Tag Archives: gil student

Dear God, Why Is There A Naked Lady In My Haggadah?

Rabbi Gil Student writes: There was always one passage that stuck out in my youthful mind because it refers to a naked woman with a little detail (see below). As I grew older and learned what the passage means from … Continue reading

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Biblical Criticism Vs. Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: Dr. James Kugel responds to Dr. Moshe Bernstein’s opinion piece about his speech at YU (link to Dr. Bernstein’s, link to Dr. Kugel’s). In my opinion, Dr. Kugel’s letter is disingenuous because: He implies that … Continue reading

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JB’s Taped Conversations

Rabbi Gil Student writes: R. David Holzer published a fascinating book of his many taped conversations of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, titled The Rav Thinking Aloud. R. Holzer was R. Soloveitchik’s assistant for a few years and carried around a … Continue reading

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Should The Orthodox Ordain Women?

Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: On Sunday March 21st, 2009, Rabbi Avi Weiss conferred Yoreh Yoreh ordination on his congregational intern, Ms. Sara Hurwitz. The official certificate does not use the term rabbi but instead Rabbi Weiss invented a new … Continue reading

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Can Converts Become Rabbis?

It doesn’t bother me that there is a substantial case in Jewish law against converts such as myself becoming rabbis. I never knew this until I read this post. I have fantasized about becoming a rabbi because I am obviously … Continue reading

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How Should Non-Jews Relate To God?

Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: In line with our recent discussion of religious diversity, I’d like to examine a particular contemporary view of religious pluralism in light of talmudic and midrashic sources — one attributed to Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan … Continue reading

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Creating An Intellectual Passover Seder

Rabbi Gil Student writes: To date, three Haggadahs have been published that purport to be collections of insights of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Haggadah Si’ach Ha-Gerid by his grandson, R. Yitzchak Lichtenstein; Haggadah for Passover With Commentary Based on the … Continue reading

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Turning The Hirhurim Blog Into A Book

Rabbi Gil Student blogs: "Response has been extremely underwhelming. What gives? Is it the choice of material? The price? Will the few thousand of weekly visitors only read if it’s free? I’ve decided to offer a 20% discount to all … Continue reading

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The Latest Issue Of ‘Tradition’ Magazine

Rabbi Gil Student writes: A new issue has been published of Tradition vol. 1 no. 4, Winter 2008: Homer and the Bible by R. Shalom Carmy — Criticizing those who try to impress and excite readers/listeners by being controversial. To … Continue reading

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Three Modes For Paying For Shuls

Orthodox rabbi Gil Student writes: In general, there are three basic models for charging synagogue dues: Flat Fee — The first is to make it affordable to just about everybody so that all members pay the same amount. Then, because … Continue reading

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