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B’OR HA’TORAH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, LIFE AND ART IN THE LIGHT OF THE TORAH
A peer-reviewed journal on the interrelationship of Judaism, science and technology, psychology, the arts, and social issues, B’Or Ha’Torah illuminates a range of topics from the cosmology and ecology of Genesis; the creation ex nihilo vs. evolution and faith vs. reason debates; the views of halakhah (Jewish law) on stem cell research and genetic engineering; and the soul-mind-brain-memory-body connection. Rabbis and religious Jews with no science background as well as professionals in all fields with no Torah background can enjoy this inspiring publication in hardcopy and digital formats.
To receive a free PDF file of an individual article, send the author, title, and volume number to:
bht@jct.ac.il
This offer is limited to three articles.
Rabbi Professor Moshe Dovid Tendler
The focus of this paper is to analyze the many research studies on the interrelationship of genes and traits of moral behavior. The claims of genetically predetermined behavior present a dramatic challenge to our fundamental theological axiom that humankind was granted free will by our Creator. Genetically predetermined behavior also challenges the secular legal system, which assigns personal responsibility for actions only if they are done voluntarily, without coercion. If genes are implicated as coercive forces in such behavioral traits as aggressiveness, drug addiction, and sexual orientation, how can any system of reward and punishment be operative?
An analysis of biblical and postbiblical literature will be presented to elucidate this dilemma.
Professor Marvin Gold
The genetic expression of a small number of the 30,000 or so genes in human cells is not derived from both inherited parental chromosomes, but is exclusively expressed from either the maternal or the paternal partner. This process, whereby only one version of a gene is expressed, depending on whether it was passed on to the fetus through the egg or the sperm, is called genetic imprinting. Imprinting is a reversible modification of DNA that can lead to differential expression of maternally or paternally inherited genes. Since this process adds additional information to the DNA sequence, it has been called “epigenetics” (epi=on). Our Sages described genetic imprinting a long time ago when they revealed the source of some human characteristics as coming directly from God, others from the father, and others from the mother. We now understand how this differentiation works.
There are two proposed mechanisms for the differentiation, each backed by experimental evidence: the postreplicative methylation of specific DNA cytosine residues; and post-translational modification of histones. It is not yet clear if these mechanisms are universal. The hidden fingerprints of the God are thus found in the pattern of human development at the molecular level.
Professor Miryam Z. Wahrman
Scientists are now able to manipulate the traits of plants and animals to produce genetically modified (GM) organisms with novel features. The successful production of GM fish, pigs, and other species leads to the speculation that genetic engineering could alter previously nonkosher species, transforming them into kosher species. In addition, might plants or animals genetically altered with DNA from nonkosher animals be rendered unkosher? Does genetic engineering provide a way to produce kosher pork and treife tomatoes? Would plants genetically engineered with animal DNA lose their neutral pareve status? Is it permissible under Jewish law to alter species and produce barnyards, ponds and fields filled with GM animals and plants? These questions will be addressed by considering rabbinic and talmudic perspectives on issues involved in genetic engineering. The principles of kilayim (forbidden mixtures); V’rappo yirappe (“Heal, he shall heal”); and tsaar baaley hayyim (concern for the suffering of animals) will be addressed.
Professor Fred Rosner MD, FACP
This paper will discuss the medical writings of Moses Maimonides and his practice of medicine. He stands out as one of the most illustrious physicians of all times. Maimonides died on December 13, 1204, and was buried in Tiberias. The Jewish, Christian, and Moslem worlds mourned him. His literary ability was incredible, and his knowledge encyclopedic. He mastered nearly everything known in the fields of theology, mathematics, law, philosophy, astronomy, ethics, and, of course, medicine. As a physician, he treated disease by the scientific method, not by guesswork, superstition, or rule of thumb. His attitude toward the practice of medicine came from his deep religious background, which made the preservation of life and health a Divine commandment. His inspiration lives on through the years, and his position as one of the medical giants of history is indelibly recorded. He served as the physician of sultans and princes, and, as Sir William Osler said, was the “Prince of Physicians.” The heritage of his great medical writings is increasingly appreciated. To the Jewish people, Maimonides symbolizes the highest possible human spiritual and intellectual achievement.
