From the second half of the nineteenth century, Haskalah ideas filtered into the Sephardic communities in Muslim lands, especially through the efforts of the schools of the Alliance Israelite Universelle—bastions of French culture. The influence of European colonial powers in North Africa and the Middle East was also an important factor in Sephardic intellectual life. The impact of the Haskalah could not be altogether ignored.
Rabbi Uziel offers a Halakhic perspective which reflects a profoundly sympathetic and understanding spirit. Recognizing the practical realities of our world, it is essential that Halakhic authorities courageously respond to the needs. We have a moral obligation to convert those who seek conversion, not only for their sakes but for the sakes of their children.
Embracing Tradition and Modernity:
The Ever-Changing Path: Visions of Legal Diversity in Hasidic Literature*
Ariel Evan Mayse
Since the scientific revolution, people have expected from religion the kind of truth we have come to know from science. To elevate scientific truth as the only kind of worthwhile truth is a big mistake. In its stead, we must cultivate the awareness that we can benefit greatly from being able to encounter different kinds of truth in our lives, and appreciate each for the unique gifts it bestows.
The Torah is a deep and exciting body of knowledge which embodies everlasting truths. This is not simply a statement of belief but the result of millennia of proof.
When one is interested in ascertaining exact historical data based on the accounts in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, one first must reconcile the accounts and then combine the material into a composite picture. Far more important than attaining a historical portrait of the period, though, is addressing the question of how each biblical book uses history to teach its prophetic messages as an exhortation to its readers.