"The Torah teaches us that the pinnacle of human understanding was achieved during the mass revelation which occurred at Mount Sinai. G-d’s revealed wisdom is eternal and infallible."
"Regarding the calumnies commonly heard in coffee shops or campus commissaries, they may be passionate and loud but they are also equally misinformed and unfounded. Whether the text being caricatured is regarded as anachronistic, chauvinistic, or even barbaric; one thing is for sure — it is always completely misrepresented. While unfortunately this column doesn’t provide the venue for a deeper exploration of this important topic, it will have to suffice to point out that to dismiss all of the diligence and toil of Torah scholars as either not being bright enough or decent enough to provide refutations to the surface level, knee-jerk objections of people selectively quoting (or misquoting) a piece of text which they have neither studied nor deeply contemplated, does a tremendous disservice to all those who are ultimately joined in the genuine pursuit of truth."
What resources would you recommend to those of us who want to explore the work of these Torah scholars further?
Hello, David. For initial reading, I would recommend either Keleman’s Permission to Believe and/or Permission to Receive. The website simpletoremeber.com has wonderful audio/visual content including: the Mystery of the Jews (https://www.simpletoremember.com/media/a/mystery-of-the-jews/) and a Rational Approach for the Divine Origin of Judaism (https://www.simpletoremember.com/media/a/rational-judaism/) as well as all of the lectures by Rabbi Akiva Tatz. Torahanytime.com has many, many thousands of lectures and depending on one’s interest you’re certain to find something related. And finally, a scholar based in the USA has graciously agreed to try and answer any specific questions from individuals sent by email to komimiyus613@aol.com. I appreciate and encourage the urge to dig deeper! All the best, Andrew
Hashem put it all in front of us. Whether we can pick up what He's been laying down is another story entirely. Might I recommend to the kneejerk screamers and shallow-reading bellowers, that trying a year of more contemplative silence than stridency might help.
Minor typo: "....Shabbat with all of its myriad of intricate and arcane..." should read "....Shabbat with all of its myriad intricate and arcane..."
This in a nutshell captures what it is to be a Jew who has not dropped the torch that each generation has passed on to the next since the revelation of the Torah to the assembled Jewish people at Mount Sinai. May all of us take this call seriously and ourselves take up that torch.
"Regarding the calumnies commonly heard in coffee shops or campus commissaries, they may be passionate and loud but they are also equally misinformed and unfounded. Whether the text being caricatured is regarded as anachronistic, chauvinistic, or even barbaric; one thing is for sure — it is always completely misrepresented. While unfortunately this column doesn’t provide the venue for a deeper exploration of this important topic, it will have to suffice to point out that to dismiss all of the diligence and toil of Torah scholars as either not being bright enough or decent enough to provide refutations to the surface level, knee-jerk objections of people selectively quoting (or misquoting) a piece of text which they have neither studied nor deeply contemplated, does a tremendous disservice to all those who are ultimately joined in the genuine pursuit of truth."
What resources would you recommend to those of us who want to explore the work of these Torah scholars further?
Hello, David. For initial reading, I would recommend either Keleman’s Permission to Believe and/or Permission to Receive. The website simpletoremeber.com has wonderful audio/visual content including: the Mystery of the Jews (https://www.simpletoremember.com/media/a/mystery-of-the-jews/) and a Rational Approach for the Divine Origin of Judaism (https://www.simpletoremember.com/media/a/rational-judaism/) as well as all of the lectures by Rabbi Akiva Tatz. Torahanytime.com has many, many thousands of lectures and depending on one’s interest you’re certain to find something related. And finally, a scholar based in the USA has graciously agreed to try and answer any specific questions from individuals sent by email to komimiyus613@aol.com. I appreciate and encourage the urge to dig deeper! All the best, Andrew
Thank you so much for this, Andrew!
Great piece.
Hashem put it all in front of us. Whether we can pick up what He's been laying down is another story entirely. Might I recommend to the kneejerk screamers and shallow-reading bellowers, that trying a year of more contemplative silence than stridency might help.
Minor typo: "....Shabbat with all of its myriad of intricate and arcane..." should read "....Shabbat with all of its myriad intricate and arcane..."
Love this.
Thank you Andrew
This in a nutshell captures what it is to be a Jew who has not dropped the torch that each generation has passed on to the next since the revelation of the Torah to the assembled Jewish people at Mount Sinai. May all of us take this call seriously and ourselves take up that torch.
I loved this story. Thanks for sharing.