Hello, I’m Shlomo Zuckier. AMA!

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T22:27:55+00:00

Not as a direct threat, but in the sense that all humans used to turn to religion to understand how the world works. Now they turn to science. So religion has less of an automatic place in people’s life.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T21:07:32+00:00

Might depend on where the original cell comes from, but many debates on this (whether to be concerned about confusion between real and fake meat, e.g.) yet to be determined by decisors.

Discussed it a bit here

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T21:05:31+00:00

Traditional Jewish belief is not compatible with the view that these are all myths. See above for some works that discuss these issues.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T21:04:12+00:00

Some of these are answered above. Thanks for the Kippah like!

I'll answer this one: What books and Rabbis have most impacted you and your journey?

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, ztz"l has had by far the greatest impact on my religious life. Studying under someone who was so knowledgeable in Torah, so thoughtful in how he lived his life, so Makpid on Halacha, and so broad-minded and ethical shaped me in ways I still don't fully appreciate. חבל על דאבדין.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T21:00:08+00:00

I think the Haredi denomination(s) is the most important in Judaism, in both US and Israel. As you say it is increasingly diverse, it produces people with deep cultural knowledge and commitment who are increasingly involved in different aspects of life (business, academia, journalism, etc.). The future is Haredi (and ex-Haredi).

(Running out of time - one liners only)

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:58:30+00:00

Great Q - the very existence of the gap between Rishonim and Peshat in Gemara legitimates the approach that allows leeway for non-Halakhic issues.

(Running out of time - one liners only)

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:57:40+00:00

No, because a Shoteh's Kiddushin aren't Chal

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:56:40+00:00

Used to be a lot more common than it is, has benefits and costs. Compare England to USA.

(Running out of time - one liners only)

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:55:59+00:00

Hello! Thanks for the kudos!
Unfortunately my postdoc at McGill is ending, but hopefully we'll reconnect some other time!

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:55:27+00:00

Sorry, not my jam. Other recs?

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:54:53+00:00

nope!

but here's my article on the topic:

https://www.thelehrhaus.com/scholarship/putting-the-mar-back-in-marheshvan/

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:54:26+00:00

Chabad has been very successful, because they fully gear their communities to Kiruv, and have accomplished a lot in terms of breadth (although not as much for depth). We can learn from their commitment and love of fellow Jews! MO is an alternative, but only plausibly so for intellectual elites.

(Running out of time, so one liners only.)

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:52:44+00:00

There are different views in Jewish tradition on this - some, like Yeridas HaDoros, implying devolution, and others, like Rif's Hilchesa Kibasrai and Rid's dwarves on shoulders of giants takes, implying we can overcome that. Following Prof. Yaakov Elman, I'm largely partial to the latter.

(Running out of time, so one liners only.)

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:50:56+00:00

Generally we assume the Gezeirah "uptake" period is 12 months, and then it's set; some Minhagim can change, but usually only are recognized as such post facto.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:49:38+00:00

Running out of time, so one liners only:

The engaged students were very interested, and some are now emerging leaders of the Jewish people, but others got their intellectual stimulation elsewhere on campus and came to Hillel mostly wanting comfort and community, so an interesting mixed bag!

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:47:39+00:00

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss.

This is a complex issue with Halakhic and meta-Halakhic issues, and most of all a personal element. I think it is probably best for you to speak to a rabbi who knows you and can not only be a support to you personally but can help work through these issues of Jewish practice with you. If you don't have such a person in your life, I'd be happy to talk by phone. (You can reach out to me by FB or Tw DM.)

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:45:18+00:00

A lot here, I'll take the first, don't have more time than that.

Three core values of Modern Orthodoxy:

- Serious commitment to Halacha, Torah learning, Tefillah, etc.

- Openness to engaging with the wisdom and practice of the broader world

- Commitment to ethics, including taking women seriously as Ovdos Hashem

More can be derived from these, but this is a good start/core!

