Contents: A. Significant Dates – 1; B. The Young Rav Kook – 2; C. Israel's Love of God – 2; D. The Love of Israel – 5; E. The Non-Observant – 7; F. Our Modern Times – 9; G. Religious Poetry – 11; H. The Unity Theme – 13; I. Science and Religion – 15. Translators of Rav Kook’s excerpts: JA – Jacob B. Agus, The Banner of Jerusalem (NY: 1946); SB – Samuel H. Bergman, Faith and Reason (Philadelphia: 1961); LS – Leon D. Stitskin, "From the Pages of Tradition", Tradition (III:2); ML – original translations by Rabbi Lamm. A growing Hebrew literature on Rav Kook includes Shmuel Avidor’s The Man Against the Tide (Jerusalem: 1962). A. Significant Dates: Elul 6, 1865 – born in Grieve; 1880 – studies in Lutzin; 1881 – enrolls in Volozhin Yeshiva; 1887 – marries, moves to Ponovezh; 1889 – Rabbi in Zoimel; 1895 – Rabbi of Boisk; 1904 – elected Rabbi of Jaffa; 1914 – stranded in Europe; 1916 – Rabbi in London; 1919 – Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem; 1921 – Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land; Elul 3, 1935 – dies. B. The Young Rav Kook (Autobiography of Abraham Shoer, JA): Abraham Isaac’s diligence stemmed not from ambition but from piety. His absence from Torah study caused him genuine sorrow. During late-night study, surrounded by silence, he told me with mysterious intensity that perhaps our Torah alone was sustaining the world, tipping the scale of merit. On Tisha B’Av nights, he would cry bitterly over the Temple’s destruction. His love for Eretz Yisrael and longing for the Messiah were passionate and personal. When I asked why he cried so much during "chatzot," he answered simply, “I am a Kohen.” C. Israel's Love of God. 1. From Ikvei ha-Tzon (JA): Spiritual conceptions relate to nations in three ways: some are universal and holy, transcending national boundaries; others are universal in essence but vary in form among nations; and some are unique to Israel in both content and style. The love of God is rooted in Israel’s unique yearning for the dominion of the Divine Will. 2. From Eder Ha-…

The Special Study Panel was created by resolution of the UOJCA National Biennial Convention in 1968/5728 and charged with the task of recommending to the Board of Directors of the Orthodox Union appropriate action in connection with those coordinating or "umbrella" agencies to which the Orthodox Union belongs or in which to accept participation the Orthodox Union has been invited. In the discharge of its functions, the Study Panel has held several sessions, solicited a large number of written comments, conducted a lengthy hearing at which seven leading lay and rabbinic leaders were invited to appear, and undertaken other appropriate studies.While the original resolution and mandate was couched in the broadest possible terms and the Panel attempted to meet that mandate, most of those interviewed or whose opinion was sought confined their response to the matter of the Synagogue Council of America. This interim report, therefore, will deal primarily with that agency and will offer further suggestions for Board consideration concerning other agencies.In order to give the Directors pertinent information concerning the relationship of the UOJCA to the Synagogue of America, the Study Panel decided to submit to the Directors a condensed summary of the arguments, pro and con, as expressed in the written communications and the oral presentations made by leading rabbis and community leaders at the invitation of the Study Panel.The essential arguments for continuing the status quo are as follows:The United States is a country which is basically religion oriented. It is most important, therefore, that there be a voice of religious Jewry which is united, vis-a-vis the total American community. This religious voice is recognized as emanating from the SCA, therefore it behooves the U.O.J.C.A. not to divorce itself from this united voice of religious Jewry.Withdrawal from the SCA, no matter what the justification, would isolate us from the rest of American religious Jewry.By remain…

