Steven Gotlib

Dec 11, 2024 | blogs.timesofisrael.com | Steven Gotlib

Orthodox rabbis writing about their experiences in pluralistic spaces often come across as cringe-worthy: Why wasn’t the food kosher enough when no one here keeps kosher as strictly as I do? What’s wrong with valuing others without validating their Jewish identities or practices? Why, then, am I writing this blog post? Because Jews of all backgrounds need to be better pluralists now more than ever. Who am I?

Nov 21, 2024 | jewishpress.com | Steven Gotlib

Title: Living Time: Festival Discourses for the Present AgeBy: Rabbi ShagarMaggidIn his recent book Sacred Time (not to be confused with the subject of this review), Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik argued that “the Jewish calendar is a key that unlocks the very essence of Judaism.” By understanding what our holidays represent, we understand more about what it means to be a Jew.

Aug 25, 2024 | 18forty.org | Steven Gotlib |Shaul Magid

This is the ninth essay of 18Forty’s new “Faith in Reason” series with Rabbi Steven Gotlib, released every month. Sign up for it here, and read the eighth essay here. At first blush, Zionism might seem like a strange topic to cover in this series.

Jul 26, 2024 | 18forty.org | Steven Gotlib

This is the eighth essay of 18Forty’s new “Faith in Reason” series with Rabbi Steven Gotlib, released every month. Sign up for it here, and read the seventh essay here. Anyone familiar with the Jewish community knows that there are multiple denominations of Judaism, some of which are mutually exclusive to others. On a descriptive level, that’s obvious. But need it be true on a prescriptive level?

Jul 3, 2024 | 18forty.org | Steven Gotlib

This is the seventh essay of 18Forty’s new “Faith in Reason” series with Rabbi Steven Gotlib, released every month. Sign up for it here, and read the sixth essay here. This series has until now focused on broad philosophical questions. From here on, though, we are applying that methodology to important topics within Judaism itself. The question of why be Jewish is most fundamental. It’s so fundamental a question that recent discourse has largely switched from asking why be Jewish to why do Jewish.