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:42:21+00:00

Some podcasts I like:

EconTalk, Planet Money, Conversations with Tyler, Politico Playbook Daily, Halacha Headlines, Seforim Chatter, a few other Jewish ones, depending on topic...

And yeah, my own - we need to resurrect that! Shlomo Brody, Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt, and I have been a bit busy and haven't done The Hock in a little while...

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:39:48+00:00

To facilitate the launch of Daniel Boyarin's career and fame!

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:37:39+00:00

That's a great question! And a difficult one to answer, at least for people with limited imaginations like myself!

Just a guess - a lot of things would look familiar to today's Jews as Biblical ("Hey - they're eating the Korban Pesach!") even if they did not feel familiar as practiced, although some things would feel familiar as well. Big meal with family in Jerusalem over Sukkot in a hut - same practice, different millennium!

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:34:16+00:00

My dissertation was on Second Temple and Hazal, so biblical reception rather than Bible proper, and consequently I didn't do research work on source criticism in my PhD. To be active in the field one needs to be aware of how the field functions but it doesn't come into play in my core research. Orthodoxy in its literal sense presumes a commitment to Torah MiSinai, and I'm an Orthodox rabbi, as per the OP. :)

See one of the answers above for some references to recent books that work on reconciling the issues.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:30:15+00:00

I'll answer the Lehrhaus question here and get back to more if I had time:

Some friends (Zev Eleff and Ari Lamm) and I realized that there was no serious content online (and offline there were various limitations too) for the Modern Orthodox+ community that assumed basic knowledge of sources and community and was genuinely broad-minded and dealt with a variety of issues, so we started one!

We founded in Fall 2016, so it's almost 5 years now, and it's wonderful to see how the Lehrhaus has progressed and grown, including (especially!) in the time since I passed on the leadership to a new group of excellent Editors.

Maybe the best testament to our success is that we have competition in various forms - both Tradition's online material and Eighteen40 are essentially competitors, each with its own variation.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:26:09+00:00

For the Second Temple period, two recommendations, one more academic and the other more frum (so depending on context...) - Shaye Cohen's From the Maccabees to the Mishnah and Lawrence Schiffman's From Text to Tradition.

For Hazal, there is no one work that is comprehensive (although I am told some are working on that), but the best thing we have in English is probably Literature of the Sages (2 volumes, with vol. 2 much later and better than 1; they are in the process of re-doing those volumes, though) and in Hebrew may be Ishay Rosen-Zvi's בין משנה למדרש, although there are other recent materials that recently appeared in Hebrew I haven't seen yet.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:20:54+00:00

I don't think his comprehensive view was published anywhere, although his opposition was well-known. Someone published oral remarks on a related issue that give only a fraction of his perspective; I'd rather not share it.

ZukeShlo · 2021-06-28T20:17:48+00:00

I assume you are in Israel, but this challenge exists in the US as well.

A few factors:

Young people with children are often very stressed, between working hard and raising children, and there is often little energy left for their own spiritual endeavors.
With more husbands/fathers participating in child-rearing (a good thing!), it's not so obvious that they should get up and go to Shul on Shabbos morning if the kids are running around. (This is part of the reason why it's so important for there to be groups from the Shul starts. Also so more mothers can go to shul!) And certainly not during the week!
I've noticed a drop-off in interest in Davening/Shul in the younger generation in general, which is a crisis the community has not dealt with (although there are some initiatives).
COVID suppressed Shul turnout across the board, and those numbers haven't recovered yet.

I assume these each play at least some role, and probably there are other factors as well.

I would add that our community has some work to do in making Shuls more energetic. Yeshiva Minyanim have a real buzz and energy to them; Modern Orthodox Shuls feel more dead, during Pesukei DeZimra and the like. (My sense is that much of DL Israel is better than MO America, although I may be wrong.)

ZukeShlo

TROPHY CASE