by RABBI LEON A. MORRIS, From Jewish Theology in Our Time FORMULATING A THEOLOGY for the twenty-first century requires far more modesty than earlier theological writings seemed to acknowledge. In the medieval period, theologians spelled out the minute details of correct belief with a confidence built around sets of proofs for the existence of God, for … Read more
First published in The Jewish Week The British Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that it is illegal for a state-sponsored Jewish school to base its admission policy on whether one’s mother is Jewish. The case involved a 12-year-old boy whose father was born Jewish and whose mother was converted to Judaism by a Progressive (one of … Read more
Nothing lasts forever. Upon resolving to build the Temple, Solomon sends a message to King Huram of Tyre requesting wood and additional craftsmen. He writes about dedicating a House in the name of God, “as is Israel’s duty forever.” (II Chronicles 2:3) The rabbis, in the aftermath of the Temple’s destruction, are faced with the … Read more
To the Editor: Jack Wertheimer’s most perceptive observation is that the question of whether “American Reform [was] built upon a structured ideology” or “primarily reflect[ed] a series of pragmatic adjustments to the shifting scene” continues to reverberate. For the past several decades, Reform Jews have championed the centrality of “personal choice” in one’s approach to … Read more
Scott Korb & Rabbi Leon A Morris The Baltimore Sun It’s been nearly 30 years since author Anne Rolphe reflected on her family’s Christmas tree in The New York Times with the essay “Christmas Comes to a Jewish Home.” Rolphe’s December 1978 essay elicited a strong reaction from many Jews who rightfully objected to the ways … Read more
There has been a new development in the Reform movement of Judaism, the largest and most liberal branch of Judaism in the U.S. There’s a new prayer book out, and it has been designed to be useful to everyone, with more Hebrew for those who want that, and also more sensitivity to women and to contemporary values.
Watch this report featuring Rabbi Leon Morris here. You can also read the transcript below.
Rabbi Leon Morris NEW YORK (JTA) – The forthcoming publication of Mishkan T’filah, the first new Reform prayer book in 30 years, reminded me of these words by Abraham Joshua Heschel in “Man’s Quest for God”: “The crisis of prayer is not a problem of the text. It is a problem of the soul,” Heschel … Read more
Walking in Jerusalem, a precarious experience, as size dictates right of way There is nothing more meaningful to me than walking the streets of Jerusalem. This has been a city of pedestrians for millennia. Omdot yahu ragleinu b’shaarayich Yerushalayim – “Our feet are standing at your gates, O Jerusalem” (Psalm 122.) While walking the city … Read more
April 2006 Scott M. Korb a Roman Catholic from Brooklyn, NY, is co-author with Peter Bebergal, of “The Faith Between Us,” forthcoming from Bloomsbury Rabbi Leon A. Morris is director of the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Temple Emanu-El in NYC. In the Book of Exodus, after hearing God’s own voice, and with Moses up … Read more
In a time when many violent acts are made in the name of religion, what does it mean to be one of the faithful? Rabbi Leon Morris and Scott Korb, a Roman Catholic, help Scott Simon sort it out.
Listen to the discussion featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition here.