The Solomon B. Freehof Institute of Progressive Halakhah marked its twenty-fifth anniversary at the convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in Atlanta this past March 21. As always, the meeting featured presentations by speakers on a chosen theme. This year, the theme was the very timely topic of immigration: what insights does Jewish law offer to liberal Jews seeking to influence, change, or critique the immigration policies of the counties in which they live? The presentations will eventually be available in written form at the Institute’s website. Continue reading Immigration and Jewish Law: The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Meeting of the Freehof Institute
Category Archives: Immigration
Thinking Halakhicly About the Refugee Crisis
The massive wave of migration to Europe and beyond from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries has us scrambling to mount an appropriate and adequate response. The most urgent sort of “response” is in the field of action: what can we Jews do to ease the horrible suffering of these, our fellow human beings? But another kind of response is the one that takes place in the realm of thought: how should we Jews think and talk about our moral obligations toward the migrants? We would like to think that our tradition teaches us something about an earth-shaking challenge such as this, that it offers substantive guidance as to how we should act. And if it does, we would expect to find that teaching and guidance within the resources of the halakhah, that segment of our tradition that speaks most directly to questions of sacred action. Continue reading Thinking Halakhicly About the Refugee Crisis