Yakir Kaufman, MD
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), through advances in research technologies, has shown that the mind affects the body. We now know that different states of mind have an effect on our health. “Negative” states of mind, such as stress, anger, anxiety, and sadness, impair immune and endocrine system functions and thus increase risk for disease. On the other hand, numerous studies have shown that “positive” states of mind, stress reduction and higher well-being levels all reduce risk for disease.
We live in an exciting period in which advances in scientific knowledge are bridging a conceptual gap between science and spirituality and religiosity. This gap was caused by decades of alienation and conflict. Science increasingly acknowledges the significance of spirituality and religion in our health and lives. Scientists now are presenting a large body of research data in this growing field. Studies show that spirituality and religiosity have beneficial effects on mental and physical health and reduce morbidity and mortality in many diseases.
The World Health Organization defines health as a complete state of physical, social and psychospiritual well-being. Spirituality and religiosity enhance all three of these components of health.
Rabbi Aaron Eli Glatt, MD
End stage cirrhosis—liver failure—secondary to many different etiologies or illnesses is a major cause of death. Cadaveric liver donations do not suffice to meet the current transplantation needs, and hence alternative options are necessary. The adult liver can regenerate, and modern surgical techniques have progressed to the stage where the donation and transplantation of part of a living donor’s liver to another person is technologically feasible. Numerous medical, ethical, and halakhic issues are raised by this procedure. Is this surgery comparable to blood donation, or bone marrow, kidney or other tissue transplants taken from a live donor? What is the true risk to the donor? Under what, if any, circumstances is any living donor bequest permitted? Is one required to donate if this will save a life? Does it matter if the recipient is a child or an adult? A relative or a friend? Using halakhic sources, we shall explore potential answers of Jewish law to these and related questions.
Rabbi Abraham Twerski, MD
Repeated studies leave little doubt that prayer has a salutary effect on recovery from illness. What is not as clear is the mechanism whereby this effect occurs.
Religionists have no problem in attributing the effect of prayer to Divine benevolence, God’s responding to prayer. They struggle, however, with the problem of how a person’s prayer can cause God to act differently than He would have without the prayer. It is a tenet of faith that God does not undergo any change.
Those who do not ascribe to Divine intervention say that the serenity and reassurance brought about by prayer are responsible for its effects. That emotions can affect disease and recovery is no longer debatable, and the mechanism whereby this occurs has essentially been elucidated. The effect of others praying for the patient can be similarly explained. However, the studies that show salutary effects of prayers for a patient even when the patient is unaware that he is being prayed for are more difficult to explain.
Pamela Elfenbein, PhD, MSW Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar
The Shul of Bal Harbour, under the direction of Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, conducts a program of service and prayer to enable residents of the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged to experience healing by discovering their uniqueness and potentiality at the end of their lives. We shall discuss the project rationale from both secular and religious orientations and give an overview of the project and some case examples.
Robert Bergman, MD
Family, work, and community provide meaning to a person’s life. How can we try to preserve an uprooted elder’s sense of meaning on his or her difficult day of moving into an assisted-living facility or a nursing home? A ritual called the New Horizon has been developed at the Miami Jewish Home to help the new resident experience meaning and continuity during the transition.
Aaron Rabinowitz, PhD
Our sages teach that the unity of God is the cardinal principle of Jewish theology. This idea is articulated most clearly by Rabbi Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto (Ramhal), who explains that God wishes to be accepted and crowned by beings who willingly and freely choose to do so. This is the reason for creation and the meaning of history. But how can evil exist alongside this unity?
This paper explores the human role in this unfolding drama. What is the relevance of unity and duality in understanding the human personality? Is there a basic core to the human personality that dictates behavior, or are human actors forever changing character in response to the pressures of the moment? Psychologists are divided over this question.
The Jewish point of view postulates a good and evil inclination, a divine and an animal soul struggling to dominate each person. The models of the Kabbalah, the Gaon of Vilna, Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin, the Alter Rebbe, and the Ramhal will be discussed.
