From my teacher, Rav Kiwak.
Everyone in the neighborhood knew Mote’le, he was labeled with many titles, his mother called him ‘the delinquent with no hope’, the children called him ‘the wild one’, even the teacher in cheder defined him ‘a...
The Talmud, along with several other ancient sources, both Jewish and non Jewish, records the following story:
King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they...
In 1988, a famous Hasidic Rebbe had lost his wife. Among those paying condolences, was a Lithuanian Rosh Yeshiva. This particular Rosh Yeshiva was world renowned for his penetrating analyses of RAMBAM, both in halachah and philosophy. As could be...
The issue of whether or not we should be teaching Torah to our non Jewish neighbors was a moot point in Medieval Europe. Jews were frequently murdered en masse. The worst perpetrators of all were the English. It was they who started the blood...
The rise of the State of Israel, presented a theological problem for most Christians. The historical Churches had long maintained that the Jews were destined to wander and suffer as a result of our refusal to accept Christianity. Although...
The new ecumenical movement seemed to be changing everything. Negotiations between Rome and several Protestant denominations were underway towards reunification, after a four hundred year schism. (These would later fall apart over the issue of...
When the dust settled after the Six Day War, and the absence of any type of help from the Christian community was painfully evident, the Jewish community demanded "where were you?" The Christians responded "our dialogue was supposed to be about...
The next stage of Torah for the Nations came from a very unlikely place. Throughout Jewish history, there have always been those who envisioned the Torah as applying Universally; if not in observance, then certainly in its belief system. There...
There have been Noachide movements throughout history, albeit not necessarily by that name. Now, in the 1970s, there was a major difference. Before, Jewish "interference" in he religious lives of non Jews was viewed with great hostility. In many...
The Noachide movement, although it has gained adherents all over the world, has failed to capture the imagination of most people. The main reason for that is, I believe, that people find it difficult to have a meaningful religious life, in a...
Back when I was in college, I met many people my age who had grown up in Orthodox homes. and had gone to Orthodox Day Schools Upon learning that I had a connection (at that time) with Chabad, I was informed that their parents disliked Chabad, as...
"For it is our life, and our length of days". These words from our evening prayer sum up the Jew's attitude to the Torah. It's not just a series of books. It is our life. It is the blueprint of the Universe, as well as that which gives shape,...
All the different approaches to study center around a debate in the Talmud; which is better, "Sinai" or an "uprooter of mountains"? That is, are we to prefer someone with a comprehensive knowledge of sources (like Mt. Sinai, from where all Torah...
Before we can examine how each of us can embark on Torah study, it is important to have an overview of methodologies, adopting that which is relevant for us. First, I will examine the methodology of the classical Sepharadic Yeshivah. While this...
Until the eighteenth century, methodology of Torah study in Europe was fairly loose. Rather than organized, institutional Yeshivot, students would come from far and wide to be disciples of renowned rabbinical figures. These rabbis had widely...
