Interviews

Kol Hamevaser War and Peace Interview- R. Aharon Lichtenstein

By Rabbi Dov Karoll | Comment ()
Kol Hamevaser asked R. Aharon Lichtenstein to present a Jewish perspective on the morality of war. The following is his discourse on the subject, transcribed by R. Dov Karoll of Alon Shevut.   If one is to deal with the issue of war, there are two primary axes which need to be taken into ... Read more →

An Interview with Rabbi Yosef Adler

By Ariel Caplan | Comment ()
AC: You function both as an educator/administrator in a flourishing yeshivah high school, the Torah Academy of Bergen County (TABC), and as the rabbi of the relatively large Congregation Rinat Yisrael. Both of these sound like daunting commitments; together they are undoubtedly difficult to ... Read more →

An Interview with President Richard M. Joel

By Shlomo Zuckier | Comment ()
SZ: Can you describe your career trajectory- how you went from a career in law to a career in Jewish leadership? RJ: I can’t really say whether I ever had a career trajectory, and I’m not sure if I have a career in Jewish leadership.  I often tell people that I am in no way [...]

An Interview with Mrs. Mali Brofsky

By Sarit Bendavid | Comment ()
What would you say are the basic goals of the shanah ba-arets for American students?   I think the age at which people embark on this shanah alef experience is really a time of self-development and identity formation, and the year gives people an opportunity to think seriously about the ... Read more →

An Interview with R. Daniel Rapp

By Staff | Comment ()
In your opinion, what is the most important impact that the year in Israel has had on the Jewish community in the Diaspora?   In my opinion, the biggest impact is that members of our community recognize the value of full-time learning.  I think the key to the year in Israel is that we ... Read more →

An Interview with R. Dr. Shalom Berger

By Shlomo Zuckier | Comment ()
Please provide a brief history of shanah ba-arets programs and their development from their inception until now. Students have been traveling from the Diaspora to learn in Israel from time immemorial. I think that a good example is the story where Rabbi Ze’ira avoided Rav Yehudah, who wanted ... Read more →

An Interview with Rabbi Moshe Kahn

By Ilana Gadish | Comment ()
BY: Ilana Gadish. How would you describe your approach towards teaching Talmud? What are your goals when you tackle a sugya? The first thing that I would want to emphasize is that the goal of teaching Talmud, or teaching anything, is to teach students how to learn. I think sometimes that gets ... Read more →

Interview with Rabbi Eli Baruch Shulman

By Staff | Comment ()
BY: Staff. When you approach a sugya, what are your goals and what steps do you take in order to achieve them? The first thing that I want to do when I learn a sugya is get a handle on the tsurasa di-shema’atesa, the structure of the sugya. “Sugya” in this context may mean the [...]

An Interview with Rabbi Robert Hirt

By Jonathan Ziring | Comment ()
BY: Jonathan Ziring. Can you provide a basic history of the Orthodox Forum over the last twenty years? The Forum was started in 1989, and we are now in our twenty-first year.  The objective was to expose the yeshivah- and college-educated graduate, not just the Yeshiva University graduate, to ... Read more →

An Interview with R. Yuval Cherlow

By Sarit Bendavid | Comment ()
BY: Sarit Bendavid You are one of the founders of the Tzohar Foundation, an organization dedicated to enhancing unity and Jewish identity in Israel. Can you tell us more about some of Tzohar’s activities and what some of the results of its efforts have been? Tzohar was established immediately ... Read more →

An Interview with Rabbi Hershel Schachter

By Jonathan Ziring | Comment ()
BY: Jonathan Ziring You are on the Rabbinical Council of America’s board on gerut (conversion). Can you briefly describe what the RCA’s policies are? Under what circumstances was the RCA’s policy on gerut formulated? Did they relate to circumstances in Israel? I was not involved in the ... Read more →

An Interview with Rabbi Dr. Moshe D. Tendler

By Shaul Seidler-Feller | Comment ()
An Interview with Rabbi Dr. Moshe D. Tendler BY: Shaul Seidler-Feller. What was Orthodox Judaism like in the early part of the 20th century in America? What were the difficulties and/or opportunities presented to Jews coming over to the U.S. from Europe? I grew up in a small, isolated, ... Read more →

An Interview with Rabbi Hershel Schachter

By Staff | Comment ()
An Interview with Rabbi Hershel Schachter BY: Staff   Who is qualified to give a pesak Halakhah (halakhic ruling)? What makes his ruling binding upon a large group of people? To give an original pesak on a new she’eilah (halachic question) or a hachra’ah (decision) on an old ... Read more →

An Interview with Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

By Shlomo Zuckier | Comment ()
  An Interview with Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks BY: Shlomo Zuckier   As Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, how is your role different from that of an ordinary rabbi? It means that I have to look after the welfare of all the congregations under my aegis in ... Read more →