Higher Education and Jewish Education: Knowledge is Power
It has become common for Jewish students attending American institutions of high education to feel bullied, threatened, intimidated or silenced. What should be done? What can be done?
Articles
Kohelet: Sanctifying the Human Perspective
Tanakh needed prophecy so that we could transcend ourselves and our limited perspectives to aspire to a more perfected self and world, and to reach out across the infinite gulf to God. Ultimately, however, it also needed Ecclesiastes to teach how to have faith from the human perspective, so that we may grow in our fear of Heaven and observe God’s commandments in truth.
The Blessing Asher Yatzar and the Miracle of the Human Kidney
Generations of elementary day schoolers have colloquially called the Asher Yatzar blessing “the bathroom Berakha.” When looking at this Berakha through an understanding of modern science and medicine, its ancient wisdom truly shines.
Angel Para Shabat--Vol. 1 of Angel for Shabbat in Spanish Translation
The first volume of Rabbi Marc Angel's "Angel for Shabbat" has been translated into Spanish by Myriam Frydman of Bogota, Colombia. The volume includes divrei Torah on the Torah portions of the week, as well as thoughts for the various holy days and festivals.
Thoughts on the Writings of Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a Prague-born Jew, one of the outstanding figures of modern world literature. His name has become an adjective: Kafkaesque. His writings feature eerie situations, disconnected characters, labyrinthine story lines.
Maimonides: Essential Teachings on Jewish Faith and Ethics
New Class with Rabbi Marc D. Angel. No Jewish thinker has had a more significant impact on Jewish religious thought than Moses Maimonides (1138-1204). Please join Rabbi Marc Angel for a class (via Zoom) dealing with the central teachings of Maimonides on faith and ethics.
The Universalism/Particularism of Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh
Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh of 19th century Livorno was a traditional rabbi…with a mind open to the untraditional. He was a rational, modern thinker…who fully embraced the truths of Kabbala. He was devoted to Jewish particularism…while fostering a remarkably universalistic worldview. He would not be constrained or confined by artificial intellectual categories. The ultimate unity could only be sought through all the available avenues of human thought.
Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool: Sephardic Visionary and Activist
Rabbi Dr. David de Sola Pool (May 16, 1885-December 1, 1970) was the foremost Sephardic rabbi in the United States during the middle decades of the 20th century. While scholars can list his many accomplishments and publications, the distinctive religious worldview that animated Dr. Pool’s life has remained relatively unexplored. This article will examine basic themes in Dr. Pool’s thinking, so that his unique contributions—and failures—might be better understood.
To Be a Holy People: Review of New Book by Rabbi Eugene Korn
Rabbi Dr. Drazin discusses the pre-eminent role of ethics in Judaism in his review essay on Rabbi Eugene Korn's new book, "To Be a Holy People: Jewish Tradition and Ethical Values."
Bars, Gifts to Children, Covid Shots: Rabbi M. Angel Replies to Questions from the Jewish Press
The Jewish Press newspaper has a bi-weekly feature in which questions are asked to a group of rabbis. One of the respondents is Rabbi Marc Angel. Here are his answers to several of the recent questions.