How do we talk about Creation without arrogance? Is any attempt to discuss the mysterious inherently presumptuous? Is it rebellious? What do we make of the Torah’s silence on the mechanics of Creation, and what may or may not have existed before God created the world? Join Rabbi Knopf as we explore these and other […]
What did God create before creating the world, and why did God create the world in the first place?
According to the Midrash, God created some things, and determined to create yet more things, before creating the world. Join Rabbi Knopf to explore what those things things were, and why God started with them.
When did God create angels? And, if God is one, how is there so much diversity within creation? Join Rabbi Knopf as he and his midrash students discuss these and other ancient rabbinic questions.
Why does the Torah begin with the creation of the world, and not with the first commandment? And is there such a thing as “intelligent design?” Join Rabbi Knopf as he and his midrash students discuss these and other ancient rabbinic questions.
Join Rabbi Knopf on a journey through the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Bible known as Midrash Rabbah. This week, Rabbi Knopf continues to explore the first midrash of Genesis Rabbah, which discusses how God used the Torah to help create the world.
Join Rabbi Knopf on a journey through the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Bible known as Midrash Rabbah. In this session, we begin to explore the first midrash on Genesis.
On the Shabbat immediately following the death of one of Rabbi Knopf’s rebbes, Rabbi Sholom Brodt, founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Simchat Shlomo in Jerusalem, Rabbi Knopf shares some singing and learning in his honor.
Part Two of a teaching where Rabbi Knopf explores the texts, traditions, and history that informs a Jewish view on the modern American plague of mass incarceration.
Part One of a teaching where Rabbi Knopf explores the texts, traditions, and history that informs a Jewish view on the modern American plague of mass incarceration.
Rabbi Knopf provides an overview about the meaning and message of the Book of Malachi.
As the debate over US immigration policy rages in Washington, and as congregations across the country debate becoming sanctuaries to protect undocumented immigrants, Rabbi Knopf explores the texts, traditions, and history that informs Judaism’s view on immigration. This is part three of a three part session given by Rabbi Knopf.
As the debate over US immigration policy rages in Washington, and as congregations across the country debate becoming sanctuaries to protect undocumented immigrants, Rabbi Knopf explores the texts, traditions, and history that informs Judaism’s view on immigration. This is part two of a three part session given by Rabbi Knopf.
As the debate over US immigration policy rages in Washington, and as congregations across the country debate becoming sanctuaries to protect undocumented immigrants, Rabbi Knopf explores the texts, traditions, and history that informs Judaism’s view on immigration. This is part one of a three part session given by Rabbi Knopf.
A live conversation between Rabbi Knopf and Dr. David Dwight at Richmond’s Tuckahoe Woman’s Club. The religious landscape in America is undergoing radical change: While approximately 83% of Americans identify themselves as Christians, only 20% attend church regularly, and somewhere between 4,000 and 7,000 churches close their doors every year. Less than 1/3 of American Jews […]
Rabbi Knopf is joined by Rev. Ben Campbell, pastoral director of Richmond Hill and author of “Richmond’s Unhealed History“, for an interfaith examination of the true meaning and relevance of Tisha B’Av.
Part Two of Rabbi Knopf’s teaching for Tikkun Leil Shavuot (June 11, 2016), on the spiritual and moral message of one of Judaism’s oldest and most ubiquitous prayers, the Priestly Blessing.
Part One of Rabbi Knopf’s teaching for Tikkun Leil Shavuot (June 11, 2016), on the spiritual and moral message of one of Judaism’s oldest and most ubiquitous prayers, the Priestly Blessing.
Rabbi Knopf digs into the Slonimer Rebbe’s extraordinary essay on prayer, “Prayer is the Service of the Heart.” This month: if prayer is about pouring our hearts out to God, what do we do when we pray on Shabbat, where we don’t ask God for anything at all?
Part 3b of a 3 part series, in which Rabbi Knopf explores, analyzes, and debates various approaches to understanding God in modern Jewish thought. This session: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, Conservative and Reconstructionist theologies.
Part 3a of a 3 part series, in which Rabbi Knopf explores, analyzes, and debates various approaches to understanding God in modern Jewish thought. This session: Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, Conservative and Reconstructionist theologies.
Part 2b of a 3 part series, in which Rabbi Knopf explores, analyzes, and debates various approaches to understanding God in modern Jewish thought. This session: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and contemporary Orthodox theology.
Part 2a of a 3 part series, in which Rabbi Knopf explores, analyzes, and debates various approaches to understanding God in modern Jewish thought. This session: Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and contemporary Orthodox theology.
Rabbi Knopf explores the permissibility of including the biblical Matriarchs in the Amidah – a stimulating conversation about Jewish history, Biblical intertextuality, Halakhah and legal theory.
Rabbi Knopf explores the permissibility of including the biblical Matriarchs in the Amidah – a stimulating conversation about Jewish history, Biblical intertextuality, Halakhah and legal theory.
Rabbi Knopf shares the final mishnah from Tractate Avot, which teaches a Jewish version of the old cliche, “No Pain, No Gain.”
The first half of Part 1 of a 3 part series, in which Rabbi Knopf explores, analyzes, and debates various approaches to understanding God in modern Jewish thought. This session: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and modern Orthodox theology.
The first half of Part 1 of a 3 part series, in which Rabbi Knopf explores, analyzes, and debates various approaches to understanding God in modern Jewish thought. This session: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and modern Orthodox theology.
Rabbi Knopf digs into the Slonimer Rebbe’s extraordinary essay on prayer, “Prayer is the Service of the Heart.” This month: if prayer is about connecting to God, what is the purpose of heaping all that effusive praise on God so characteristic of Jewish prayer?
Rabbi Knopf digs into the Slonimer Rebbe’s extraordinary essay on prayer, “Prayer is the Service of the Heart.” This month: if prayer is about connecting to God, what is the purpose of petition, asking God for things we need?
