A Colonial Protestant Rabbi at Harvard

TRADITION’s Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Menachem Kellner of ArtScroll’s new anthology of Maimonidean philosophy, Kisvei HaRambam: Writings of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon – The Rambam, translated, annotated, and elucidated by R. Yehuda Meir Keilson. For TraditionOnline Kellner profiled The Guide to the Perplexed: A New Translation, translated and with a commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Philip I. Lieberman (Stanford University Press), claiming it is destined to become the new standard for all engagement with the Guide in English. Throughout much of his academic career Kellner has been reminding the academic community that Rambam was also a rabbi, drawing profoundly on the rabbinic literature and embodying and promoting halakhic commitment. In the opposite direction, he hopes that more traditional audiences will increase their awareness of Maimonides as a thinker deeply rooted in the Arabic philosophical language and tradition of his day. With critical reservations in place, he draws our attention to these works under review as exemplars of positive movement on these fronts. In this podcast conversation Kellner joins our editor Jeffrey Saks to discuss these books and his reviews, and the two go off on a tangent about how he got into this business in the first place (and the impact of his move to Israel in 1980 had on the shape of his academic interests and desire to communicate his positions to a larger Jewish and general audience outside of the ivory tower). Menachem Kellner is Wolfson Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at the University of Haifa and founding chair of Shalem College’s Department of Philosophy and Jewish Thought.

TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America recently hosted R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, for a conversation revisiting a classic essay from our archives: R. Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l, “The Ideology of Hesder” (TRADITION, Fall 1981), using it as a lens to explore contemporary issues in Israeli religious and civilian life and society and the particular challenges of the current war. Introduction: R. Menachem Penner, Executive Vice-President, RCA Moderator: R. Jeffrey Saks, Editor, TRADITION Together we considered the complex relationship between yeshiva study and army service embodied by the Hesder movement; how the 40 years since the original essay’s publication may have strengthened or weakened its message; what is the ideal role for Religious Zionism to play in Israel’s contentious present moment and how we have grown simultaneously closer and further from those on our left and it right; how do we assess trends on the scene such as the rise of the Mekhinot, and the ongoing and current strife surrounding the Haredi military exemption and draft. R. Lichtenstein spoke candidly and personally about the traumas of this year, and the sacrifice of the lives of numerous precious students. Watch a video recording of the event.      

TRADITION’s recent Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Yitzhak Blau on Gila Fine’s new “The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud” (Maggid Books & Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies). Blau says this book carries the rare distinction of breaking new ground in two very different fields: the rabbinic view of women and the tools of aggadic interpretation. While some scholars see Hazal as holding an almost uniformly negative attitude toward women, and others fail to acknowledge any conflicts between the rabbinic tradition and contemporary sensibilities, Blau suggests Fine presents a more balanced outlook. We thought it would be instructive to bring the author and the reviewer (himself an accomplished interpreter of rabbinic aggada) together for a conversation. They discuss the book and touch on the relationship between Biblical and Talmudic narrative and teaching values through aggada. Read Yitzchak Blau’s review of “The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic“. Gila Fine lectures in a variety of settings including Pardes Institute and Midreshet Amudim, exploring the tales of the Talmud through philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and culture (both high and pop). Her published work has been featured in many platforms including our own pages of TRADITION. Yitzchak Blau, associate editor of TRADITION, is Rosh Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

