As the idea of the Havurah movement became more mainstream in the mid 1970s, interest in communes was dwindling. Some Havurot became places for prayer and study meetings, with the members living independently. Some were welcomed as separate groups...
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A hallmark of the Hippie movement was "The Whole Earth Catalog". It showed how to be self-reliant in building your own furniture, home repair, growing crops, etc. It also had lists of places where tools could be bought, and skills learned. The...
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The mid to late 1960s, into the mid-1970s, saw the rise of a new movement. It's initial form has all but faded, but its influence is still keenly felt. Perhaps more important is what its implications are for the entire Jewish community, including...
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In my previous post, I outlined the birth of the Musar approach. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter wrote little, but urged the implementation of Musar study by scholars and laymen alike. Musar literature was a vast, largely untapped resource, that needed to...
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Throughout the nineteenth century, he pilpul method of study became more and more refined, with several different schools arising with variations on methodology. But other movements threatened. Hassidism, with its emphasis on spirituality and...
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We have previously discussed the rise of the Lithuanian Yeshivot. The analytic methods of the Tosafot of medieval France and Germany had developed in Lithuania and surrounding areas into a new way of life. Large yeshivot arose in the early...
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There has been a meme circulating on Facebook for some time, with a quote from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, responding to a letter sent by a person who proclaimed herself "not Orthodox", saying that there is no such thing as Orthodox, Conservative and...
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As has been written many times, this group is for the discussion of Orthodox Judaism, without reference to non-Orthodox streams. However, in recent days, many members have posted opinions (hurtful to many, including yours truly) critical of...
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One of the areas in which the Reform movement differs from the others is in the question of independence of rabbis and congregations. In both Orthodox and Conservative, Although there is some leeway of both action and doctrine, there are still red...
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America in the nineteenth century was, Jewishly a waste land. There had been a small Jewish community since the seventeenth century, mostly Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who had fled to Brazil, with some eventually coming to North America. They...
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