Sublime

rabbis as teachers are in critical demand. And after a year running Hadar, I knew that my life’s focus was not only to build one specific community but also to spread the model of Empowered Judaism.

the centuriesold mission statement of the Jewish people, expressed by Shimon Ha-Tzaddik (Pirke Avot 1:2): “The world stands on three things: Torah study, worship/service, and acts of lovingkindness.”

The prohibition on embarrassing another is one of Judaism’s cardinal sins, they say, and one should sooner die than transgress

EVEN AS SOME ISRAELIS were growing more interested in their religious roots, much of Israeli society was at the very same time worried about other religious phenomena in the Jewish state. The chief rabbinate, an institution that the Ottomans and British had established and shaped, was becoming ever more reviled. As the Haredim had become increasing

how can the American Jewish community foster more Empowered Jews?

Jewish theology insists that genuine self-worth is never competitive or comparative, never purchased at the expense of others. The source of my value, and theirs, is ultimately one and the same: we are all created in the image of God.24

we actively decided not to make Yeshivat Hadar a pluralistic environment. For instance, all the full-time students are expected to daven together in a single service that is egalitarian and traditional. Students must also commit to living a life engaged with Torah and mitzvot. All of the faculty we hired also support this form of prayer and commitm

Parents are obliged, and teachers encouraged, to train students to ask questions. Traditional Jewish learning is designed to make teacher and disciple alike aware of the fact that more than one view is possible on any question of Jewish law and that there can be multiple interpretations