Arnie Gotfryd

Jan 8, 2025 | chabad.org | Velvl Greene |Arnie Gotfryd

ב"הTorah and science -- do they contradict or complement each other? A selection of stories and parables that illuminate this issue. "Yesterday, an event took place that had no known precedent in human history: a manned spacecraft approached the moon, orbited it several times, and returned safely to earth. What can we, as Jews, learn from this event?" The universe, in the words of some who would speak for it, says, "I am a giant machine. I supply the space and time for your existence.

Nov 8, 2024 | chabad.org | Arnie Gotfryd

Abraham was a zealot. He was so intolerant of false notions that he smashed his father’s idols. That nearly cost him his life, but in the end, his new concept of one invisible, omniscient and omnipotent Creator caught on so well that today followers of Abrahamic religions comprise more than half of the world’s 8 billion people. We all have a little Abraham inside us. I had an Abrahamic moment back in the early 2000s, and in a small way, I got some serious unexpected flak for it.

Nov 2, 2024 | chabad.org | Arnie Gotfryd

One elegant idea, developed by a child some 3,800 years ago, has transformed the world forever. That child was the patriarch Abraham, and his big idea, on closer inspection, seems more akin to ecology than to ethical monotheism. So what's the big idea? And how did he come to it? According to tradition, Abraham was born in 1813 BCE in the ancient Iraqi town of Ur Kasdim.

Nov 2, 2024 | chabad.org | Menachem Posner |Tzvi Freeman |Yehuda Shurpin |Arnie Gotfryd

Was Abraham Jewish? By Yehuda ShurpinG‑d did not choose Abraham. It was his inherent superiority, and the fact that he was ready to give everything up for the sake of G‑d, that compelled G‑d to choose him. The Abraham PrincipleBy Arnie GotfrydOn closer inspection, it seems more akin to ecology than to ethical monotheism...

Oct 23, 2024 | chabad.org | Arnie Gotfryd

Do you know what a skyhook is? It’s a metaphor for trusting in something with no rational basis whatsoever. Picture Moses saying “Go that way!” pointing to the Red Sea with the elite forces of the Egyptian army closing in fast on the newly liberated Hebrew slaves. For the vast majority, this instruction was a non-starter. It’s wet, it’s deep, it’s huge, I can’t swim, there are babies here … total non-starter. But for Nachshon ben Aminadav, Moses’ command was a marching order, and march he did.