Judaism articles from June 1994

Judaism archives from June 1994

The love of God in Maimonides and Rav Kook. (Jewish scholars)
June 22, 1994... For Pearl--and the students and staff of Midreshet Lindenbaum, 1990-1991. CERTAINLY MAIMONIDES, IN RAV KOOK'S EYES, WAS a heroic figure, one of the towering spiritual giants of Judaism.(1) No doubt, Maimonides' many-sidedness, his being both a...

The quest for the lost princess: transition and change in Jewish lore.
June 22, 1994... On the day of Yom Kippur the decision is made on high as to whether or not each person's name will be sealed in the Book of Life. Rabbi Isaac Luria of Safed, known as the Ari, was able to divine the future, and he always knew from Yom Kippur who,...

The leadership qualities of Moses.
June 22, 1994... This article is dedicated in memory of my grandfather, Menashe "Muni" Zivotofsky, who passed away on 24 Av 5754 (August 1, 1994). He was a person who lived his life with the understanding "that ordinary caring is truly great" and was always...

Birkhat ha-gomel: a study in cultural context and halakhic practice.
June 22, 1994... "IF THERE'S NOTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN AN idea whose time has come, there is nothing more ubiquitously pervasive than an idea whose time won't go."(1) These words clearly articulate the dilemma not only of feminism in general, but also of Jewish...

The Bene Israel and the Baghdadis: two Indian Jewish communities in conflict.
June 22, 1994... AT ITS HEIGHT IN THE LATE 1940s, THE JEWISH POPUlation of India numbered 26,000, amidst a population of over three hundred million, but its reputation far exceeded its size. It consisted of four communities: the first two were long-term...

Jacob and Esau and the emergence of the Jewish people.
June 22, 1994... LIFE IS FULL OF HARD CHOICES BETWEEN LESS THAN perfect alternatives. According to the Bible, even God is faced with such choices. It is part of the greatness of the Bible that it poses the problem that God, as well as humans, faces in choosing...

Why the Jewish people should welcome converts.
June 22, 1994... CONVERSION TO JUDAISM HAS RECENTLY BECOME A prominent subject of discussion among American Jews, primarily because it has been held out as a perceived antidote to intermarriage. Whatever efficacy conversion may or may not have in reducing the...

Act and Idea in the Nazi Genocide.
June 22, 1994... A FEW YEARS BEFORE THIS BOOK WAS published, I asked its author, Professor Berel Lang, what he hoped to accomplish in it and, more generally, what he thought philosophy could make of--I shall use his term, for the reasons he offers--the Genocide...

Jewish Social Ethics.
June 22, 1994... THESE TWO VOLUMES EMBODY THE most mature and enduring statement of David Novak, American Judaism's most independent and urbane Traditionalist thinker. Novak's Traditionalist thought is grounded in, but not limited by, Judaism's halakhic...

Jew and Gentile in the Ancient World: Attitudes and Interactions From Alexander to Justinian.
June 22, 1994... WHEN JEWS BEGAN TO ARRIVE IN America in the middle of the nineteenth century, they found themselves in circumstances very different from those they had left behind in Europe. They were no longer the only, or at least the most visible, minority....