Passover 2022: Finding redemption in the face of terror – opinion The Talmud teaches that Nisan is the month of redemption for everyone just as it was for the Jews in Egypt in Exodus by Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander | April 8, 2022 The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 10b) teaches that the month of Nisan is not …
Religion state reforms will strengthen halacha – opinion Modifications to kashrut and conversion systems represent a key opportunity to address critical issues in Jewish practice that demand change by Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander | February 12, 2022 In ongoing discussions with senior figures in the diaspora rabbinate, I’ve been exposed to sincere concerns over the nature …
Don’t turn ‘agunot’ into pawns Her extremely complex case was brought before the official, state-authorized beit din of Tel Aviv. by Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander | December 7, 2021 When a victim of nearly 20 years of violence and abuse asks the Chief Rabbinate’s beit din (court) to be released from her broken marriage, the last …
FEATURED POST Rabbis: Critique all you want, but please refrain from derisive, divisive attack I believe in keeping strictly kosher, but I’m also certain that toxic rhetoric against fellow Jews is more harmful than an assortment of kashrut labels is Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, 17/11/2021 During a recent sermon in Jerusalem, Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, Rabbi …
Aliyah: The educational opportunity of moving to Israel – opinion The presence of young olim in the classroom provides students with a very real and relatable teaching lesson of modern-day Zionism. By Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, October 13, 2021 When analyzing the impact of aliyah on modern Israeli society, one is able to appreciate that today, nearly …
Finding national inspiration in history and tradition Like Purim, on Yom K’purim the Jewish people stand together in either redemption or Divine abandonment and spiritual emptiness. By Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, September 14, 2021 In Jewish tradition, the day of Yom Kippur is wholly unique in multiple ways. While from the outsider’s perspective it may …
The power of response in the tshuva process The day on which the ten-day process of repentance culminates, Yom Kippur, is not a day of mourning. By Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, September 2, 2021 The well-known thinker, neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Dr. Viktor Frankl once wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. …
Saving the Souls on the Edge Rabbi Kenneth Brander 27/07/2021 It is easier for the human psyche to think in terms of extremes, of extraordinary and improbable situations. We can identify them more easily, and classify them within dichotomies of black-or-white; allowed or forbidden; important or trivial. We hope (and presume) that we will find …
Tisha Be’av: Finding ourselves to find redemption – opinion The service on Tisha Be’av focuses on golah, exile, and its movement towards geulah, redemption. The difference between these two Hebrew words is one letter, aleph, for ani – me. By Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, July 15, 2021 In his introduction to Book of Genesis, the …
Nachum Segal welcomed Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone back to JM in the AM, to hear his perspective on the riots in Lod during the recent conflicts, and to learn how OTS’s Midreshet Lindenbaum-Lod was involved in helping the local community as they rebuild both physically and emotionally. CLICK …
Fighting ‘get’ refusal is a vital task we must all confront In fact, the institution of a get was biblically initiated as part of a series of laws to preclude spousal abuse – the first laws of this nature in human history. by Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander | April 26, 2021 While the aguna issue is one that …
Rabbinate is overstepping its boundaries on conversion, divorces – opinion I believe the Israeli Rabbinate is overstepping their boundaries especially in two areas dependent upon a personal relationship: between a rabbi and convert, and a congregant seeking a divorce. by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin | April 22, 2021 It was with profound sadness as well as angry …
