Shlomo Riskin

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Shlomo Riskin (2010)

Shlomo Riskin (born Steven Riskin on May 28, 1940 in Brooklyn ) is an Israeli - American Orthodox rabbi and publicist. He founded a network of Jewish-Orthodox educational institutions in the USA and Israel, which he led, and advocates Christian-Jewish dialogue and the empowerment of women in Orthodox Judaism.

Life

Riskin found himself on Judeo-Christian relations in the early 1960s as a participant in David Flusser's seminars on the Christian gospels at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . Riskin saw parallels between Jesus' teaching and the Tanakh . In 1964, his mentor, Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik , explained his views on interreligious dialogue in the essay Confrontation and developed guidelines for it. Against the background of the Second Vatican Council and the associated upheavals in the Roman Catholic Church, it published the declaration Nostra Aetate on its fundamentally new relationship to non-Christian religions and especially to Judaism. In it, the Church announced its departure from the thesis that the Jews were guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus and admitted that religious anti-Semitism had played an important role in bringing about the atrocities against the Jewish people. In doing so, it officially cleared the way for the largest Christian church for dialogue with the Jews. Riskin participated and, after moving to Efrat in 1983, began to actively engage in dialogue between the two religions. Most of the Christians who came to study with him there were evangelicals . At that time Riskin developed a fruitful exchange of ideas with Christian clergy, but made sure that their love for the Jewish people was not just a means of secret mission to the Jews . The close cooperation with conservative evangelical groups and preachers from the USA, who cultivate a more mythical image of Judaism and ultimately hope for a conversion of the Jews after the return of Jesus as Messiah, arouses suspicion in progressive Jewish circles.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at the central Day to Praise event in Gush Etzion , May 12, 2016

In 2008 he founded the "Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation" (CJCUC for short) in Israel in order to give his efforts for Christian-Jewish dialogue a permanent institutional framework. Christians traveling to Israel can study the Hebrew Bible with Orthodox rabbis and find out about the Jewish roots of Christianity . The center is dedicated to communication between religious communities, particularly through the exegesis of biblical texts. In doing so, attempts are also made to deal with and understand the Holocaust and World War II theologically. The center emphasizes the theological and historical importance of the Land of Israel and the influence of Judeo-Christian values ​​such as the sanctity of human life, peace and human dignity on the culture and conflicts of the 21st century. The CJCUC offers one-day seminars for Christian groups from overseas and advanced training seminars for students and lecturers in theological faculties in North America and Europe. It has also set up the Institute for Theological Inquiry as a theological think tank for scientific research into the differences and similarities between Judaism and Christianity. The CJCUC operates and supports numerous social and academic programs as part of its interreligious mission, e.g. B. an aid program for financially disadvantaged Christian Palestinians .

Riskin's efforts are funded by the Paul Singer Foundation , Zion's Gate International Foundation, John Hagee and the Israeli Hertog family, and the Israel Ministry of Justice.

Riskin has made a number of attempts to strengthen the role of women in Orthodox Judaism. So he decided that women can celebrate their own Torah celebration. He was a co-founder of the orthodox women's seminary Midreshet Lindenbaum and in 2014, with his rabbinical approval, the first book of halachic decisions by women was published . Its authors Idit Bartov and Anat Novoselsky were ordained by Riskin after they had studied halacha for five years at the Midreshet Lindenbaum and had passed the same examination as male rabbinical candidates. In 1991 Riskin reached the Israeli Supreme Court that women could be appointed advisory members of a religious court . As a result, he organized a corresponding training course for women, whose graduates are particularly committed to Agunot , whose husbands stubbornly refuse them a letter of divorce . Riskin advocates that such cases of abuse be ruled out in the Ketubba .

Selected publications

  • Around the family table: A comprehensive "bencher" and companion for Shabbat and festival meals and other family occasions. Urim, 2005, ISBN 965-7108-61-6 .
  • The Passover Haggadah with a traditional and contemporary commentary. Ktav Publishing, 1984, ISBN 0-88125-014-7 .
  • Torah Lights: Bereshit: Confronting Life, Love & Family. Maggid Books. 2009, ISBN 1-59264-272-1 .
  • Torah Lights: Exodus defines the birth of a nation. Ohr Torah Stone, 2009, ISBN 965-7108-63-2 .
  • Torah Lights: Vayikra Sacrifice, Sanctity and Silence. Maggid Books, 2009, ISBN 1-59264-274-8 .
  • Listening to God: Inspirational stories for my grandchildren. Maggid Books, 2010, ISBN 1-59264-292-6 .

Web links

Commons : Shlomo Riskin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shabat HaGadol - translated from Hebrew - page 15
  2. ^ Confrontation , Tradition 6: 2 p5-9, 1964. Reprinted in A Treasury of Tradition , Hebrew Publishing Co, NY, 1967.
  3. ↑ Shabat HaGadol - translated from Hebrew - page 18
  4. ^ Meet the Evangelical Christians Behind Ted Cruz - They're Super Jewy . Forward dated March 14, 2016
  5. ↑ CJCUC Statement on a Jewish Understanding of Christians and Christianity ( Memento of the original dated September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations - May 24, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ccjr.us
  6. ^ The Institute for Theological Inquiry
  7. ↑ CJCUC Announces the Publication of Covenant & Hope - standardnewswire.com from August 10, 2012
  8. ^ Covenant and Hope - Christian and Jewish Reflections - Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. - July 2012
  9. ↑ http://cjcuc.com/site/cjcuc-food-voucher-program/ Consumption voucher program
  10. ↑ Hasia R. Diner, The Jews of the United States. 1654 to 2000, 2006, page 353.
  11. ↑ a b Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 25, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / jpupdates.com
  12. ^ John D. Rayner: Jewish religious law: a progressive perspective , p. 176
personal data
SURNAME Riskin, Shlomo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Riskin, Steven
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli-American rabbi and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH May 28, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn