Authors Posts by Steven Gotlib
Steven Gotlib
Steven Gotlib is Associate Rabbi at Mekor Habracha/Center City Synagogue and Director of the Center City Beit Midrash in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, having previously held rabbinic positions in Toronto, Ottawa, and New York City. A graduate of Rutgers University, Rabbi Gotlib received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University (RIETS), a certificate in mental health counseling from the Ferkauf School of Psychology in partnership with RIETS, and a START Certificate in spiritual entrepreneurship from the Glean Network in partnership with Columbia Business School. In addition to his rabbinic work, Rabbi Gotlib has performed magic and mentalism around the US and Canada. He can be reached for questions, comments, and criticism at stevenjgotlib@gmail.com.
Halakhic Egalitarianism and the Future of Orthodoxy
Last year, Rabbis Ethan Tucker and Micha'el Rosenberg released an updated edition of their influential 2017 work, Gender Equality and Prayer in Jewish Law. In this review, Steven Gotlib outlines the book's core halakhic arguments and assesses its reception by contemporary Jewish thinkers. He concludes with a consideration of the relationship between halakhic egalitarian practice and mainstream Orthodox Judaism, including potential paths that this relationship may take in the future.
Where is the Halakhic Heart?
Building on Jonah Rocheeld's recent article "Successfully Unsuccessful: The Paradox of Modern Orthodoxy," Steven Gotlib considers the balance (or imbalance) of emotionality and logic in the Modern Orthodox Jewish outlook.
Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Disclaimers: A Halakhic Appraisal of Mentalism
Steven Gotlib explores mentalism through a halakhic lens -- in particular, the need for a disclaimer stating that no magic is genuinely being performed.
Can there be Pluralism without Relativism?
Can our humility about the possibility of knowing truth help us to achieve a principled pluralism? Steven Gotlib examines Raphael Jospe’s argument and responses to it in this review of Accepting and Excepting.
Aggadic Men: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’s References to Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel
In honor of the yahrtzeits of Rabbis Jonathan Sacks and Abraham Joshua Heschel, we present Steven Gotlib's study of Rabbi Sacks's complicated engagement with the scholarship and religious worldview of Rabbi Heschel.
Modern Men of Faith: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’s Critique of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B....
In honor of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s fifth yahrtzeit, we present Steven Gotlib's study of Rabbi Sacks's longstanding criticism of the religious worldview of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
Tradition for Non-Traditional Jews
Steven Gotlib review's Elliot Cosgrove's "For Such a Time as This: On Being Jewish Today," which urges unity among American Jewry.
Is Modern Orthodoxy Ready to Accept Rabbi Yitz Greenberg?
Steven Gotlib reviews the magnum opus of legendary Jewish thinker Yitz Greenberg, considering ways in which Greenberg’s newest synthesis of his ideas bring him back into conversation with the Modern Orthodox community.
Tablets Shattered (And Restored?): Jewish Identity Here and Now
Joshua Leifer’s new book illustrates the collapse of several paradigms that long sustained American Jewish life. In his review, Steven Gotlib notes that Leifer’s search for a viable, non-separatist, traditional Judaism overlooks several existing models of Jewish life and practice.
Ought Judaism Be Tinkered With?
Steven Gotlib review Miri Freud-Kandel’s new book on the relevance of Louis Jacobs to contemporary Orthodox theology.
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