Allan Nadler | Drew University (original) (raw)
Papers by Allan Nadler
Forward, 2011
A critical assessment of Prof. David Biale's manifesto arguing for the antiquity and essential "J... more A critical assessment of Prof. David Biale's manifesto arguing for the antiquity and essential "Jewishness" of secularism.
Jewish Review of Books , 2024
Review-Essay on Noah Feldman's latest -- and first "Jewish" book, that purports to be a no less ... more Review-Essay on Noah Feldman's latest -- and first "Jewish" book, that purports to be a no less than a contemporary Guide for the Perplexed, about "God, Israel and the Jewish People."
Modern Judaism, 1994
... The Agu-dah had established a separate fund for their colonizing efforts in Palestine, called... more ... The Agu-dah had established a separate fund for their colonizing efforts in Palestine, called "Keren ha-Yishuv." Shapira accused this fund, to-gether with the general Zionists' "Keren ha-Yesod," of deliberately draining away support from the traditional endowment of R. Meir ...
Moment, 2008
A monumental biography, that establishing among much else, that Maimonides' father was forced to ... more A monumental biography, that establishing among much else, that Maimonides' father was forced to convert his family to Islam after fleeing Almohad persecution in Spain in 1148 only to face it in Fez, Morocco.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online , 2023
Entry on the evolving definitions of, and views about ,the "Nations of the World" (Aka "Goyim"), ... more Entry on the evolving definitions of, and views about ,the "Nations of the World" (Aka "Goyim"), in Early Modern and Moderns Judaism.
Ajs Review-the Journal of The Association for Jewish Studies, Apr 1, 2003
Johns Hopkins University Press eBooks, 1997
Forward, 2000
The great Liberal American Catholic author and public intellectual, Gary Wills' book "Papal Sins"... more The great Liberal American Catholic author and public intellectual, Gary Wills' book "Papal Sins" was so passionately polemical that even I felt the need to push back on certain elements of his criticisms of past popes, and his attack on the way Catholic biblical exegesis works. The first part of the book focuses on papal crimes against the Jews, especially those of the perfidious Pius IX. Thankfully, almost a quarter of a century since this important book appeared, much has changed for the better.
Forward, 1999
On the reissue of the classic by Johns Hopkins U. Press
Forward, 1999
Written in 1999 on the occasion of the publication of A House Divided, Jacob Katz's landmark hist... more Written in 1999 on the occasion of the publication of A House Divided, Jacob Katz's landmark history of the origins of Modern Hungarian Jewish denominationalism and the emerging power of Ultra-Orthodoxy. Sadly, the crisis of Jewish factionalism with which this review- essay begins is far worse a quarter-century later, particularly in the light of the far-right, ultra-Orthodox Israeli coalition government.
By ALLAN NADLER "There is no issue of greater concern to Jews around the world than the deep religious divide that plagues us today. The acrimonious schisms dividing 'the Jewish world against itself can even be seen in the results of Israel's recent elections, which have widely been interpreted as a reaction to the poUdcs of divisiveness of the Netanyahu government. Political and religious leaders of all persuasions regularly decry thê unprecedented" mutual hostility between secular and '^Orthodox Jews in Israel and .among Jewish denomina-. dons m America. ; " But very few understand the historical roots of this great breach..."
Jewish Review of Books, 2023
An almost completely obscure minor masterpiece by Eli Wiesel.
Baltimore Jewish News, 1986
Personal, and painful, reflections about my experiences as an Orthodox rabbi who dared to oppose ... more Personal, and painful, reflections about my experiences as an Orthodox rabbi who dared to oppose the Lubavitcher Rebbe, z"atsal's interventions into Israeli politics, which marked the genesis of my alienation from the Orthodox rabbinate and eventually the Orthodox community. Not normally something I would post on Academic.Edu, but given the almost complete collapse of what was once pluralistic, tolerant and truly Zionist "Religious Zionism" and the power its usurpers have now risen to in Israel, it is important to revisit how long in the making this degeneration of Modern Orthodoxy has been. The hardline position of the Rebbe on the shtachim which provoked my NY Times article, his deligitimation of rabbis of other denominations -- he was the first to call on Israel to reject as gentiles anyone converted by non-Orthodox rabbis, and many more issues marked, in so many ways, the beginning of the decline chronicled in this piece.
American Jewish Committee Monograph Series, 1992
In the wake of the Crown Heights riots of August, 1991, and the failure of the established Jewish... more In the wake of the Crown Heights riots of August, 1991, and the failure of the established Jewish Organizations' inadequate response to the violence -- seen as the result of a lack of communication with and understanding of the Hasidic Jewish Community, I was commissioned by the American Jewish Committee to write a monograph to explain American Hasidim to their leadership and members and for use in their educational programs, which they published six months after the conflagration. I should add on a personal note that I had befriended the young Lubavitcher scholar -- and tragic martyr of a veritable pogrom in Crown Heights -- Yankel Rosenbaum while he was doing research at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, where I had just begun my post as Director of Research just a few months before the riots. Yankel was brutally murdered during the riots by a gang of black rioters, who shouted Kill the Jew, as they chased him down and knifed him. There was thus for me a strong personal motivation to produce this study.