Professor Menachem Kovacs
The Maharal of Prague analyzed the dominant traits of the five major civilizations in which the Jewish people were exiled: Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Although these cultures have disintegrated, their dominant traits are found in the ersatz attempts of secular Western societies to reach transcendence. The persecuted, lonely faithful Jew knows that true transcendence can be reached only by obeying the will of God.
Professor Samuel W. Spero
In this paper the experiments that have been conducted by the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Project will be described. These experiments have demonstrated that human consciousness can affect the random nature of certain physical devices. To explain these anomalous phenomena, the scientists associated with these experiments have introduced the concept of a consciousness field. These experiments can help us understand something about the mechanism of prayer and how we might do it more effectively. We shall describe their results and how these relate to the Jewish laws on formal and informal prayer, as well as the laws of communal prayer, and the concept of a minyan (prayer quorum).
Professor Gloria Pollack
Bittul ha’yesh (self-nullification) is a teaching prominent and integral to Judaism, its literature, and its philosophy from biblical to modern times. The Sfat Emet stated, “the foundation for everything is bittul [submission] to the Creator.”
I hope to briefly demonstrate the pervasiveness of self-nullification in Jewish thought: how it originated in the Bible and in the Oral Law, is prominent in rabbinic Judaism, mysticism, and Hasidism, and, lately, in contemporary scholarship. In the process, an attempt is made to unravel the many facets and paradoxes of this concept.
Seymour Hoffman, PhD
The Torah forbids talebearing, and the Hafets Hayyim says that gossiping about other people—even if what is said is true—may cause the speaker and the listener to transgress thirty-one commandments. The Sages of the Talmud consider gossiping a sin equivalent to idolatry, murder, and prohibited sexual relations. Nevertheless, who doesn’t suffer from the urge to gossip?
We present a suggestion based on a literary discussion group in Hungary of women who sublimated their urge to gossip by analyzing the characters in books they read. This could serve as a model for other groups to meet and discuss literature. This would extend the observation of the wife of Rabbi Nahman that “for everything prohibited by the Torah, there is something similar to it that is permitted”(Talmud Hulin 109b).
Rabbi Professor Moshe Dovid Tendler, noted authority on medical ethics and the relationship of medicine and science to Jewish law, is rosh yeshivah at the Yeshiva University affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and professor of biology at Yeshiva College, and he holds the Rabbi Isaac and Bella Tendler Chair in Jewish Medical Ethics at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Tendler was ordained at RIETS in 1949 and received Yadin Yadin in 1953 from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, of righteous memory. He earned a PhD in biology from Columbia University in 1957. He has served on the Medical Ethics Task Force of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, for which he edited the Compendium of Medical Ethics. For nine years he served as its chairman. For decades he chaired the Bioethical Commission of the Rabbinical Council of America. A former president of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and current member of its board, Rabbi Tendler is the author of Pardes Rimonim (a text on Jewish family life); coauthor with Professor Fred Rosner, MD, of Practical Medical Halachah, a primer for physicians; and author of Care of the Critically Ill — Responsa of Rav Moshe Feinstein, as well as many articles on science and religion in leading publications. He is frequently consulted by the media and public officials on ethical issues.
Marvin Gold, PhD, is a professor emeritus of the Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Graduate Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Born and raised in Toronto, from the age of four he attended the Eitz Chaim Talmud Torah and then Yeshiva Ha’Maharil Grobart.
After studying biochemistry at the University of Toronto, he completed experiments on the effect of x-radiation on dna replication in mammalian cells, for which he received a doctorate in biophysics. After postdoctoral studies at New York University, he became an assistant professor of molecular biology at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine. In 1967 he returned to the University of Toronto as a member of the department of Medical Biophysics and later, the departments of Medical Genetics and Microbiology.
