The Jewish Press has a bi-weekly feature in which several rabbis are asked to respond to questions. One of the respondents is Rabbi Marc D. Angel. Here are his answers to three of the recent questions.
Orthodoxy needs to foster the love of truth. It must be alive to different intellectual currents, and receptive to open discussion. How do we, as a modern Orthodox community, combat the tendency toward blind authoritarianism and obscurantism?
The Jewish Press has a bi-weekly feature in which several rabbis are asked questions relating to Jewish values, observance, customs. One of the respondents is Rabbi Marc D. Angel. Here are Rabbi Angel's responses to four recent questions from the Jewish Press.
Economists speak of the “principle of revealed preferences.” This principle teaches that we can better predict what people will do based on their current behavior patterns rather than on what they say they will do. People most accurately reveal their real selves by their deeds, not by what they espouse.
The goal of Torah is not to enslave us but to liberate us; it is not to undermine our basic humanity but to bring out the best in us. It demands dignified observance of religious ceremonies and rituals; but it also demands a spirit of love and kindness in our interpersonal relations.
Torah Judaism demands not only a keen commitment to truth, but also a keen sense of responsibility to human beings.
In the face of past tragedy, silence may often be the appropriate and wise response. No words can change what has already happened. But in the face of contemporary evil, silence is morally repugnant. One must scream out, one must protest, one must demand justice.
As we focus on the observances and texts of Pessah, we also need to think about those themes that we might have missed due to “inattention blindness.” When we see what seems to be absent, we may find that our spiritual vision increases!
If people come to think that the religious establishment is corrupt and is susceptible to undue external influence, then the foundations of religious life are seriously eroded. If religious leaders sell out their independence in the desire to curry favor with this or that religious "in-group"--then Judaism and the Jewish people suffer the consequences.
The "tam" accepts Jewish belief and ritual, but his/her question isn't about what to do--but about why. The "tam" wants to understand how the laws and customs increase one's closeness to God, how they enhance spirituality. The "tam" is saying: yes, I'll do what the religion requires, but I need something more. I need to know the inner spirit of what the religion demands of me.