Dr. Miri Freud-Kandel is Fellow and Lecturer in Modern Judaism in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. She is co-convenor of the Oxford Summer Institute for Modern & Contemporary Judaism.
Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min ha... more Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min hashamayim — Torah from heaven. By comparing two events between the 1960s and 2010s this paper explores whether greater flexibility is developing within Orthodoxy to address this issue. At the heart of my analysis is a recurring question regarding the role of religious authority in shaping the contours of the debate over revelation in Orthodox Judaism. The increasing recourse to notions of Mesorah (tradition), used to empower those who seek to demarcate what is and is not acceptable within Orthodoxy, highlights a battleground pivotal to determining the future trajectory of Orthodox Judaism. This article assesses certain efforts to present possible alternative approaches. The growth of Open Orthodox Judaism, a strengthening of broader post-denominationalist impulses, and changing approaches to the types of answers that are even sought for theological questions indicates how shifting approaches to interpretations of revelation reflect more extensive changes developing within Orthodoxy.
A striking feature of the debates associated with appointing a new chief rabbi in Britain at the ... more A striking feature of the debates associated with appointing a new chief rabbi in Britain at the end of the term of Emeritus Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was a clear sense of the contribution the role makes to Jewish life both in Britain and more broadly. This was widely noted, also, in the specific praise and reflection on the achievements of the outgoing chief rabbi which accompanied his retirement. On both a national and international plane, the British chief rabbinate is perceived to have acquired a wide-ranging voice and influence. The reach of the office is seen to extend both to Jewish communities outside Britain and in a British context to the wider society beyond the Jewish community. The possibility of abolishing the post and replacing it with some sort of body that could serve in its place was given only the most cursory consideration. This was despite the fact that it is a role that has its origins in nineteenth-century Victorian Britain, when it was designed under Anglican influences to serve a very different community with markedly different needs. The instinct to retain the post in its current form also ignores the fact that the chief rabbinate itself has rather limited real powers, a product of its evolutionary development rather than being a particularly clearly thought out office from the outset. Moreover, the reality of the British chief rabbinate is that notwithstanding the varied types of ‘‘success,’’ however we may choose to define this notion, that different chief rabbis have enjoyed in Britain, it has also consistently been a cause of division and disagreement—as much a source of controversy as it has been a source for leadership and representation. At the time of Jonathan, now Lord, Sacks’ appointment to the British chief rabbinate genuine hope was invested in him and his potential to exert an influence. This showed considerable optimism considering the controversies and growing religious polarization that had characterized British Jewry during the chief rabbinates of his two predecessors, Immanuel Jakobovits and Israel Brodie. Somehow there appeared in some quarters to be a genuine belief that the new incumbent possibly could be an individual gifted with the ability to invigorate the post. Someone who could bring real leadership to the
In the valedictory sermon delivered by Immanuel Jakobovits as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Co... more In the valedictory sermon delivered by Immanuel Jakobovits as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, on the occasion of the installation of his successor, Jakobovits fixed on the theme of Moses' advice to Joshua when he was ...
... Uzi Rebhun: Demographic Issues, Part One, Historical Issues, 3: Lois Dubin: Enlightenment and... more ... Uzi Rebhun: Demographic Issues, Part One, Historical Issues, 3: Lois Dubin: Enlightenment and Emancipation, 4: Robert van Pelt: Persecution, 5: Emmanuele Ottolenghi: A National Home, Part Two, Issues of Religion and Modernity, 6: Miri Freud-Kandel: Modernist Movements ...
Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significan... more Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significant events influencing the contemporary Jewish consciousness. Yet his engagement with the theological implications of the Holocaust is notably limited. Since many of his writings are focused on issues facing those he termed "the Jew in the pew," this absence of detailed consideration of the theological questions posed by the Holocaust seems particularly perplexing.This paper considers if there is an explanation for this lacuna.
Is the British Chief Rabbinate still a viable institution? Two recently published books on Anglo-... more Is the British Chief Rabbinate still a viable institution? Two recently published books on Anglo-Jewry construct differing arguments about the influence and power of the office of chief rabbi. This paper examines the positions presented in these works and considers how ...
