this article, I seek to briefly introduce the reader to seven such rabbis.
There are so many really nice, good, religiously observant people, who keep kosher and Shabbat and all the mitzvoth, whose kids go to yeshiva, who learn Torah and dress modestly. All this is crucial—it's who we are and what we need to do and it's keeping Judaism alive. Yet, sometimes, it seems like people lose the center and purpose of it all; a truly intimate, authentic, personal relationship with themselves and Hashem.
Rabbi Hayyiim Angel offers important insights on the Prophet Malachi and on the nature of prophecy itself.
The quest to understand the rationale that underlies the mitzvoth assumes that we should strive to articulate the spiritual messages of the halakha. By affirming our commitment to those laws whose reasons we may find personally or ethically challenging, we ensure that the Torah is, in fact, the source of our value system, and not simply an ancient text that validates the contemporary zeitgeist.
Stephen Neuwirth passed away in January 2023 and we remember him with great affection and respect. He was a board member and major supporter of our Institute since its inception in 2007. He was a well-respected attorney, a community leader, philanthropist…a really fine human being. His wife Nataly and their four sons were the center of Steve’s life and were the sources of his greatest happiness and fulfillment.
Rabbi Zvi Grumet writes and teaches like a High School Yeshiva rebbe, unflinchingly focusing on the received Torah’s text and message[s], as lucidly and probingly as he can, so that his student/reader may understand his content and internalize the Torah’s normative message.