Adventures in American Judaism
Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff
Mondays, 10:00am Eastern, 5:00pm Israel Time
July 8 Who Rules the Synagogue?
During the formative nineteenth century, the synagogue became the major battle ground between religious and lay authorities. Both sides felt they ought to decide the direction of American Judaism and the result was the transformation of Jewish life - in a way no one saw coming
July 15 The Parting of the Ways
When did Conservative Judaism begin, and how did it separate itself from Orthodox Judaism and other traditional movements? The protracted history of the emancipation of Orthodox and Conservative Judaism from each other does much to explain the middle decades of the twentieth century.
July 22 Rabbi Aharon Kotler and the Formation of the Yeshiva World in America
Rabbi Aharon Kotler migrated to the United States in 1941 and died in 1962. During these two decades, he transformed American Orthodoxy -- but that transformation was nearly undetectable during his lifetime.
July 29 Patrilineal Descent and Religious Dissent
The Reform Movement's debate over mixed marriages and Jewish identity in the 1970s and 1980s impacted more than just Reform Judaism. It "decentered" American Jewish life and change the political and religious positioning of Conservative and Orthdoox Judaism, as well.