Yitz Greenberg and Modern Orthodoxy: The Road Not Taken , 2019
Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min ha... more Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min hashamayim — Torah from heaven. By comparing two events between the 1960s and 2010s this paper explores whether greater flexibility is developing within Orthodoxy to address this issue. At the heart of my analysis is a recurring question regarding the role of religious authority in shaping the contours of the debate over revelation in Orthodox Judaism. The increasing recourse to notions of Mesorah (tradition), used to empower those who seek to demarcate what is and is not acceptable within Orthodoxy, highlights a battleground pivotal to determining the future trajectory of Orthodox Judaism. This article assesses certain efforts to present possible alternative approaches. The growth of Open Orthodox Judaism, a strengthening of broader post-denominationalist impulses, and changing approaches to the types of answers that are even sought for theological questions indicates how shifting approaches to interpretations of revelation reflect more extensive changes developing within Orthodoxy.
Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significan... more Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significant events influencing the contemporary Jewish consciousness. Yet his engagement with the theological implications of the Holocaust is notably limited. Since many of his writings are focused on issues facing those he termed "the Jew in the pew," this absence of detailed consideration of the theological questions posed by the Holocaust seems particularly perplexing.This paper considers if there is an explanation for this lacuna.
Visualizing Jews Through the Ages, eds., Hannah Ewence and Helen Spurling, 2015
Orthodox Judaism seeks to promulgate a simple, grand image of revelation to help foster a type of... more Orthodox Judaism seeks to promulgate a simple, grand image of revelation to help foster a type of certainty in the teachings of Judaism. This can result in efforts to downplay the scope that exists for certain levels of debate on the nature of revelation. The popular image, reflecting a Charlton Heston-type revelatory experience at Mount Sinai, is intended to preserve an unquestionable authority for the divine teachings and commands of Torah. This paper examines the alternative approach Louis Jacobs sought to set out.
Immanuel Jakobovits established himself as a Jewish spokesman and moral guardian on a broad range... more Immanuel Jakobovits established himself as a Jewish spokesman and moral guardian on a broad range of issues. In the process, he found himself at the heart of a variety of controversies incited by his incursions into moral debates. What is striking in these controversies is how he drew criticism from a broad spectrum of society. This reflects the apparent contradiction at the heart of his theology. At times, his views appeared socially conservative. However the greatest controversies of his rabbinic career related to his views on Zionism, where he faced criticism for his apparent alignment with the liberal wings of both British and world Jewry. This paper considers whether there is a coherent theology underpinning Jakobovits' views, which helps us to explain his seemingly contradictory positions.
Pardes, Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien, 2012
In certain respects the mainstream Orthodoxy Jewish community in Britain, fully engaged and integ... more In certain respects the mainstream Orthodoxy Jewish community in Britain, fully engaged and integrated into British life, appears to offer an exemplar of a Modern Orthodox Judaism. However the term minhag Anglia may be used to capture the nature of the often unsystematic blending of Jewishness and Britishness that can characterise Anglo-Jewish practice. This paper considers whether the broadly unthinking nature of minhag Anglia precludes its ability to function as a strategy for Modern Orthodox Judaism.
Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min ha... more Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min hashamayim — Torah from heaven. By comparing two events between the 1960s and 2010s this paper explores whether greater flexibility is developing within Orthodoxy to address this issue. At the heart of my analysis is a recurring question regarding the role of religious authority in shaping the contours of the debate over revelation in Orthodox Judaism. The increasing recourse to notions of Mesorah (tradition), used to empower those who seek to demarcate what is and is not acceptable within Orthodoxy, highlights a battleground pivotal to determining the future trajectory of Orthodox Judaism. This article assesses certain efforts to present possible alternative approaches. The growth of Open Orthodox Judaism, a strengthening of broader post-denominationalist impulses, and changing approaches to the types of answers that are even sought for theological questions indicates how shifting approaches to interpretations of revelation reflect more extensive changes developing within Orthodoxy.
A striking feature of the debates associated with appointing a new chief rabbi in Britain at the ... more A striking feature of the debates associated with appointing a new chief rabbi in Britain at the end of the term of Emeritus Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was a clear sense of the contribution the role makes to Jewish life both in Britain and more broadly. This was widely noted, also, in the specific praise and reflection on the achievements of the outgoing chief rabbi which accompanied his retirement. On both a national and international plane, the British chief rabbinate is perceived to have acquired a wide-ranging voice and influence. The reach of the office is seen to extend both to Jewish communities outside Britain and in a British context to the wider society beyond the Jewish community. The possibility of abolishing the post and replacing it with some sort of body that could serve in its place was given only the most cursory consideration. This was despite the fact that it is a role that has its origins in nineteenth-century Victorian Britain, when it was designed under Anglican influences to serve a very different community with markedly different needs. The instinct to retain the post in its current form also ignores the fact that the chief rabbinate itself has rather limited real powers, a product of its evolutionary development rather than being a particularly clearly thought out office from the outset. Moreover, the reality of the British chief rabbinate is that notwithstanding the varied types of ‘‘success,’’ however we may choose to define this notion, that different chief rabbis have enjoyed in Britain, it has also consistently been a cause of division and disagreement—as much a source of controversy as it has been a source for leadership and representation. At the time of Jonathan, now Lord, Sacks’ appointment to the British chief rabbinate genuine hope was invested in him and his potential to exert an influence. This showed considerable optimism considering the controversies and growing religious polarization that had characterized British Jewry during the chief rabbinates of his two predecessors, Immanuel Jakobovits and Israel Brodie. Somehow there appeared in some quarters to be a genuine belief that the new incumbent possibly could be an individual gifted with the ability to invigorate the post. Someone who could bring real leadership to the
In the valedictory sermon delivered by Immanuel Jakobovits as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Co... more In the valedictory sermon delivered by Immanuel Jakobovits as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth, on the occasion of the installation of his successor, Jakobovits fixed on the theme of Moses' advice to Joshua when he was ...
... Uzi Rebhun: Demographic Issues, Part One, Historical Issues, 3: Lois Dubin: Enlightenment and... more ... Uzi Rebhun: Demographic Issues, Part One, Historical Issues, 3: Lois Dubin: Enlightenment and Emancipation, 4: Robert van Pelt: Persecution, 5: Emmanuele Ottolenghi: A National Home, Part Two, Issues of Religion and Modernity, 6: Miri Freud-Kandel: Modernist Movements ...
Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significan... more Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significant events influencing the contemporary Jewish consciousness. Yet his engagement with the theological implications of the Holocaust is notably limited. Since many of his writings are focused on issues facing those he termed "the Jew in the pew," this absence of detailed consideration of the theological questions posed by the Holocaust seems particularly perplexing.This paper considers if there is an explanation for this lacuna.
Is the British Chief Rabbinate still a viable institution? Two recently published books on Anglo-... more Is the British Chief Rabbinate still a viable institution? Two recently published books on Anglo-Jewry construct differing arguments about the influence and power of the office of chief rabbi. This paper examines the positions presented in these works and considers how ...
Yitz Greenberg and Modern Orthodoxy: The Road Not Taken , 2019
Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min ha... more Academic biblical scholarship poses multiple challenges to Orthodox Jewish belief in Torah min hashamayim — Torah from heaven. By comparing two events between the 1960s and 2010s this paper explores whether greater flexibility is developing within Orthodoxy to address this issue. At the heart of my analysis is a recurring question regarding the role of religious authority in shaping the contours of the debate over revelation in Orthodox Judaism. The increasing recourse to notions of Mesorah (tradition), used to empower those who seek to demarcate what is and is not acceptable within Orthodoxy, highlights a battleground pivotal to determining the future trajectory of Orthodox Judaism. This article assesses certain efforts to present possible alternative approaches. The growth of Open Orthodox Judaism, a strengthening of broader post-denominationalist impulses, and changing approaches to the types of answers that are even sought for theological questions indicates how shifting approaches to interpretations of revelation reflect more extensive changes developing within Orthodoxy.
Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significan... more Louis Jacobs identified the Holocaust -- and the creation of Israel -- as the two most significant events influencing the contemporary Jewish consciousness. Yet his engagement with the theological implications of the Holocaust is notably limited. Since many of his writings are focused on issues facing those he termed "the Jew in the pew," this absence of detailed consideration of the theological questions posed by the Holocaust seems particularly perplexing.This paper considers if there is an explanation for this lacuna.
