Paired Perspectives on the Parasha
Rabbi Hayyim Angel offers some thoughts on the Parasha of the week.
Articles
Confronting Hatred: Thoughts for Parashat Toledot
The story of Isaac and Abimelech repeats itself in various forms throughout history. It is a reminder of human conflict and reconciliation, enmity and peaceful relations. It is a story that speaks to us today.
Please Stand With Us: End of Year Campaign
Our Institute fosters an intellectually vibrant, compassionate and inclusive Orthodox Judaism. Founded in 2007, the Institute reaches many thousands of people worldwide. Your partnership in the Institute's work is appreciated...and needed.
Dust to Dust: Thoughts for Parashat Bereishith
God could have created Adam from precious metals, from stardust, or from pure spirit but chose rather to use dust of the ground. From dust we learn humility...but also self-respect.
Plaques, Memorials...and Us: Thoughts for Parashat Hayyei Sarah
This week’s Parasha is entitled “Hayyei Sarah,” the life of Sarah; yet it focuses on her death and burial. A Talmudic teaching has it that the righteous are called living even after they have died. Memorial plaques and gravestones testify to the lives of those who have passed away. But they also have the capacity to inspire the living, to evoke memories, to link the generations.
Remembering Kristallnacht
The unprecedented pogrom of November 9-10, 1938 in Germany has passed into history as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass). Violent attacks on Jews and Judaism throughout the Reich and in the recently annexed Sudetenland began on November 8 and continued until November 11 in Hannover and the free city of Danzig, which had not then been incorporated into the Reich.
Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and Rabbi Akiva: Two First-Century Models for Thinking about Zionism in the Twenty-First Century
The first and the twentieth centuries were tumultuous times for Jews: the destruction of the Temple and the beginnings of exile on the one hand; the Holocaust and the foundation of the State of Israel on the other. The major common denominator is the rupture of a long status quo and the need to adapt to new circumstances.
Upcoming Classes with Rabbi Hayyim Angel
With the Fall season underway, Rabbi Hayyim Angel returns to a robust schedule of Adult Education classes.
On Tuesday, September 16, from 8:00-9:00 pm Eastern Time, Rabbi Hayyim Angel will teach a Zoom class on Jeremiah chapter 31, the Haftarah for the Second Day of Rosh HaShanah. This class is sponsored by Ben Porat Yosef Yeshiva Day School of Paramus, New Jersey. It is free and open to the public.
Paired Perspectives on the Parashah
Rabbi Hayyim Angel introduces a new column on the weekly Torah reading. He invites us not only to study sacred text but to listen to the many voices through which Torah has been understood across the generations. We will explore the parashah through paired perspectives: the classical teachings of our Sages and the medieval exegetes alongside literary and historical insights from modern scholarship.
Beyond Words: Thoughts for Parashat Vayera
Abraham’s shofar symbolizes thoughts and feelings that go beyond words.. But it is precisely in the realm of wordlessness that we reveal our true selves. This is true in our relationship with others, in our relationship with God…and in our own self-understanding.