Professor Gold has published over one hundred papers, including his discovery of the enzymatic methylation of dna in bacteria and bacterial viruses. He also made key findings in elucidating the biochemistry of bacteriophage morphogenesis, which were instrumental in the development of in vitro vectors for gene cloning and dna library formation. At the end of his active career, he devoted his time to solving the mystery of atomic structure of proteins in solution. He was able to use site-directed mutagenesis to engineer enzymes important in metabolism and also for industry. A lifelong student of Talmud and halakhah, Professor Gold started his immersion into Habad Hasidism only in 1979, when he spent a year in Boston as a visiting scientist at mit. Professor Gold and his wife, Miriam, have five children, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He has been active in several synagogues as a Torah reader, teacher, and gabbai. He currently conducts several hevruta study partnerships in Talmud, halakhah and Hasidism. Professor Gold received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Dovid Shoichet of Toronto.
marvin.gold@utoronto.ca
Miryam Z. Wahrman is professor of biology, director of general education, and co-director of the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at William Paterson University of New Jersey where she has also served as chair of the department of biology and chair of the faculty senate.
Wahrman’s book, Brave New Judaism: When Science and Scripture Collide, (University Press of New England/Brandeis University Press, 2002; paperback edition, 2004), has received many accolades, including a starred review (awarded for book of outstanding quality) from Publishers Weekly. Wahrman is also an award-winning journalist; she has been science correspondent for the New Jersey Jewish Standard and Jewish Community News for the past ten years.
Professor Wahrman has published in the areas of bioethics, reproductive biology, cancer, genetic engineering and biotechnology and is co-author of a laboratory manual that has been reprinted in five editions. She has lectured widely and has presented papers at numerous professional and scientific conferences such as the American Association for Advancement of Science, International Congress of Cell Biology, American Association for Cancer Research, International Conference on Differentiation, Conference of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance, Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and the Miami International Conferences on Torah and Science.
After graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Hunter College of City University of New York, Wahrman completed a PhD in biochemistry at Cornell University. She worked as associate researcher at Sloan-Kettering Institute; postdoctoral associate at Cornell University; guest investigator at Rockefeller University; and instructor, department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. At Mount Sinai, Wahrman was a member of the in vitro fertilization team that produced the first test-tube baby in New York State. She has published over a hundred thirty articles on topics in science and health for the Jewish press throughout North America and Germany, including dozens of articles on the interface of bioethics with Jewish life and halakhah (law).
Professor Fred Rosner, MD, MACP is the former director of the Department of Medicine of Mount Sinai’s Queens Hospital Center in Jamaica, New York, and professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He was also visiting professor of medicine at his alma mater, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and is board certified in his specialty of hematology. Among his many awards are the American Medical Association’s Isaac Hays, MD, and John Bell, MD, Award for “Leadership in Ethics and Professionalism;” the Bernard Revel Memorial Award from the Yeshiva College Alumni Association for “Distinguished Achievement in the Arts & Sciences;” and the Lawrence D. Redway Award for Excellence in Medical Writing from the Medical Society of New York.
Listed in a number of prestigious Who’s Who publications, Dr. Rosner has been an international authority, visiting professor, and lecturer on medical ethics. He is a member of the professional advisory board of the Kennedy Institute for Ethics of Georgetown University. He is the founding and former chairman of the Medical Ethics Committee of the Medical Society of the State of New York, and former cochairman of the Medical Ethics Committee of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York as well as coeditor of its popular Compendium on Medical Ethics.
Dr. Rosner reviews manuscripts for nineteen professional medical journals and serves on the editorial board of three of them. He has published thirty-eight books, written chapters by invitation in several dozen books, and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Judaica and the Encyclopedia of Bioethics. His bibliography has nearly one thousand items. He is author of eight widely acclaimed books on Jewish medical ethics, including Modern Medicine and Jewish Ethics (Ktav, 1991); Medicine and Jewish Law I, II and III (Jason Aronson, 1990 and 1993); Pioneers in Jewish Medical Ethics (Jason Aronson, 1997); and Biomedical Ethics and Jewish Law (Ktav, 2001). Other books include: an English translation of Julius Preuss’s classical reference work, Biblical and Talmudic Medicine (reprinted in 1993); and the Encyclopedia of Medicine in the Bible and the Talmud (Jason Aronson, 2000). Dr. Rosner translated Avraham Steinberg’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics, published by Feldheim in 2003. A world authority on Maimonides, Dr. Rosner is the translator and editor of Moses Maimonides’ Medical Writings (seven volumes, published by the Maimonides Research Institute, Haifa); A Medical Encyclopedia of Moses Maimonides (Jason Aronson, 1998); and The Medical Legacy of Moses Maimonides (Ktav, 1998).
