Tag: Reform

Organizations advocating for Jewish renewal in Israel have become increasingly popular in the last decade, seeking to transcend the religious-secular divide and articulate a vision of Jewish civilization as a shared identity. David Sperber explores the ways that these organizations effectively seek to recreate models that have already long existed in non-Orthodox denominations, but to wrap them in the idioms and culture of Orthodoxy. He argues that failure to recognize the non-Orthodox contributions is unjustified and hopes that Israeli society can grow to "recognize renewal wherever it has taken root."

Post-pandemic proposals to omit hazarat ha-shatz on a permanent basis have been soundly rejected by halakhic authorities. Is this due exclusively to halakhic considerations, or are additional factors at play? Yosie Levine contends that Ashkenazic rabbinic opposition to 19th-century attempts to eliminate hazarat ha-shatz may still be shaping halakhic discourse today.

Steven Gotlib reviews Roberta Rosenthal Kwall’s book Remix Judaism, which has an important message about navigating Jewish practice in the modern world for non-Orthodox and Orthodox Jews alike.

Drawing upon his expertise in Anglo-Jewish history, Benjamin Elton traces the intellectual journey and career of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l. As a brilliant young scholar, Rabbi Sacks rose to prominence through the British Chief Rabbinate, but he transcended that role to become a global phenomenon.