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CONTENTS Editor’s Introduction to the Kislev 5765 Edition Eugene Korn ARTICLES Rabbis Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Abraham Joshua Heschel on Jewish-Christian Relations Reuven Kimelman Contemporary Fads and Torah u-Madda: A Response to Alan Brill Yitzchak Blau Response by Alan Brill Women and Writing the Megillah Ross Singer Edah in Israel Saul. J. Berman Moshe Tur-Paz From De’ot The Challenge of Unmarried Women: Does Defining Them as a “Problem” Meet a Social Need? Hagit Bartov REVIEW ESSAYS A Critique of Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism by Tamar Ross Yoel Finkelman Response by Tamar Ross Tears of the Oppressed by Aviad Hacohen Michael J. Broyde REVIEW What Makes a Book Orthodox? Wrestling With God and Men by Steve Greenberg Reviewed by Asher Lopatin The Edah Journal 4:2 Edah Inc. © 2004 Kislev 5765 The Edah Journal A Forum of Modern Orthodox Discourse Statement of Purpose The Edah Journal is a forum for discussion of Orthodox Judaism’s engagement with modernity. It is Edah’s conviction that such discourse is vital to nurturing the spiritual and religious experiences of Modern Orthodox Jews. Committed to the norms of halakhah and Torah, The Edah Journal is dedicated to free inquiry and will be ever mindful that, “Truth is the seal of the Holy One, Blessed be He.” Editorial Board Eugene Korn - Editor Naftali Harcsztark – Associate Editor Joel Linsider – Text Editor Moshe Halbertal (Israel) Richard Joel Norma Baumel Joseph Simcha Krauss Barry Levy Dov Linzer Tamar Ross (Israel) Directions for Submissions The Edah Journal invites submissions of original scholarly and popular essays, as well as new English translations of Hebrew works. Popular essays should be between 800-2000 words. The journal particularly welcomes halakhic, philosophic, and literary studies relating to qedushah in modern experience, the religious significance of the State of Israel, Jewish ethics, emerging Torah conceptions of and opportunities for women, Talmud Torah as an intellectual and spiritual discipline, pluralism, and Judaism’s relation to gentiles and contemporary culture. The Edah Journal will publish two online editions per year, and beginning February 2005 will be available in a hard-copy edition. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors only and do not necessarily represent the views of Edah or the Editorial Board. Edah retains copyrights to all material published in the journal. Submissions to The Edah Journal should be sent online to [email protected], or mailed in duplicate to Editor, The Edah Journal , c/o Edah, 18 Columbia Turnpike, Florham Park, NJ 07932. Submissions must include a one paragraph abstract and one line biography of the author. Paper submissions should be accompanied by a diskette with essay in RTF, TXT or MSWORD format. Notes should appear as endnotes. Communications should be directed to the above email address. Reader responses should be sent to the editor at [email protected] for possible electronic publication at the journal’s website. The Edah Journal 4:2 Copyright © 2004 Edah, Inc. Edah Inc. © 2004 Graphic Design: Erica Weisberg Kislev 5765 Web Design: SalemGlobal Introduction to the Kislev 5765 Edition Eugene Korn Welcome to the Kislev 5765 edition of The Edah Torah va-Avodah on Hag ha-Sukkot. We share many Journal. For the past four years The Edah Journal has values, challenges, and principles with the enjoyed phenomenal success as an exclusively on- membership of Ne’emanei Torah va-Avodah. As the line publication. Approximately 30,000 people access brief statements of Rabbi Saul Berman and Moshe the journal on-line every month, making it one of Tur-Paz found in this edition make clear, our the widely read journals in the world. Through this dreams, ideals and world-view are remarkably similar period we have received numerous requests from despite the geographical distance of 5,000 miles and individuals and institutions for the journal to appear the problems unique to religious life in Israel. It was also in the more traditional paper format. We natural therefore for Edah and our Israeli spiritual understand this need, and we now plan to begin counterparts to intensify on-going collaboration in publishing The Edah Journal in hard-copy form along order to share each other’s Torah, wisdom and side the online version. We will publish two volumes thinking. As a result, Edah and Ne’emanei Torah va- that will be available for sale at Edah’s biannual New Avodah have agreed to publish articles found in each York Conference in February 2005. The first volume others journals. Beginning with this edition, The will include the initial four editions (1:1-2:2) of The Edah Journal will translate and publish relevant Edah Journal, while the second volume will include articles from De`ot, the publication of with Ne’emanei editions 3:1-4:2. Beginning with edition 5:1 in the Torah va-Avodah. Hagit Bartov’s penetrating article on spring of 2005, we will publish all editions the existential and spiritual condition of single Israeli concurrently both on-line