Forward, 2008
Essay on Ives' Spinoza play
Forward, 2012
On the absurd Jewish reclamation of Spinoza, especially by rabbis
Forward, 2004
He was a charismatic preacher from the Galilee whose teachings challenged the regnant Jewish doct... more He was a charismatic preacher from the Galilee whose teachings challenged the regnant Jewish doctrines of his day and undermined rabbinical authority. He communed with the spirits of the living and the dead, performing miracles and restoring the lost souls of those who accepted his revolutionary teachings. An ascetic, messianic figure, he endured great, largely self-inflicted, suffering during his lifetime, for the sake of Redemption. To his despairing disciples he promised, at the hour of his death: "If you are deserving, I shall come back to you." And now, his dramatic story lovingly recreated from the primary sources of old is available for all to behold.
Jewish Review of Books, 2022
The life, work and times of Yudel Rosenberg, the great Kabbalist, Talmudist, Halakhic Posek and m... more The life, work and times of Yudel Rosenberg, the great Kabbalist, Talmudist, Halakhic Posek and most prolific Judaica forgerer of the 20th century: Self-Annointed Chief Rabbi of Montreal
Modern Judaism, 1994
The first scholarly investigation of the first Munkatcher Rebbe's extreme and all-encompassing ho... more The first scholarly investigation of the first Munkatcher Rebbe's extreme and all-encompassing hostility to modern Jewish culture and politics.
Mosaic:Jewish Ideas Daily, 2010
Forward, 2011
A critical assessment of Prof. David Biale's manifesto arguing for the antiquity and essential "J... more A critical assessment of Prof. David Biale's manifesto arguing for the antiquity and essential "Jewishness" of secularism.
Jewish Review of Books , 2024
Review-Essay on Noah Feldman's latest -- and first "Jewish" book, that purports to be a no less ... more Review-Essay on Noah Feldman's latest -- and first "Jewish" book, that purports to be a no less than a contemporary Guide for the Perplexed, about "God, Israel and the Jewish People."
Modern Judaism, 1994
... The Agu-dah had established a separate fund for their colonizing efforts in Palestine, called... more ... The Agu-dah had established a separate fund for their colonizing efforts in Palestine, called "Keren ha-Yishuv." Shapira accused this fund, to-gether with the general Zionists' "Keren ha-Yesod," of deliberately draining away support from the traditional endowment of R. Meir ...
Moment, 2008
A monumental biography, that establishing among much else, that Maimonides' father was forced to ... more A monumental biography, that establishing among much else, that Maimonides' father was forced to convert his family to Islam after fleeing Almohad persecution in Spain in 1148 only to face it in Fez, Morocco.
Encyclopedia of the Bible Online , 2023
Entry on the evolving definitions of, and views about ,the "Nations of the World" (Aka "Goyim"), ... more Entry on the evolving definitions of, and views about ,the "Nations of the World" (Aka "Goyim"), in Early Modern and Moderns Judaism.
Ajs Review-the Journal of The Association for Jewish Studies, Apr 1, 2003
Johns Hopkins University Press eBooks, 1997
Forward, 2000
The great Liberal American Catholic author and public intellectual, Gary Wills' book "Papal Sins"... more The great Liberal American Catholic author and public intellectual, Gary Wills' book "Papal Sins" was so passionately polemical that even I felt the need to push back on certain elements of his criticisms of past popes, and his attack on the way Catholic biblical exegesis works. The first part of the book focuses on papal crimes against the Jews, especially those of the perfidious Pius IX. Thankfully, almost a quarter of a century since this important book appeared, much has changed for the better.
Forward, 1999
On the reissue of the classic by Johns Hopkins U. Press
Forward, 1999
Written in 1999 on the occasion of the publication of A House Divided, Jacob Katz's landmark hist... more Written in 1999 on the occasion of the publication of A House Divided, Jacob Katz's landmark history of the origins of Modern Hungarian Jewish denominationalism and the emerging power of Ultra-Orthodoxy. Sadly, the crisis of Jewish factionalism with which this review- essay begins is far worse a quarter-century later, particularly in the light of the far-right, ultra-Orthodox Israeli coalition government.