Visualizing Jews Through the Ages, eds., Hannah Ewence and Helen Spurling, 2015
Orthodox Judaism seeks to promulgate a simple, grand image of revelation to help foster a type of... more Orthodox Judaism seeks to promulgate a simple, grand image of revelation to help foster a type of certainty in the teachings of Judaism. This can result in efforts to downplay the scope that exists for certain levels of debate on the nature of revelation. The popular image, reflecting a Charlton Heston-type revelatory experience at Mount Sinai, is intended to preserve an unquestionable authority for the divine teachings and commands of Torah. This paper examines the alternative approach Louis Jacobs sought to set out.
Immanuel Jakobovits established himself as a Jewish spokesman and moral guardian on a broad range... more Immanuel Jakobovits established himself as a Jewish spokesman and moral guardian on a broad range of issues. In the process, he found himself at the heart of a variety of controversies incited by his incursions into moral debates. What is striking in these controversies is how he drew criticism from a broad spectrum of society. This reflects the apparent contradiction at the heart of his theology. At times, his views appeared socially conservative. However the greatest controversies of his rabbinic career related to his views on Zionism, where he faced criticism for his apparent alignment with the liberal wings of both British and world Jewry. This paper considers whether there is a coherent theology underpinning Jakobovits' views, which helps us to explain his seemingly contradictory positions.
Pardes, Zeitschrift der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien, 2012
In certain respects the mainstream Orthodoxy Jewish community in Britain, fully engaged and integ... more In certain respects the mainstream Orthodoxy Jewish community in Britain, fully engaged and integrated into British life, appears to offer an exemplar of a Modern Orthodox Judaism. However the term minhag Anglia may be used to capture the nature of the often unsystematic blending of Jewishness and Britishness that can characterise Anglo-Jewish practice. This paper considers whether the broadly unthinking nature of minhag Anglia precludes its ability to function as a strategy for Modern Orthodox Judaism.
Sixteen scholars from around the globe gathered at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studie... more Sixteen scholars from around the globe gathered at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies in the bucolic Yarnton Manor in the Oxfordshire countryside in June 2014, for the first (now annual) Oxford Summer Institute on Modern and Contemporary Judaism. The current volume is the fruit of this encounter. The goal of the event was to facilitate in-depth engagement with the thought of Rabbi Dr. Irving "Yitz" Green-berg, concentrating particularly on the historical ramifications of his theological and public stances. Consideration was given to his lifelong and complex encounter with the Modern Orthodox stream of American Judaism and the extent to which his teachings functioned as "the road not taken." This auspicious gathering was most certainly characterized by deep appreciation for Greenberg's original outlook, which is predicated on his profound dedication to God, Torah, the Jewish people, and humanity. But this was by no means gratuitous homage or naive esteem. On the contrary, those in attendance understood that the most genuine form of admiration for a thinker and leader of his stature-especially one who continues to produce path-breaking writings and speak out publicly-is to examine rigorously and critically his ideas and legacy. We are confident that the creative process that was nurtured has resulted in a substantive contribution to research on the religious, historical, and social trajectories of contemporary Judaism, and, similarly will engender fresh thinking on crucial theological and ideological postures that will ultimately enrich Jewish life. This volume offers readers a critical engagement with the trenchant and candid efforts of one of the most thoughtful and earnest voices to emerge from within American Orthodoxy to address the theological and moral concerns that characterize our times.
Orthodox Judaism in Britain Since 1913: An Ideology Forsaken, 2006
The Jewish community in Britain provides a model of a religious minority group attempting to surv... more The Jewish community in Britain provides a model of a religious minority group attempting to survive in the midst of a host society that espouses alternative values derived either from secularism or an alternative religious system. Through an in-depth analysis of the theology of Chief Rabbi Joseph Herman Hertz, this work examines a paradigm for a strong and confident Orthodox Judaism that champions interaction in the host society. The chief rabbinates of Israel Brodie and Immanuel Jakobovits were each influenced by alternative models of Orthodoxy. This work considers the extent to which these influenced British Orthodoxy to forsake its ideology of meaningful interaction, in order to secure the religious identity of British Jews.
This edited volume provides a comprehensive and stimulating introduction to all aspects of contem... more This edited volume provides a comprehensive and stimulating introduction to all aspects of contemporary Jewish life and thought, covering social, cultural, and historical aspects of Judaism alongside theological issues. the main subject is Judaism as a religion, but this is interpreted broadly, in line with Jewish self-perception and with the realities of the situation today, which encompass avowedly secular, atheist forms of Jewish identity.
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