Steven Gotlib

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Dec 11, 2024, 4:19 PM

An Orthodox rabbi’s struggle with pluralism

The diversity of Rutgers Hillel, on October 8, 2023. (via Facebook, used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Real religious disagreements among those who affiliate with different denominations (or none) should not hinder normal interactions. Try talking to each other and see

Jun 10, 2021, 5:00 PM

Book review: Rav Asher Weiss on Emunah and Bitachon

“Excuse me, do you have emunah ?” If I were to pose this question to Jewish men and women on the street, visibly observant or not, I would likely be faced with two common reactions; blank stares and clarification questions....

Feb 25, 2021, 7:15 PM

A Conservative Judaism for the next generation?

Rabbi Ashira Konigsburg, COO of the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly recently wrote a Times of Israel blog post asking a very important question: "What do synagogues and other institutions of our movement need to do more consistently in...

Sep 9, 2020, 3:44 PM

Tanakh: The Cornerstone of Modern Judaism

https://kodeshpress.com/product/cornerstones

Let’s talk about Tanakh. One of my biggest pet peeves about rabbinical school is that we just don’t spend much time (if any!) talking about Tanakh aside from when it’s cited in other works. I was always a bit confused...

Dec 6, 2019, 11:32 PM

What’s in a Name?

My recent article, in which I suggested that Modern Orthodoxy could gain a lot by becoming more Haredi, faced much pushback from my peers. One of the main reasons for this was due to my choice in terminology. Therefore,...

Dec 1, 2019, 6:21 AM

An open letter to Modern Orthodoxy

Dear Modern Orthodoxy, Since starting this blog, I have been seeking to answer two primary questions. What are you, and why are you so important as to justify so much argument? In an attempt to find those answers, I read through...

Feb 21, 2019, 4:28 PM

Koren’s Steinsaltz Chumash: What’s Peshat?

I recently received a copy or Koren Publishers' new Chumash Perhaps the aspect of the Steinsaltz Chumash which I most appreciated was its emphasis on and dedication to providing a strictly peshat-level commentary. To quote Rav Steinsaltz in his introduction...

Aug 5, 2018, 8:10 PM

There Is No Schism… Yet: A Response to Moshe Kurtz

Last Friday, Moshe Kurtz wrote an article entitled “There is No Schism: “Modern Orthodoxy” has Two Fundamentally Separate Sects.” His general thesis suggested that “Right-Wing Modern Orthodoxy are fundamentally two diametrically opposed ideologies that merely give the appearance...

Jan 5, 2018, 7:47 AM

Modern Orthodoxies

I recently wrote an article for the JOFA Blog in which I argued that the shared definition of mesorah used by both JOFA's panelists and the Orthodox Union's rabbinic panel can be used to unite Modern Orthodoxy and open a...

Oct 26, 2017, 8:02 AM

“Orthodox, and” vs “Orthodox, but”

In a recent Times of Israel post, Eitan Gross boldly pointed out what he sees as a “glaring hypocrisy and internal contradiction” within the Modern Orthodox community. After pointing out several challenges which the Modern Orthodox community currently faces,...

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About Me

Steven Gotlib is the Associate Rabbi at Mekor Habracha/Center City Synagogue, having previously served several communities in Canada and the United States. Following studies at Rutgers University, he received ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) at Yeshiva University, a certificate in mental health counseling from RIETS in partnership with the Ferkauf School of Psychology, and a START certificate in spiritual entrepreneurship from the Glean Network in partnership with Columbia Business School. Rabbi Gotlib lives in Philadelphia with his wife and daughter. He can be reached at rabbisgotlib@mekorhabracha.org.

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