and in paper format. religious women represents the first article of this Readers will be able to order the paper version on joint venture. De`ot will also translate into Hebrew the Edah website (www.edah.org) or from the Edah and publish articles from The Edah Journal. office. Additionally, each organization is exploring ways to make available to its membership the full editions of A second exciting development has emerged from each other’s journals. Edah’s continuing relationship with Modern Orthodox organizations in Israel and the success of In a further indication of the strengthening bonds our recent joint Jerusalem conference with Ne’emanei we are forging with our Israeli counterparts, The The Edah Journal / Kislev 5765 Editor’s Introduction 1 Edah Journal is working with Beit Morasha in theology and above all, their passionate commitment Jerusalem to share scholarly articles between us. This to Jewish tradition and the Jewish people. He traces edition’s interchange between R. Yoel Finkelman their cordial relation and initial collaboration in and Prof. Tamar Ross was originally commissioned responding to the Vatican’s overture for Jewish- by Aqdamot (Bet Morasha’s journal), where it will Christian dialogue in the 1960’s before they parted appear in the original Hebrew in the spring. Aqdamot ways. Heschel ultimately went to Rome and has also published as a separate monograph the promoted theological dialogue, while Rav English translation of a critical article by R. Soloveitchik decided that dialogue with Christian Benjamin Lau on the subjects of saving gentile life clergy on moral, social and political issues was on Shabbat and the relationship of halakhah and “desirable even essential,” but theological dialogue moral values. That translation was done by Joel should be avoided. Lastly, Kimelman begins to Linsider, The Edah Journal’s translator and text editor, evaluate whether there was really a substantive and is scheduled to appear as the principal paper in a difference in their respective “rules of engagement” symposium in our journal in 2005. We look forward with Christian churches and whether dialogue today to hearing from you regarding these Israeli articles would satisfy the ground rules that each laid down. and encourage you to help us continue to stimulate deeper connections with Edah’s yedidei nefesh in The Iyar 5764 edition of The Edah Journal featured a Israel. lengthy essay by Prof. Alan Brill on the nature of Torah U-Madda, in which he called for a The Kislev 5765 edition contains articles on a variety reconceptualization of that idea and consideration of of subjects critical to Modern Orthodoxy. In a major differing formulations of Torah as embedded study Professor Reuven Kimelman explores the cultural products rather than understanding Torah as sometimes cooperative-sometimes divergent standing outside of non-Jewish culture. He also positions of the two greatest Jewish theologians of urged a conception Torah U-Madda that would better the second half of the twentieth century, Rabbis serve Modern Orthodox life in suburbia, where so Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Abraham Joshua many Modern Orthodox Jews live. In this edition, R. Heschel, on the issue of Jewish-Christian relations. Yitchak Blau mounts a passionate refutation of Often depicted as polar opposites—the Rav the Brill’s conception, finding it overly dependent on quintessential Orthodox Lithuanian rationalist and post-modern—and therefore temporal—thinkers. R. Heschel the Conservative descendant of great Brill responds that Blau’s rebuttal misses the mark Hasidic rebbes—Kimelman limns their parallel and fails to address the principle thesis of his original expertise in Western philosophy, their common paper. experience in Berlin, their deep interest in Christian The Edah Journal / Kislev 5765 Editor’s Introduction 2 In a perceptive non-academic paper, Hagit Bartov of opens up a new area of inquiry regarding women’s Israel reflects on the condition of single religious participation in ritual, one that may have women in Israel and why religious society regards implications for their scribing of other sacred texts. them as “a problem.” She argues that when the religious establishment views them as such, it The challenge of feminism with its demand to grant frequently ignores their personal interests and women full voice and place in religious life is concerns itself exclusively with preserving social perhaps the most critical flashpoint in Orthodoxy stability and the status quo. And what is a single today. It is the place at which Modern Orthodoxy religious woman who realizes that her bachelorhood comes to full confrontation with modernity and its is not merely a “temporary status” between living values. Prof. Tamar Ross, a member of the editorial with her parents and with her husband to do Board of The Edah Journal, has written a far-reaching regarding mitsvot related to the home, like lighting book on the implications of feminist thought for Hanukah candles or reciting Kiddush? When she Torah and halakhah.
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