Tanakh is not a systematic theology, science, or history. We treat nearly all of Tanakh as historical, but God did not reveal prophecies to the prophets in order to teach science or history. God is speaking to us, and it is our religious obligation to hear, understand, and listen to that voice. We take all of the texts seriously, even if some of them may be understood as non-literal.
We are thrilled to present the YouTube video of our fascinating program on Breastfeeding, Halakhah, and Sensitivity. On Sunday, June 6, 2021, Rabbi Hayyim Angel introduced keynote speaker Dr. Deena Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman presented up-to-date scientific data on breastfeeding health issues for baby and mother, and then addressed various halakhic issues through an excellent blend of halakhah, science, and human sensitivity. A must see presentation for our entire community, which reflects the core values of our Institute regarding this important topic. Here is the link:
What does it mean to say that the State of Israel is the “State of the Jews” or, more accurately, the “Jewish State”?
Holocaust scholarship is finally making up for nearly eight decades of inadequate attention to the impact of the Shoah (1933 - ’45) on approximately 430,000 Sephardi Jews from Europe, Morocco, Algiers, Tunisia, and Libya, etc., over 160,000 of whom perished in the catastrophe.
Judaism includes the basic tenets of belief in one God, divine revelation of the Torah including an Oral Law, divine providence, reward-punishment, and a messianic redemption. The question for believing Jews today is, how should we relate to the overwhelming majority of contemporary Jews, who likely do not fully believe in classical Jewish beliefs? Two medieval models shed light on this question.
What presents itself to be an easy mitzvah from Hashem, is really teaching us about sensitivity. Not only to people, but to animals as well.
Judaism seeks to bring us closer to God through proper thought and deed. Superstition seeks to circumvent God's power through the use of magical formulae or rituals. While Judaism demands intellectual and moral excellence and a direct relationship with God, superstition provides purported means of bypassing or manipulating God in order to ward off evil or to achieve some other desired goal.
For some critics, everyone in the world seems to have rights...except Jews. Every nation in the world has the right to defend its citizens...except Israel. These are positions which must be repudiated by all fair-minded people. These are positions which most surely should be repudiated by the victims of such views...the Jews themselves.
The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals invites you to a discussion BREASTFEEDING: SCIENCE, SENSITIVITY, AND HALAKHAH on Sunday, June 6, from 10:00-11:30 am
The Jewish Press Newspaper has a regular feature in which questions are posed to a group of rabbis. One of the respondents is Rabbi Marc D. Angel. Here are his replies to questions relating to Aliyah against the wishes of parents; dealing with the non-Jewish spouse of an intermarried friend; public fundraising appeals in synagogues; dealing with families of "get" refusers.
