National Scholar February 2019 Report
A review of programs--past and upcoming--in New York, Philadelphia, East Brunswick, Teaneck and Boca Raton. A reminder of the conferences and shiurim available on our website and youtube channel.
Articles
Inside Out
Moral education must be systemic and systematic. Educators must set the goals and the stage at the very outset, and keep coming back to them and reinforcing them. Children often do not listen to what we say because our words are drowned out by what we do.
On Sinners and Systems: The Beruriah Principle
Beruriah’s revolutionary insight was to notice the importance of detaching sinner from sin. Only when we resist the urge, ultimately rooted in our competitive desire to feel superior, to spend our energy blaming bad actors and instead recognize the systemic factors that produce bad behavior will we be able to abolish sin from the earth.
Esther: Peshat and Derash in Megillat Esther
Megillat Esther is among the most difficult biblical books to study anew, precisely because it is so familiar. Many assumptions accompany us through our study of the Megillah, occasionally clouding our perceptions of what is in the text and what is not.
The Abortion Rhetoric Within Orthodox Judaism: Consensus, Conviction, Covenant
This study contrasts the legal rhetoric regarding the abortion issue. What does the plain sense of the canonical library actually prescribe? And what is the view of that version of Orthodox Judaism that bases itself on the intuitive consensus of an elite group of rabbis through a kind of "continuous revelation"?
The Jewish Imperative to Cultivate Courage
As is true with all virtues, cultivating courage takes practice. We must come out of our comfort zone to grow. We must learn the art of when to listen and when to speak, when to act and when to hold back, when to paddle to ride a wave, and when to sit back to enjoy the calm waters. Courage allows us to move forward perpetually, and with the knowledge that meaning is found through navigating the tribulations of living a full, active life.
Emile Zola's Moral Outrage: The Ethics of Whistle-blowing Today and Then
Whistle-blowing in our daily professional life is a real issue. Examples of purposeful misrepresentation, hypocrisy, and malfeasance can be found. These are problems for individual conscience to solve when confronting injustice and evil. Can we rely on our own conscience to choose correctly and to regulate the personal impulses that might drive ourselves or others to commit unfair, unjust, and even, criminal actions?
Ideal and Evolutionary Morality in the Torah:Traditional Commentary in an Age of Humanism
One of the overarching goals of the Torah is to refine people’s moral character. Many laws and narratives overtly focus on morality, and many others inveigh against the immorality and amorality of paganism. The biblical prophets place consistency between observance of God’s ritual and moral laws at the very heart of their message.
Torah Educations and Morality: Are We Succeeding?
Sunday, February 10 | 10:00am - 12:30pm
at Lincoln Square Synagogue
When Leadership Fails: Talking to Our Children about Moral Failures in Our Leaders
The challenge of how to respond to the exposure of our children to morally questionable behavior on the part of some religious and political leaders presents an opportunity to clarify our thinking about our responsibility to foster the moral education of our children through direct discussion as well as awareness of some of the more subtle ways that children internalize our values.