IJII

Rabbi Marc D. Angel has just come out with a new novel--THE SEARCH COMMITTEE, published by Urim Fiction. This is a powerful story about two rabbinical scholars who seek to become head of a leading Lithuanian-type yeshiva. The novel unfolds as a series of presentations to the Search Committee--by the candidates, their wives, colleagues, students, and philanthropic supporters. The struggle is not just between two men, but between two very different views of Judaism, Torah education, modernity, the role of women, and freedom of thought and expression.

Please save the morning of May 4 for a special program sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals. The event will feature Professor Benjamin Ish-Shalom, noted author and lecturer, who is head of the conversion authority established some years ago by the government of Israel. The program will include brunch, and will be from 9:30 am until noon at Congregation Shearith Israel, 8 West 70th Street, New York City. Advance reservations, at $20 per person, are required.

The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals sponsored a conference on Jews in a Non-Jewish World: Rights and Responsibilities, on Sunday March 2, 2008, at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City. Over 100 people attended the event.

Rabbi Marc D. Angel opened the morning session with a shiur/lecture on the universal vision of Judaism, and the struggles between this vision and the particularistic, sectarian strains within Jewish tradition. This was followed by break-out sessions, where participants studied texts with facilitators in a Bet Midrash type of format. The Bet Midrash sessions were organized by Alex Kaye, rabbinic intern of the Institute.