By ALLAN NADLER "There is no issue of greater concern to Jews around the world than the deep religious divide that plagues us today. The acrimonious schisms dividing 'the Jewish world against itself can even be seen in the results of Israel's recent elections, which have widely been interpreted as a reaction to the poUdcs of divisiveness of the Netanyahu government. Political and religious leaders of all persuasions regularly decry thê unprecedented" mutual hostility between secular and '^Orthodox Jews in Israel and .among Jewish denomina-. dons m America. ; " But very few understand the historical roots of this great breach..."
Jewish Review of Books, 2023
An almost completely obscure minor masterpiece by Eli Wiesel.
Baltimore Jewish News, 1986
Personal, and painful, reflections about my experiences as an Orthodox rabbi who dared to oppose ... more Personal, and painful, reflections about my experiences as an Orthodox rabbi who dared to oppose the Lubavitcher Rebbe, z"atsal's interventions into Israeli politics, which marked the genesis of my alienation from the Orthodox rabbinate and eventually the Orthodox community. Not normally something I would post on Academic.Edu, but given the almost complete collapse of what was once pluralistic, tolerant and truly Zionist "Religious Zionism" and the power its usurpers have now risen to in Israel, it is important to revisit how long in the making this degeneration of Modern Orthodoxy has been. The hardline position of the Rebbe on the shtachim which provoked my NY Times article, his deligitimation of rabbis of other denominations -- he was the first to call on Israel to reject as gentiles anyone converted by non-Orthodox rabbis, and many more issues marked, in so many ways, the beginning of the decline chronicled in this piece.
American Jewish Committee Monograph Series, 1992
In the wake of the Crown Heights riots of August, 1991, and the failure of the established Jewish... more In the wake of the Crown Heights riots of August, 1991, and the failure of the established Jewish Organizations' inadequate response to the violence -- seen as the result of a lack of communication with and understanding of the Hasidic Jewish Community, I was commissioned by the American Jewish Committee to write a monograph to explain American Hasidim to their leadership and members and for use in their educational programs, which they published six months after the conflagration. I should add on a personal note that I had befriended the young Lubavitcher scholar -- and tragic martyr of a veritable pogrom in Crown Heights -- Yankel Rosenbaum while he was doing research at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, where I had just begun my post as Director of Research just a few months before the riots. Yankel was brutally murdered during the riots by a gang of black rioters, who shouted Kill the Jew, as they chased him down and knifed him. There was thus for me a strong personal motivation to produce this study.
Forward, 2008
Essay on Ives' Spinoza play
Forward, 2012
On the absurd Jewish reclamation of Spinoza, especially by rabbis
Forward, 2004
He was a charismatic preacher from the Galilee whose teachings challenged the regnant Jewish doct... more He was a charismatic preacher from the Galilee whose teachings challenged the regnant Jewish doctrines of his day and undermined rabbinical authority. He communed with the spirits of the living and the dead, performing miracles and restoring the lost souls of those who accepted his revolutionary teachings. An ascetic, messianic figure, he endured great, largely self-inflicted, suffering during his lifetime, for the sake of Redemption. To his despairing disciples he promised, at the hour of his death: "If you are deserving, I shall come back to you." And now, his dramatic story lovingly recreated from the primary sources of old is available for all to behold.
Jewish Review of Books, 2022
The life, work and times of Yudel Rosenberg, the great Kabbalist, Talmudist, Halakhic Posek and m... more The life, work and times of Yudel Rosenberg, the great Kabbalist, Talmudist, Halakhic Posek and most prolific Judaica forgerer of the 20th century: Self-Annointed Chief Rabbi of Montreal
Modern Judaism, 1994
The first scholarly investigation of the first Munkatcher Rebbe's extreme and all-encompassing ho... more The first scholarly investigation of the first Munkatcher Rebbe's extreme and all-encompassing hostility to modern Jewish culture and politics.
Mosaic:Jewish Ideas Daily, 2010
Lecture about the Anglo-Jewish poet A.M. Klein's, focusing on his last book of verse, "The Rockin... more Lecture about the Anglo-Jewish poet A.M. Klein's, focusing on his last book of verse, "The Rocking Chair" and what it reveals about his uniquely, and quintessentially Jewish fascination with and love for the people and culture of his adopted land, Quebec.
Multi-Media Concert at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, June 13th 2013.
https://vimeo.com/57214809?embedded=true&source=vimeo\_logo&owner=14512968
My tour and history of the grand tradition of Hazzanut in Montreal.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research , 1992
My Inaugural Lecture at Drew in English, Hebrew and Yiddish. Introduction by Leon Wieseltier.
Conference Georgetown University, 2013
Panel on Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan and other thinkers, with (among other Jewish thinkers) Rabbi Dr. E... more Panel on Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan and other thinkers, with (among other Jewish thinkers) Rabbi Dr. Elliot Cosgrove
Multi-Media lecture/concert about the history of Hazzanut.
Encyclopedia of American Jewish History, 2008
Entry on the history of Hasidism in the United States