The book is a potpourri of sundry topics penned by R. Angel, most of which I enjoyed reading.
R. Angel — one of the book’s topics is Minhagim: Divinity and Diversity in which he discusses “Jewish” names, including his surname — considers how American Sefardim (and Mizrahim) interact with the Israeli chief rabbinate and how American orthodox are being forced (my word) into haridism — extremism.
Because R. Angel and this scrivener often are of the same opinion, I find a lot to appreciate in his works.
The rabbi founded the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals1 in 2007 and has been its director since. Before the institute he was, from 1969 to 2007, rabbi at the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue in New York City2. He now is “Rabbi Emeritus”; R. Meir Y. Soloveichik3 is the congregations current rabbi.
R. Angel is more “modern orthodox” than Sephardi/Mizrachi, although the influences from his Turkish and Rhodes forebears play a major role in his books and talks. (Likewise, the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue is more “modern orthodox” than either Spanish or Portuguese.)
A true Sephardi will recognize the rabbi’s trials and tribulations growing up among Ashkenazi Jews who cannot comprehend any minhag except their own. Tzit-tzit in or out? Standing or sitting for the “Big 10”? (The answer is “When in Rome . . .” )
This scrivener is a member of a Sefardi-dominated mixed minyan where most of the Ashkenazi members follow the Sefardi practice. I’m certain they follow Ashkenazi practices when in Ashkenazi congregations, as they should.
One of R. Angel’s oft-quoted sources is former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel R. Benzion Uziel. He notes differences between both R. Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, and the late R. Ovadia Yosef, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983.
R. Uziel, according to R. Angel, always tried to find ways to include all Israelis in the building of the state. Where R. Kook was stringent, R. Uziel tried to find a way to accommodate everyone. R. Yusef Messas was another Sephardi (Moroccan) rabbi that earned R. Angel’s respect sufficient to mention by name in Conversations.
The book includes a fairly lengthy chapter on gerut — conversions.
R. Angle looks at conversions throughout history and concludes that the harideem in Israel have high jacked the process not only in Israel but in the galut as well.
A chapter is dedicated to another of the rabbi’s favorites, R. Jos. B. Soloveichik, referred to simply as “the Rav.”
Still another chapter is set aside to discuss modesty, “tseniut.” (Spelling is from the book.) The Babylonian amora, Rav Sheshet,4 is noted for suggesting that any man who gazes at a woman’s little finger it was though he was gazing at her private parts. Sheshet, known to be irascible, also said a woman’s hair is ervah (immodest). All of Sheshet’s comments might be taken with the proverbial “grain of salt”; Sheshet was blind and could see neither a woman’s little finger nor her hair.
The Institute’s web site is one I bookmarked for frequent visits.
Sources
1. Institute: https://www.jewishideas.org/
2. Spanish & Portuguese congregation: https://tinyurl.com/vk2venl
3. R. Soloveichik: https://tinyurl.com/rnea52t
4. R. Sheshet: https://tinyurl.com/szab452
PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.
Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.
Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.
