Articles

Ten Commandments for Being a Successful Rabbi

Rabbi Joseph Radinsky, of blessed memory, was one of the outstanding rabbis of the American Orthodox rabbinate. Since 1963, he had been a pulpit rabbi, 13 years in Lafayette, Indiana, and 40 years in Houston, Texas. He had served on almost all the boards of the Jewish organizations in Houston, and authored a number of books and articles. This article appears in issue 25 of Conversations, the journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Sadly, Rabbi Radinsky passed away before his article was published, and we post it on our website in his memory.

Finding Judaism My Way: One Man’s Lifetime Jewish Journey

I was born into a first-generation American family of very ethnic but non-observant Jews in the then Jewishly dense West Philadelphia neighborhood of Wynnefield. My parents assumed that I would attend Hebrew School after public school, hate it, and, like their peer’s children, suffer with Jewish learning for five arduous years, endure the bar mitzvah ordeal, then quit Hebrew school. They expected that as a young adult I would marry an ethnic but not inconveniently religious Jewish woman. My parents’ social circle was entirely Jewish—totally secular—yet socially Jewish.

The Future of Orthodoxy: A Political Appraisal

In assessing the future of Orthodoxy, it is important to remember we are considering only 10 percent of the American Jewish population as of the latest American Jewish census.[1] Orthodoxy is no larger than it was 15 years ago at last official count.[2] The only historical antecedent that American Jewry has in terms of assimilation and the rise of modern Jewish denominations in a Western country was pre-War Germany.

Antisemitism and Insurgency Politics

In a deeply personal account of the impact of Donald Trump's presidential candidacy upon his network of professional and social relationships, the conservative academic Tom Nichols leveled an eyebrow-raising assertion. "Trump is worse than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama," Nichols wrote [1] . "Their policies are liberal, even leftist, often motivated by cheap politics, ego, and political grandstanding. But they are policies, understandable as such and opposable by political means."

May Report by our National Scholar

Rabbi Hayyim Angel
To our members and friends,

I hope you have been enjoying a wonderful Pesah. Here are some upcoming highlights for our Institute’s classes and programs:

We are excited to present our next major highlight: On Sunday May 15, 10:00am-1:00pm: We will be having our next Symposium co-sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals and Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun: “Bringing Peace Through Torah: Among the Orthodox, Among Jews, and to the World.” This symposium will feature three talks:

Religious Pluralism and Tolerance: The Bahrain Model

(On March 4, 2016, a Conference was held at the United Nations: “Religious Pluralism and Tolerance: The Bahrain Model.” It was held under the sponsorship of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which prides itself on tolerance to citizens of its religious minorities. The Conference was opened by H.E. Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the Undersecretary of International Affairs of the Bahrain Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Participants in the Conference included representatives of various religions and countries, as well as members of the American government.

January Report of our National Scholar, Rabbi Hayyim Angel

January, 2016

To our members and friends, I hope you are well. It has been gratifying reaching so many people through classes and online offerings through our Institute. We thank all who are supporters and members and who have been participating in the wide variety of learning opportunities as we spread our vision across the country and beyond.

Here are some upcoming highlights for January-February:

Shabbat January 15-16: I will be the scholar-in-residence at the Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, Maryland (11910 Kemp Mill Rd). Free and open to the public.