[Circa 1930. A European Jew who has come to America:] "A goy is a goy, my father used to say in the old country; meaning, we don't trust them and the less we have to do with them the better. And who could blame him for saying so, after all that has happened in Europe? Even for a long time after I came to this land of golden opportunity, I stayed with the rest of the landsmen on the Lower East Side of Manhattan – not that I had a choice in the matter, I was so poor. But recently, after I landed this new job and moved uptown, I've come into contact with a lot of goyim and I have to tell you – they're not all such bad people after all. Just yesterday one of them invited me to a party he is making. Sure, they have their crooks and bigots, and there is an occasional sonei Yisrael mixed in. But mostly they are schlepping through this world the same way we are. Some of them would make very good Jews! Now, if I could only get into their country club..."What should we, today, view as our role in the non-Jewish world? What are our responsibilities to the general society? How can we reconcile relationships with non-Jews based on the principles of eivah and darchei shalom with the transcendent perspective that all people are created bitzelem elokim? How should we interact with them socially? Should we establish meaningful personal relationships with non-Jews? Does it matter whether we live in an anti-Semitic society or not? Should we teach the sheva mitzvos to non-Jews?[1996. The European Jew's grandson:]"My grandfather never did get into the goyish country club, but my uncle did. Though he had a talmud torah education, he didn't think it was worth verv much in this country, and he sent his children, my cousins, to public school. Much of our extended family is not frum. Some go to a temple, others don't bother even with that. Soon we are going to have our first real intermarriage, between my cousin and a girl he met in college. We received an invitation but of course we are n…

Vignettes for Panel Discussion. Case 1: The Federation has invited the local rabbis from all religious streams to plan and participate in a program entitled “A Day of Jewish Learning.” The idea of the program is to have each of the rabbis teach three classes on topics of their choice and invite the community to sit in on whichever classes they desire to attend. You have been asked to participate, will you? What are the factors which enter into your analysis of this situation? Does it matter who sponsors the event? Does it matter where the event is held? What if the Orthodox and non-Orthodox rabbis will be teaching the same subject and the audience will rotate so that different views on a single topic are presented?CASE 2: As an avid reader of the Israeli press, you have noted that there have been several articles of late about non-Orthodox rabbinical students’ desire to pray at the Kotel in the way in which they are accustomed, but which is not within halakhic parameters. They argue that the Kotel belongs to the entire Jewish People, so why shouldn’t they be allowed access to pray at this holy site? On a visit to Israel you are at the Kotel and these very students are beginning to get together to pray. How do you analyze their behavior? What is your reaction? Several yeshiva boys begin to yell at the students, cursing them, throwing things at them, and chasing them away. What do you do? When you return to America you see that much of the American Jewish community is talking about the “disgraceful” behavior of the yeshiva boys. Do you respond? How? In reaction to what they perceive as an attack on Orthodoxy, a rabbi publishes a statement that anything outside the pale of halakhic Judaism is not Judaism at all. How do you react to this public statement? How do you react to the reaction of the many non-Orthodox American Jews who feel they’ve just been told they are not practicing Judaism when they go to pray at their synagogues?CASE 3: You are the principal of an Orth…

Tolerance verses Intolerance: Since coming back from Israel, Chaim has felt uncomfortable in his family surroundings. He finds the talking in shul intolerable and his family's level of observance weak. Chaim starts arguing with his parents about Halachic issues. His parents can’t understand why they should change just because he went to Israel for a year. Where is his Hakarat Hatov?How should Chaim approach his parent’s lack of concern for Halacha' Chaim's brothers look up to him. He feels that they should know that the house is not really kosher. How should he approach these other family membersChaim would rather live at home but is starting to feel that living away is the only answer. Is this true?2. Menachem has just come back to America after spending the past two years learning in Israel. His roommate at YU has Hashkafic views that Menachem feels run against his concept of Halacha. Menachem is frustrated He doesn’t want to cause tension with his roommate and just ignores these issues. Overtime, this creates a distance between the roommates. The roommate now feels that Menachem has a holier-than-thou attitude and is starting to resent him for it.How can Menachem be more accepting of his roommate, when his views are,counter everything Menachem believes in?One thought Menachem has is to split up with the roommate and find a roommate who s views are more similar. Maybe, he wonders, it is better to stick to my own type of people and just avoid those with differing views?Should this be one’s philosophy of life?In this midst of a hot sugya Ben's maggid shiur begins to attack reformed Jews. The shiur perks up and the Rabbi begins with their practices but goes on to single out members of the reformed movement and the Israeli government calling them Reshaim and ending off "Yemach Shamom” (May their names be erased). This has always bothered Ben, who feels we should love all Jews. He feels that some statements made by the reformed movement are intolerable but cannot acce…