Articles

by Dr. Morris Shamah

      In 1969, a very precise and intelligent law student approached me in a rather confused state. He had just learned the proofs for the existence of God as presented by Maimonides in the Guide to the Perplexed. These proofs were certainly disappointing to him as they said little to his practical twentieth century Western mind. Did I read them, he asked-yes, I answered, but they also said little that resonated with my way of thinking. At least all but one, the proof from design, lacked the punch that one expects from such “proofs”

Jewish thought generally understands human beings to be beset by a form of dualism arising from the spiritual and material components with which they were created.[i] These antithetical influences typically cause people to vacillate between extremes of altruistic (attributable to their spiritual dimension) and self-indulgent (the result of their “earthiness”) behavior.

Paul Gaugin, the famous 19th century French artist, commented: “When I want to see clearly, I shut my eyes.”

He was referring to two different ways of perceiving reality. With our eyes open, we see surface reality—size, shape, color etc. But with our eyes shut, we contemplate the context of things, our relationship to them, the hidden meanings.

By ARIK BENDER

Former antisemitic Hungarian MP who discovered Jewish roots to make aliya

A one-time MP for Hungary's extremist right-wing and antisemitic Jobbik party, who quit when he discovered he was Jewish, is now making aliya to Israel.

We are pleased to re-post an article by Nancy Khedouri, a member of the government of Bahrain, in celebration of the formal diplomatic relations established between Bahrain and Israel. This article originally appeared in issue 26 (autumn, 2016) of our Institute's journal, Conversations.

Rabbi Hayyim Angel

To our members and friends,

I hope you have enjoyed a good summer. We look forward to another full year of classes and programs through the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Here is a brief summary of September offerings, as well as an overview of the upcoming co-sponsored classes of the Institute and Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, where I serve as Rabbinic Scholar.

Gloria J. Ascher is Associate Professor of German, Scandinavian and Judaic Studies, and Co-Director of Judaic Studies, at Tufts University.

Shalach Manot, His Hundred Years: A Tale
A Sephardic Review

This is no ordinary book. It is a unique contemporary Sephardic novel that is best honored and illuminated by a Sephardic review. So instead of the usual essay with smooth transitions and a predictable progression, here are five (lucky number!) notes that focus on distinctive aspects of the book and their implications.

Rabbi Hayyim Angel, National Scholar of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, teaches Tanakh at Yeshiva University and serves as Rabbinic Scholar at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun. This article originally appeared in Jewish Bible Quarterly 40:1 (2012), pp. 41-51; reprinted in H. Angel, Peshat Isn’t So Simple: Essays on Developing a Religious Methodology to Bible Study (New York: Kodesh Press, 2014), pp. 254-267.
When Love and Politics Mix:

David and His Relationships with
Saul, Jonathan, and Michal [1]

Introduction

Janet R. Kirchheimer, a member of our Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, is the author of How to Spot One of Us, and she is currently producing AFTER, a documentary of poetry about the Holocaust. Janet is a teaching fellow at Clal-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership.

Published in Mimaamakim

The Nature of Things

I was eleven the spring my father singed his eyebrows off
while burning down pear trees.

Ashley Perry (Perez) is President of Reconectar (reconectar.co) and Director General of the Knesset Caucus for the Reconnection with the Descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Communities. He was adviser to Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs from April 2009 to January 2015. He has also worked with several other government ministers, Members of Knesset and many of the leading international Jewish, Zionist and Hasbara organizations.