Listen to Dr. Samuel Lebens’ talk on: Religious Belief or Make Belief: Which one makes you Frum?
Click here to listen to Dr. Samuel Lebens’ talk on: Religious Belief or Make Belief: Which one makes you Frum? Which was delivered on Wednesday May 1, 2013 in Jerusalem.
Click here for handout of Dr. Samuel Lebens Lecture.
In Miscellaneous by
In the last several years many upheavals have taken place in Israel that no one could ever have imagined. These upheavals also have far-reaching consequences for Diaspora Jewry and could entirely change the situation of the Jewish people throughout the world. It is unclear where Israel and the Middle East are heading, and it will take some time before a more peaceful era will really emerge. Still, we must look beyond this. We must prepare Israel and its citizens for the time when it will become crucial to make decisions about their identity and their connection to Judaism. While that connection at this point in time is, to say the least, ambivalent, it will one day become a matter of such importance that the refusal to address it will no longer be an option. Not only will it be decisive as far as the spiritual condition of Israel is concerned, but it will actually determine whether the State of Israel will continue to exist. Much of the upheaval taking place at this hour is due to Israel's lack of a Jewish spiritual direction and imagination. It will soon become evident that the physical survival of the State of Israel will one day become so dependent on Judaism that it will be necessary to bring the great teachings of this tradition to the Jewish people in a completely different light.
In Miscellaneous by
Reprinted at the request of many who attended Limmud Conference, Warwick, UK, December 2011; Original printing in Israel’s Hebrew weekly Makor Rishon newspaper, December 2009 Don’t be shocked. But I need to be honest. I am contemplating taking off my kippah. No, do not worry. I have no intention of becoming irreligious, or even less religious. Far from it. In fact, I want to become more religious and have come to the conclusion that my kippah prevents me from doing so.
In Contemporary Issues by
Israel will not survive without Judaism, but it must be a Judaism that has liberated itself from religious and halachic stagnation caused by its mainstream rabbinical leadership. It must show its multifaceted, colorful religious and social dimensions, imbued with much encouragement, which have become the sine qua non for a modern Jewish State.