Columns

President Has Values and a Vision

By:

Rabbi Steven Bob, Rabbi Sam Gordon and Rabbi Burt Visotzky

Jewish voters know the scene well. Politicians show up at our synagogues, community events and Jewish homes for the aging — all talking up “Jewish values,” all trying to speak the language of the Jewish community. This election season, we are seeing more of the same. Yet the trick for our community and congregations is to decipher who really means...

Columns

It’s a New Year; Let’s Embark on a Real Day School Initiative

By:

Jonathan Scott Goldman

The Philadelphia Jewish community is blessed with enough resources to make Jewish day school education attainable for all who want it, regardless of geography, denomination or financial means. We must strive to do so. Jewish day school does more than train rabbis and yeshiva bochurs; it grows future leaders in business, medicine, science and law who embody our traditions and...

Columns

A World of Difference

By:

Rabbi Jerome P. David

I am concerned, very concerned, that we are turning away from the most important words of the Torah. Rabbi Akiba is quoted in the Talmud as saying, “The most significant words in the Torah are the words that God created human beings in God’s own image.” Everything we do follows from this insight. We learn that we must treat others...

Columns

Judaism Has Not Only Tolerated Blasphemy; It Has Found a Place for It

By:

Rabbi Michael Balinksy

There is much discussion currently about imposing limits on blasphemy. It seems clear that the vast majority of those in the West oppose it and many in Muslim-majority countries support it. I would argue that Judaism has not only tolerated blasphemy, but found a place for it in its sacred texts. This does not mean that communities have always handled...

Columns

Practicing Mussar Is Like Experiencing Days of Awe 24/7

By:

Miki Young

For many years, I’ve heard from my Jewish friends and colleagues that Judaism just isn’t the spiritual practice they seem to be longing for — that they practice the religion because it’s part of their tradition, or because they don’t want to be responsible for “ending the line,” but that, in reality, being Jewish just doesn’t seem to offer much...