Author Archives: alreguelajat

Erich Seligmann Fromm (1900-1980) was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to an Orthodox family descended from rabbis. As a young man, he studied Talmud with several teachers, including Rabbi Salman Baruch Rabinkow, a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic group. He studied … Seguir leyendo →

It is common to read in the media the results of surveys conducted by prestigious institutions such as PEW, PRRI, Brandeis University, and others to find out how members of a particular community identify as Jewish. These studies are routinely … Seguir leyendo →

Peretz Smolenskin (1842-1885) was born in Monstriczena, Belarus, to a poor family. He was orphaned by his father and also experienced the kidnapping of his older brother by the army of Tsar Nicholas I, events that marked his childhood. At … Seguir leyendo →

Every morning, during the Shacharit prayer, 14 blessings known as Birkot Hashachar, the morning blessings, are recited. In the version prayed by Orthodox Jews, there is a blessing where men thank God for not having made them women. Orthodox women, … Seguir leyendo →

The minyan is the quorum of ten Jewish adults required to fulfill certain religious obligations. The requirement to have a minyan is not stipulated as such in the Torah. It is a halachic rule established by the rabbis, who deduced … Seguir leyendo →

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was born in Warsaw into a distinguished family of Hasidic rabbis. He received his first smicha (rabbinical degree) from an Orthodox yeshivah in Poland and his second from a liberal rabbinical seminary in Germany. He escaped … Seguir leyendo →

It is written in Exodus 19:17: “And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the foot of Mount Sinai.” But in the Gemara, in Shabbat 88a, the rabbis explain it this … Seguir leyendo →

Gerhard Scholem (1897-1982) was born in Berlin to a Jewish family assimilated into German culture. His father, Arthur Scholem, opposed his son’s desire to study Jewish subjects, but thanks to the support of his mother, Betty Hirsch Scholem, he was … Seguir leyendo →

Mordechai Kaplan, one of the great Jewish figures of the 20th century, said that every Jew could express their Judaism through what, in English, are the three «B’s»: belong, behave, and believe. Belonging is the most common way of identifying … Seguir leyendo →

Kalonymus Kalman Szapiro (1889-1943) was born in Grodzisk, Poland, into a family of great rabbis. He was orphaned at the age of 3, and it was his mother, Hannah Berkhaha, who instilled in him a love for his Hasidic roots. … Seguir leyendo →