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November 24, 2024

Rabbi Israel Salanter’s Re-Visioning of Orthodox Judaism

Yitz Greenberg

Yitz Greenberg

Yitz Greenberg was the founding president of CLAL- the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. He served as Rabbi of the Riverdale Jewish Center, as Associate Professor of History at Yeshiva University, and as founder, chairman and Professor in the Department of Jewish Studies of City College of the City University of New York.

Click here to access podcasts recorded by Yitz Greenberg.

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Recognizing the impending arrival of modernity and its challenge to traditional Judaism, Rabbi Israel Salanter called for a renewal movement within Orthodoxy. His vision incorporated a self-critique, a religious focus on character development, and a pedagogy designed to shift people from ritual behaviorism and conformism to internalized spirituality and an ethically committed way of life. His efforts reached a yeshiva trained elite, but not the lay masses whom he hoped to impact.

In this session, we will explore R. Salanter’s vision and legacy. Our exploration will be based on the new Koren edition (Jerusalem, May 2024) of R. Salanter’s Ohr Yisrael and Other Writings, with a new translation and commentary, by Rabbis Yitz Greenberg and Justin Pines.

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