Yakir Kaufman was born in Haifa and received his MD from the Hebrew University Hadassah Faculty of Medicine in 1994. In 1995 he became a resident doctor at the Department of Neurology of the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem. Dr. Kaufman is a member of the Israel Neurological Association and the Israel Integrative Medicine Society. He spent two years in Toronto, Canada, as a Fellow in the Behavioural Neurology Program at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and the Rotman Institute. Since his return to Jerusalem in 2004, he has joined the medical staff of Herzog Memorial Hospital (now called the Herzog Integrative Medical Center), where he heads the department of Neuropsychogeriatrics and has founded the Brain Health Center, which combines conventional and complementary medicine, using also a spiritual approach, placing the patient at the center of the healing process. In addition to teaching medicine with an integrative approach at the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Dr. Kaufman founded and heads the spiritual support program for patients and caregivers at Herzog Hospital. He is a member of the steering committee of the Israeli Network of the Jewish Spiritual Support Organizations. His research on behavioral neurology focuses on psychoneuroimmunology (PNI—the science linking body and mind) and the link between spirituality and health.
Rabbi Aaron Eli Glatt, MD, is the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Anshei Chesed (South Shore) in Hewlett, NY and Assistant to the Rabbi at the Young Israel of Woodmere. In his third cycle of teaching the Daf Yomi daily Talmud class, he also gives a weekly Talmud in-depth lesson, daily halakhah reviews, and other classes. He received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Wosner at Machon LeTorah Vehora’ah. An international lecturer on medical halakhic issues, Rabbi Dr. Glatt has recently published a popular down-to-earth advice book, Visiting the Sick: A Halachic and Medical Guide (ArtScroll, 2006). He also wrote Women in the Talmud, published by the Orthodox Union. Both books are available at www.artscroll.com.
Rabbi Glatt is currently president/chief executive officer of New Island Hospital in Bethpage, NY, where he was chief medical officer from 2005-2006. He is a full professor of clinical medicine (and former associate dean) at New York Medical College. From 2003-2005 he was medical director of Mercy Ambulatory Care Center and chairman of the department of medicine at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center in the Bronx. Prior to that, he served as director of graduate medical education, chief of the division of infectious diseases, and chairman of infection control at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Centers for over a decade.
The author of 200 scientific journal articles and presentations at national meetings, and an internationally known medical lecturer, Dr. Glatt was a guest editor of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of North America and infectious diseases editor of Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary. In addition, he has served on the editorial boards of major publications, is a reviewer for many prestigious journals, and has served on many government, hospital, medical school, and local public health committees. An internationally invited scholar-in-residence and speaker on Jewish and medical subjects, Rabbi Dr. Glatt innovated a course at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine entitled “Faith and Medicine: An Oxymoron?”
Rabbi Avraham J. Twerski, MD is the founder and medical director emeritus of Gateway Rehabilitation Center, a not-for-profit drug and alcohol treatment system in western Pennsylvania. Gateway was cited as one of the twelve best drug and alcohol treatment centers by Forbes magazine and as one of the top one-hundred rehab centers in the guide, The 100 Best Treatment Centers for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
Rabbi Twerski held a pulpit until 1959, when he graduated from Marquette University Medical School and then completed psychiatric residency at the University of Pittsburgh Western Psychiatric Institute. For twenty years, he served as clinical director of the Department of Psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh. Currently, he is associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
A frequent guest on international radio and television, Rabbi Twerski has written over thirty-five books, including: Substance Abusing High Achievers; Life’s too Short; I’d Like to Call for Help, but I Don’t Know the Number; Do unto Others; and in collaboration with Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schultz, When Do the Good Things Start?; Waking Up Just in Time; I Didn’t Ask to Be in This Family; and That’s not a Fault…It’s a Character Trait.
In 1995, Rabbi Twerski opened the Shaar Hatikvah rehabilitation center in Jerusalem, a project of the American Jewish community in conjunction with Gateway Rehabilitation Center.
