There is a feeling among many Jews, including many Orthodox Jews, that worship in the synagogue lacks adequate inspiration and spirituality. Among the complaints: the synagogue ritual is chanted by rote; the prayers are recited too quickly; the prayers are recited too slowly; the service is not understood by congregants; people talk too much in synagogue; the services do not involve everyone in a meaningful way.
My father’s voice was one of “moral grandeur and spiritual audacity.” He spoke out in the prophetic tradition, and we are proud that he represented the Jewish people to the world. After the devastation of Europe, he gave us back our souls, reminding us of the greatness of Judaism and urging us to study more deeply, pray with greater intensity, and always remember what we stand for.
Rabbi Marc Angel reviews a new book by Rabbi Hillel Goldberg, "Across the Expanse of Jewish Thought: From the Holocaust to Halakhah and Beyond."
It is with great sadness that we've learned of the passing of Rabbi Dr. Abraham Levy, for many years rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation in London. A distinguished rabbi, he was a longtime friend and colleague of Rabbi Marc Angel, of New York's Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. Rabbi Angel reviewed a book by Rabbi Levy several years ago, and we re-post it in memory of Rabbi Abraham Levy.
The Torah is teaching that even seemingly minor characters can have tremendous impact on the unfolding of history. Even people whose deeds are hardly noticed, whose names we don’t even know—even such people may be courageous beyond measure.
For the first time in history, the Torah presented a vision to the masses a vision with a radically different understanding of God and humanity. It introduced new understandings of the law, of political office, of military power, of taxation, of social welfare. What we find in the Torah is a platform for social order marked with the imprint of divinity.
Rabbi Hayyim Angel reviews Rabbi Marc Angel's new volume, a collection of articles, "Sephardim, Sephardism and Jewish Peoplehood." For information about ordering the book, please email [email protected]
In a traditional religious setting, there need not be a generation gap where alienation sets in between the generations. In some unique, mysterious way, the different generations see themselves as contemporaries. We share a spiritual outlook, a set of ideals, a style of living according to the mitzvoth.
We Jews, including Orthodox Jews, do not much use the word mission, having largely ceded the term to adherents of other religions. Yet a sense of mission is critical to giving our lives shape and meaning, and perhaps we ought to use the term more frequently and consider more thoughtfully the mission of our existence.
When we speak of imbuing children with good midot and derekh erets, we are speaking of the creation of the total mentch that he or she can become. This quest cannot be accomplished by measures that address only a part of that whole. We must address the whole person.