It’s become a tradition at TRADITION that each year we turn to our esteemed editorial board for endorsements for summer reading (read this year’s picks here). This summer our friend and colleague Mali Brofsky highlighted the work of author Susan Cain, specifically in her recent #1 NY Times Bestseller (and Oprah Book Club selection) “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole” (Crown). Mali wrote that Cain’s book “examines the experience of melancholy or poignancy that she calls Bittersweet. She wonders about the emotions of loss and longing that seem so unavoidable in this world, and that often accompany not only experiences of suffering, but also moments of transcendent beauty. Cain observes that this experience of longing is ultimately a marker for the universal experience of yearning for the transcendent and the Divine. She explores how suffering can be transformed into meaning, purpose, and creativity, arguing that this pain is unavoidable and should not be ignored or explained away. Cain ultimately concludes that when loss is accepted, it can lead us to greater empathy for each other as we connect to our common experience of pain.” In reviewing Bittersweet Mali drew lessons, strength, and encouragement following the events of Simchat Torah and throughout this year’s long war. After publishing this summer’s endorsement we were delighted that Susan Cain reached out to us, thanking TRADITION for the review. She wrote: “It truly meant the world to me. I so appreciate the linking of the book to the post-October 7 experience. That is how I think of it too, even though of course I had no idea what would happen when I wrote it. I also wanted to especially thank Mali Brofsky for so perfectly capturing what I tried to convey in ‘Bittersweet’—it’s an inherently ineffable topic, and Mali’s is the best description I’ve yet read.” We thought it would be interesting to record a conversation between Mali and Susan and to explore how Bittersweet has special meaning for our religious community. Named one of the top ten influencers in the world by LinkedIn, Susan Cain is a renowned speaker and author of the award-winning books “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking” and “Bittersweet.” Her TED Talk on the power of introverts has been viewed over forty million times. Follow her work at SusanCain.net and join her “Quite Life Community” (housed at SubStack). Mali Brofsky, an editorial board member at TRADITION, is a senior faculty member at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim, teaches at Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Hebrew University, and runs a clinical social work practice.

In the area of Jewish medical ethics brain death is the topic which just will not die. With the advent of technologies and medical developments since the mid-twentieth century, questions about the halakhic definition of death have gone from the largely theoretical (and philosophical) to painfully practical for physicians, patients, and their families. Perhaps no other rabbinic figure’s opinion has factored in quite so significantly on the subject as R. Moshe Feinstein zt”l, the preeminent posek of the last century. However, the contours and applications of R. Feinstein’s position have been intensely debated. In a recent piece of research that surfaces some relevant new points of evidence, Dr. Noam Stadlan offers a re-understanding of R. Feinstein’s ruling, arguing that he defined death as irreversible apneic coma, without regard for the continued presence of heart function. This has various significant implications for end-of-life care and organ donation. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, Stadlan joins our editor, Jeffrey Saks, to discuss the article, as well as larger trends in the field of Jewish medical ethics, the partnership that should exist between physicians and medical research on one hand with poskim on the other, and why our readers are perennially interested in the field of medical halakha. Read Noam Stadlan, “Revisiting R. Moshe Feinstein’s Definition of Death” (TRADITION, Winter 2024): https://traditiononline.org/revisiting-r-moshe-feinsteins-definition-of-death Noam Stadlan, M.D., is Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL.

TRADITION’s Winter 2024 issue (now fully open access) featured a review by R. Gidon Rothstein of R.  Elisha Aviner’s Hebrew volume, Dor Tahpukhot, whose English title might read A Guide for Parents Whose Children Have Distanced Themselves from Observance (Sifiyat Hava). The book is a practical, philosophical, and halakhic compendium of advice to parents who have struggled to educated their children to a life of religious commitment, and the often painful and complicated realities of what happens when some children choose their own path “off the derech” (as the saying goes). Elisha Aviner is Rosh Kollel at the Birkat Moshe Hesder Yeshiva in Maale Adumim, and rabbi of that local community. He is also well known in Israel as a speaker and writer on the array of issues involved in educating adolescents. In his review, Gidon Rothstein, an author and educator, unpacks some of the complexities of this new book, and gets to the heart of some of the issues, especially how the book presents divergent approaches when offering general advice, encouragement, and support versus when speaking in a more formal halakhic context. Read Gidon Rothstein’s review of Elisha Aviner, Dor Tahpukhot. In this podcast we discuss Rothstein’s thoughtful and sensitive review; consider the book’s very specific Israeli focus; and consider how its lessons might be adapted – or not – for an American audience.

