Bringing a part of Palm Beach County to Israel By Rabbi Kenneth Brander – 01/23/2018 As I leave my position at Yeshiva University to embark on a wondrous opportunity in Israel offered to me by a true leader, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, I will be bringing a piece of Palm Beach County with me. For Palm Beach County was my incubator, helping to shape …
Taking over Riskin’s business Teaneck’s Rabbi Kenneth Brander named new head of Ohr Torah Stone in Israel By Larry Yudelson – 11/23/2017 Kenneth Brander wasn’t sure he wanted to be a rabbi when he applied to rabbinical school. Thirty years later, it’s pretty clear that the rabbinate was a good match for his talents. After he was ordained …
On October 26th, Nachum Segal welcomed Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander to the “JM in the AM” show to discuss his appointment of President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone. Click here to listen to the interview on the NSN site
Rabbi Kenneth Brander to Make Aliyah, Head Ohr Torah Stone by Elizabeth Kratz 10/18/2017 Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander, Yeshiva University’s vice president for university and community life, has been named the new president-elect and rosh hayeshiva of Efrat-based education network Ohr Torah Stone (OTS), set to succeed the venerable Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, …
‘Huge’ Moment For Advocates Of Orthodox Women Rabbis YU centrist named successor of Shlomo Riskin’s pioneering seminary in Israel; move could impact direction of U.S. Orthodoxy. by Gary Rosenblatt 10/10/2017 With the powerful Orthodox Union poised to vote on whether to expel several member congregations for employing women in rabbinical …
The Meaning of Rosh Hashana Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Founder and Chancellor, Ohr Torah Stone People often mistakenly view Rosh Hashanah as a personal day of reckoning. Although there is of course some truth to this, such an understanding fails to grasp the main point of the day. Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of the creation of the world; the anniversary …
The “Wicked” Child Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Founder and Chancellor, Ohr Torah Stone Why does the author of the Haggada call the questioner in this sequence “the wicked child”? The reason that the Haggada itself emphasizes lies in the questioner’s exclusion of himself from the family ritual when he asks, “What is this service to you?” …
Blurred Perceptions Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Founder and Chancellor, Ohr Torah Stone What does our sober and moderate Judaism, with its emphasis on “You shall be holy,” have to do with a masquerade ball? And yet, that is precisely what characterizes our celebration of Purim, replete with (often outlandish) costumes and an abundance of the …
Circles of Light Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Founder and Rosh HaYeshiva, Ohr Torah Stone Had Chanukah been a February or March festival, a good safe distance from its Christian neighbor in December, would it still have the power to attract even assimilated Jews to the glow of the candles? How important would Chanukah be without the calendrical reality …
One Season; Two Dimensions Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Chancellor and Rosh HaYeshiva, Ohr Torah Stone The magnificent three-week Festival period beginning with Rosh Hashanah, including Yom Kippur and ending with Sukkot may be viewed and experienced in two dimensions at the same time: the Universalist, Nationalist dimension, and the particularist, individual …