Great figures such as Rabbis Benzion Uziel, Ḥaim David Halevy, Ovadiah Yosef, and Yosef Mesas have received much attention and analysis by scholars. However, many other great scholars and halakhic decisors remain almost unknown to persons who are not in-depth devotees of the topic. In this article, I seek to briefly introduce the reader to seven such rabbis.
The Holocaust shows how low humanity can sink. It is an eternal warning to all people to promote love, tolerance, mutual respect. It's not just about Jews; it's about all humanity. Wake up! See what is at stake! Never again means never again...ever! We post this article in connection with Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, 2025.
There are so many really nice, good, religiously observant people, who keep kosher and Shabbat and all the mitzvoth, whose kids go to yeshiva, who learn Torah and dress modestly. All this is crucial—it's who we are and what we need to do and it's keeping Judaism alive. Yet, sometimes, it seems like people lose the center and purpose of it all; a truly intimate, authentic, personal relationship with themselves and Hashem.
Amram and Yocheved were Israelite slaves; they lacked wealth, social status, or political influence. Yet, this seemingly undistinguished couple gave birth to Moses, Aaron and Miriam. Their children were among the most outstanding figures in human history.
Rabbi Hayyiim Angel offers important insights on the Prophet Malachi and on the nature of prophecy itself.
The quest to understand the rationale that underlies the mitzvoth assumes that we should strive to articulate the spiritual messages of the halakha. By affirming our commitment to those laws whose reasons we may find personally or ethically challenging, we ensure that the Torah is, in fact, the source of our value system, and not simply an ancient text that validates the contemporary zeitgeist.
Stephen Neuwirth passed away in January 2023 and we remember him with great affection and respect. He was a board member and major supporter of our Institute since its inception in 2007. He was a well-respected attorney, a community leader, philanthropist…a really fine human being. His wife Nataly and their four sons were the center of Steve’s life and were the sources of his greatest happiness and fulfillment.
Rabbi Zvi Grumet writes and teaches like a High School Yeshiva rebbe, unflinchingly focusing on the received Torah’s text and message[s], as lucidly and probingly as he can, so that his student/reader may understand his content and internalize the Torah’s normative message.
The life and works of R. Joseph Messas remain of great importance. He showed that traditional Judaism can encompass a great diversity of thought, and that even in matters of halakha, often thought to be the most "closed" of all Jewish disciplines, there is a myriad of interpretive possibilities to which we can avail ourselves.
Thinking Jews should be standing up for a genuine modern Orthodoxy that insists on functioning in contemporary world-time. While facing modernity has its real challenges, not facing modernity will lead Orthodoxy into a cult-like existence-- out of touch with reality, out of touch with the needs of thinking and feeling human beings…out of touch with Torah itself.