Rabbi Twerski was awarded the 1998 Caritas Award for Service by Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh. In 1997, he received the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Distinguished Service Award. He has also received the Martin Luther King Citizen’s Award and a citation for his contribution to the integration of religion and the behavioral sciences.
Since receiving ordination from the Central Lubavitch Yeshiva in Brooklyn in 1968, Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar has been an emissary in Miami for the Lubavitcher Rebbe. In 1969 he founded the Landow Yeshiva Center in Miami Beach, Florida. He has served as its principal and dean of its elementary school, yeshivah academy, and high school, and was responsible for training its rabbinical students. In 1981, he founded The Shul of Bal Harbour. As its head rabbi, he is both the spiritual leader and educational programmer for all ages. Also in 1981, Rabbi Lipskar founded the Aleph Institute and the Educational Academy for the Elderly. The Aleph Institute is a non-profit national humanitarian organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for Jews in limited environments, including prisoners and military personnel and their families. Rabbi Lipskar has created alternative punishment philosophies and developed unique educational opportunities for the general public in the field of treatment of closed populations. He directs the pioneering Educational Academy for the Elderly.
Rabbi Lipskar is the founder and chief organizer of the Miami International Conferences on Torah and Science.
rabbilipskar@theshul.org
Robert J. Bergman, MD is a native of Miami and a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He has served on the geriatric medicine faculty at UCLA and is currently a faculty member at the University of Miami. From 1998 to 2004 he served as medical director of the Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged at Douglas Gardens, the largest long-term care facility in the southeastern United States.
Dr. Bergman made aliyah with his family in 2004 and now practices internal medicine and geriatrics in Jerusalem.
A Brookdale fellow, Dr. Bergman has authored and coauthored over a dozen publications in clinical geriatrics.
lisabob@netvision.net.il
A clinical psychologist, Dr. Aaron Rabinowitz taught for many years at Bar-Ilan University. His book, Judaism and Psychology: Meeting Points, was published by Jason Aronson in 1999. In 2004, he was invited by the American Psychological Association to contribute a report, “Judaic Therapeutic Spiritual Counseling.”
Fax 972-3-571-8063
Professor Menachem Kovacs is director of the Jewish Roots Center, an educational and research center on Torah and social science topics based in Baltimore. He is professor emeritus of sociology at Montgomery College in suburban Washington, DC. A graduate with BS honors in political science from Roosevelt University and a master’s degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics, Dr. Kovacs was certified in international relations by the University of Geneva and completed a PhD in sociology at the Union Graduate School. He attended the Rabbinical College of America.
Samuel Spero is Professor Emeritus at Cuyahoga Community College and was also an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University, the Siegal College of Jewish Studies, and Yeshiva University in a teaching career spanning more than thirty-five years. Professor Spero studied in the Telshe Yeshiva and has degrees in physics and applied mathematics, and a doctorate in science education. Since his retirement Professor Spero has devoted his time to learning Torah, doing hesed, and researching science and Torah with special emphasis on the relationship between the transcendent and the material. An earlier article on this topic appeared in B’Or Ha’Torah volume 16 (2006).
Gloria Wiederkehr-Pollack is associate professor of Hebrew language and literature at Kingsborough Community College of the City University of New York. She holds a BA and BRE from Stern College and an MA from New York University.
At NYU she received a National Defense Foreign Language Fellowship. She earned an MPhil and PhD from Columbia University in Middle East languages and cultures, where she was the recipient of the Center for Israel and Jewish Studies Fellowship.
She has authored Eliezer Zweifel and the Intellectual Defense of Hasidism (NJ: KTAV, 1995), The Jewish Festivals in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Sources (NY: Sepher Hermon, 1997), “Eliezer Zvi Hacohen Zweifel: Forgotten Father of Modern Scholarship on Hasidism” (The Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research—Spring 1982), and Reading, Writing, and Rudimentary Hebrew (NY: Sepher Hermon, 2003). She has authored reviews on works on Hasidism, and has lectured at public forums.
Professor Pollack is included in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers and has been granted the International Biographical Centre’s Twenty-First Century Award for Achievement.
