The Jewish Press Newspaper has a regular feature in which questions are posed to a group of rabbis. One of the respondents is Rabbi Marc D. Angel. Here are his replies to questions relating to Aliyah against the wishes of parents; dealing with the non-Jewish spouse of an intermarried friend; public fundraising appeals in synagogues; dealing with families of "get" refusers.
Pinchas's Peace Prize
Devar Torah by Max Nussbaum
In the 3rd verse of this week's Parasha, Parashat Pinchas, Hashem grants Pinchas with the peace prize. We know from the end of Parashat Balak that Pinchas killed Zimri and Kozbi thus ending the plague on the Israelite People. The result of Pinchas’s action is great; but why should he deserve a peace prize for killing two people? Furthermore, why did this end the plague?
As of this writing, over 300 people have viewed our recent program on Breastfeeding in Halakhah. We are thrilled to reach people on such an important topic, and are grateful to the Institute for making such vital programming an essential aspect of what we do to promote our vision to the broader community.
View the program on Breastfeeding at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sWQJWg2hxo
Please also view other recent symposia we have run, and of course please share the links with your friends:
Was my mother a success? Was she happy? Did she fulfill her mission in life? The answer to these questions depends on how we evaluate success, happiness and fulfillment in life.
How ought religion, including Modern Jewish Orthodoxy, interact with America’s political democracy? And can it survive our current culture? Not surprisingly, these simple questions simultaneously point in many directions. Although answers are complex, I do think that a few meaningful generalizations are possible.
1. Women: Tradition, and Thoughts for the Future
2. Intermarriage and Conversion
3. Universalism vs. Particularism: Sephardism and/or Sephardic Ethnicity
4. Rationalism/Mysticism/Superstition
The laws of the Red Heifer are in the category of "hok," laws which transcend human comprehension. Yet, we can learn a lot from this kind of law.
Rabbi Alan Yuter describes the halakhic approach of his late teacher, Hakham Yosef Faur. Hakham Faur was a controversial figure who was both highly traditional and highly independent as a religious thinker.
Purim is a reminder that there is a fine line between reality and illusion. Blurring that line once a year underscores how easily one might lose sight of truth and authenticity. But after the day of masquerading, we are supposed to have come to a better understanding of who we are under the mask…and who we are when we don’t wear masks.
Rabbi Marc D. Angel describes the lives and teachings of significant American Sephardim of the Western Sephardic tradition. These men and women were influential during the course of their lifetimes...and deserve to be remembered and appreciated.