Judaism

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law Part 4: Social Welfare Programs

Josh March 21, 2011 Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law, Jewish Law / Halakha, Jewish Thought, Theology, and Machshava, Lectures, Podcasts, Sermons, Lectures, and Divrei Torah

In the fourth installment of his Economics and Social Justice series, Rabbi Yuter discusses the concept of charity / tzedakah in Judaism from a holistic perspective, exploring the parameters of charity in creating a just social order.

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law – Social Welfare Programs Sources (PDF)

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law – Social Welfare Programs

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Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law Part 2: Halakhic Market Controls

Josh February 28, 2011 Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law, Jewish Law / Halakha, Jewish Thought, Theology, and Machshava, Podcasts, Politics, Random Acts of Scholarship

In part 2 of the Economics and Social Justice series, Rabbi Yuter discusses some examples of market controls in Jewish Law.

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law – Halakhic Market Controls Sources (PDF)

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law – Halakhic Market Controls

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Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law Part 1: Free Market Ethics in Torah

Josh February 14, 2011 Economics, Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law, Jewish Law / Halakha, Jewish Thought, Theology, and Machshava, Podcasts, Politics, Random Acts of Scholarship, Religion, Sermons, Lectures, and Divrei Torah

Rabbi Josh Yuter begins his special lecture series on Economics and Social Justice in Judaism with an introduction to methodology and a demonstration of a free market ethos existing within the Rabbinic legal tradition. Audio and sources included.

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law Part 1 – Free Market Ethics Sources (PDF)

Economics and Social Justice in Jewish Law- Free Market Ethics in Judaism

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An Abominable Deception

Josh October 10, 2010 Jewish Law / Halakha, Jewish Thought, Theology, and Machshava

ואינו דומה שונה פרקו מאה פעמים לשונה פרקו מאה ואחד
One who studied 100 times is not comparable to one who studied 101 times. (B. Chagiga 9b)

One of the reasons Jews spend so much time reviewing the Torah is that you never know when you miss something or the new insights you can clean from viewing the same text with fresh eyes. Speaking for myself, these “aha!” moments can be truly joyous at discovering a new approach, or frustrating in the, “how could I not have seen this before” sense. Today I’d like to discuss a recent example of the latter, one which will have profound implications for how Judaism, and indeed all biblical religions, ought to relate to homosexuals.

Note: I pre-apologize if anyone has already noted what I am about to write. My intent is not to present an innovative reading, but to demonstrate how easy it is to overlook the obvious.

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Episode 3 – The Halakhot and Ethics of Universal Health Care in Torah

Josh May 4, 2010 Jewish Law / Halakha, Jewish Thought, Theology, and Machshava, Podcasts

Rabbi Josh Yuter lectures on the laws and ethics of Universal Health Care in Torah from a holistic legal and ethical perspective, independent of popular politics.

Originally delivered November 19th 2009 at Mt. Sinai Congregation in Washington Heights

The Halakhot and Ethics of Universal Health Care in Torah Sources (PDF)

Episode 3 – The Halakhot and Ethics of Universal Health Care in Torah

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Defending the Rebbitzens

Josh May 3, 2010 Jewish Culture

The recent controversy surrounding orthodox women rabbis has reignited the general debates of gender discrimination in Orthodox Judaism. Jewish law precludes women from participating in many communal functions such as counting in a minyan or serving as witnesses. Since no such law or statute prohibits women from being ordained as rabbis or rabbinic figures – either in the classical or modern sense of the term – it is understandable if some women view their exclusion from leadership positions as a form of institutional misogyny.

However Jewish society has discriminated against both men and women in leadership positions for generations, often with the communal complicity of self-identified feminists. I am referring here to the expectations and demands of the Rabbi’s wife, better known as The Rebbitzen.

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Conservative Judaism and Homosexuality: Understanding the New Debate

Josh July 30, 2008 Articles, Papers, and Publications, Jewish Law / Halakha, Jewish Thought, Theology, and Machshava

A few weeks ago I received the relieving news that my master’s thesis from the University of Chicago finally passed after several years and several attempts. The approved version was actually a draft and needed some degree of editing for typos, grammar, and a few structural changes. After mulling it over for a while and getting some positive feedback I’ve decided to post the thesis here with a few explanations.

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