Subscribers have no doubt begun to dig into TRADITION’s recent symposium issue on “The Challenge of Material Success,” which contains the proceedings of our Tradition Today Summit. We were delighted that one of our contributors, Michael Eisenberg, recently discussed his paper with Yaakov Wolff at the Shtark Tank podcast. The essay and conversation center on Eisenberg’s concept of “Covenantal Capitalism” and how Jewish values have shaped his career and investing. They also discuss ways in which Torah concepts concerning economic values are best, perhaps only, able to be implemented in modern Israel. Michael Eisenberg is the co-founder and general partner of Aleph, a Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm, and the author of, most recently, The Tree of Life and Prosperity. The Shtark Tank podcast, hosted by Yaakov Wolff, explores a variety of relevant topics, including the challenges and possibilities at the intersection of careers and religious life for those who strive to find balance and to succeed at each in fulfilling ways. Subscribe to Shtark Tank on Spotify or all podcasting platforms. Our thanks to them for their partnership in allowing us to share this episode with listeners of the Tradition Podcast.

TRADITION’s most recent issue features a special section with short reflective essays on the events of October 7th and the ongoing war in Israel. In this episode, two of those authors meet to discuss the topics touched on in those very personal pieces of writing. Chaim Strauchler engages with Alex S. Ozar, who serves as a rabbi with the Orthodox Union’s JLIC and the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale University. Alex’s essay, “War in Israel, in New Haven” captures the raw emotions, trauma, and fear of last Simhat Torah. He wonders: Is the Golden Age of American Jewry, in fact, over? He shares reflections on the Jewish experience on the Yale campus over the past number of months and what that experience says about the future of American Jewry. Amidst many frightening anecdotes, he communicates optimism about his students and the prospects for future Jewish success. Chaim Strauchler, associate editor at TRADITION, in his essay, considers how we might make the best opportunities of the current crisis, to grow and improve from amidst its ashes. Locating in Maimonides’ teachings a call to accountability he suggests three arenas for discussion: a counter-narrative to the oppressor/oppressed duality; a renewal of Zionism; and ways to heal as a nation and a people. You can read both of these essays open-access in our newest issue.

Because TRADITION has always aspired to be more than a quarterly print journal and aims to help shape the conversation and have an impact in our religious community, about five years ago we broadened our reach by expanding our digital-direct offerings, producing shorter-form original content distributed on TraditonOnline.org and over social media—this includes the podcast, expanded coverage of books and cultural criticism, and a platform to feature new authors. Since December 2022 Yitzchak Blau has been producing “Alt+SHIFT”—that’s the keyboard shortcut allowing us quick transition between input languages on our keyboards. For many readers of TRADITION this is the move from English to Hebrew (and back again). Blau has shared his insider’s look into trends, ideas, and writings in the Israeli Religious Zionist world to help readers from the Anglo sphere gain insight into worthwhile material available only in Hebrew. This series is now heading off on hiatus and we thought it would be a good idea to talk with its author about what he’s accomplished in the 30 installments of the column. Yitzchak Blau, Rosh Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem’s Old City, is an Associate Editor of TRADITION. Later in the episode, we meet Moshe Kurtz, who will be stepping in with a new series, “Unpacking the Iggerot,” exploring themes and topics at the intersection of halakha and hashkafa as they arise from the Iggerot Moshe of R. Moshe Feinstein zt”l. He joins us now for a quick preview of what we can expect from that upcoming series. Kurtz is the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, CT, author of Challenging Assumptions, and host of the podcast Shu”T First, Ask Questions Later.

Yisroel Ben-Porat, a doctoral candidate in early American history at CUNY Graduate Center, is writing a doctorate on the Puritans’ use of the Hebrew Bible as a political text. In TRADITION’s recent Fall 2023 issue he offered a historical investigation of an enigmatic early eighteenth-century figure, “Rabbi” Judah Monis—the first known Jewish-born degree recipient and faculty member at Harvard, where he taught Hebrew for almost four decades. Monis converted in advance of his appointment, but seems to have maintained a complicated relationship with the Judaism he left (or tried to leave) behind. The Tradition Podcast spoke with Ben-Porat about this little-known chapter which opens very many questions about American Jewish identity and politics, Antisemitism, and even current events and conflict on the Harvard campus and the halls of Congress (in ways Ben-Porat could not have anticipated when he authored the essay months ago). Read Yisroel Ben-Porat, “Protestant Rabbi: The Conversion of Judah Monis in Colonial Massachusetts,” TRADITION (Fall 2023). Watch a video recording of this discussion.