FOSTERING A VIBRANT RENEWAL OF JUDAISM IN POLAND
She was beautiful; jealous of her husband; she wanted to have her own place under the sun. She agreed to give up a peaceful, routine life in comfortable conditions for the dangers of a nomadic life with her beloved husband, who said that he talks with God. She was a mother who wanted the best for her child, and for his good she was even ready to act with cruelty.
Since human interests have an inherent tendency to come into conflict, no society can exist without laws and law-enforcement institutions. Thanks to laws which regulate interpersonal relations and their efficient enforcement an organized and peaceful societal life is possible, which in turn contributes to the development of that society – if the law is well-considered, wise and effective.[…]
God made a world that is good but unfinished. He left his work to be completed by us people, or rather to be constantly completed in the context of changes taking place in the world. There are basically two ways of creating / changing / completing the world around us within our human capabilities: through technology, its development and application, and through the upbringing of subsequent generations.[…]
The time of Yom Kippur is the time of our confession. We confess our sins together before God as a whole community, because they are not only “our private affairs”, if only because the effects of our offenses are often felt by other people. As Jews, we have also been[…]
What are the Jewish values? Typically, when this question is raised, the following values are mentioned: devotion to live in community (Israel), education (Torah), governance of life by law (halacha), truthfulness and trustworthiness (emunah), justice and righteousness (tzedek), kindness and taking care of others (chesed), respect and dignity (kavod) and responsibility (acharayut). They all have their social and their religious dimension, and traditionally they were all put under one umbrella: belief in God. They can also be put under another umbrella: fixing up the world (tikkun haolam).[…]
I visited Poland over the last few weeks to perform my dad’s funeral and to help my mother to find herself living in new circumstances, without him. Not having a car throughout most of my four weeks’ trip I was dependent on public transportation. One day I got on the bus in Przemyśl and I went to the driver to get a ticket. I had no change in my wallet, so the driver could not sell me the ticket because[…]
