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In order to understand the place of the Tzaddik in Jewish, and especially in Kabbalistic thought, it is necessary to consider certain things. (Philosophically inclined Jewish theologians would have great difficulty with most of this.) First of...
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As I said in the first post in this series, part of the issue with the story we began with, is the neccesity of "doing it right". Judaism has many rules and regulations; some Biblical, some rabbinic, some custom. In the first two instances, there...
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There is a Torah portion called "Kedoshim", which begins with the words "You shall be holy, for I the L-rd am holy." (Leviticus 20:26) Surprisingly, the Torah never defines "holy". Had such a statement appeared in Plato, a long dialogue would...
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When I first returned to the U.S. from Israel, I found, as I have written, a position in a small Long Island congregation. But I was soon faced with a problem. Their services began at 9:30, and ended about 11:45. That was fine for the Summer. But...
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The mid fourth century was a devastating time for Judaism. The last Sanhedrin died off (well, was actually killed by the Byzantines). The authentic chain of smichah (ordination) going back to Moses, was likewise, quite literally, killed off. This...
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We have seen that based on all classical sources, a potential convert has only minimal preparation or training. His sincere desire to enter the Covenant is all that is required. We tell him, at the time of his conversion, about a few of the...
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One of the leaders in the forefront of fighting the "we've always done it this way" Judaism, is Rabbi Avi Weiss. A product of Yeshiva University, he has taken many unusual stances, that have alienated him from many in the "establishment". His...
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In 1983, when Menachem Begin, arguably the man most responsible for the founding of the State of Israel, resigned as Prime Minister, the prestigious U.S. news and interview program, Sixty Minutes, interviewed Ezer Weitzman, a Right winger, who had...
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Rabbi Riskin emigrated to Israel in 1983. He became a leader not only in his own community of Efrat, but he immediately filled a niche in areas that Israelis tend not to think of as rabbinic fields. His American style of a friendly, accessible...
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OK, I've calmed down a bit, and will tackle the "Women of the Wall" issue as best I can. There is an Israeli saying "don't believe anything you read in the papers, except the date, and sometimes the weather".There is no such thing in Israel as an...
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