All the questions discussed in the Talmud and related rabbinic literature are normative questions: either they are questions of what one is to think or what one is to do. Every prescribed thought has some practical implication; every prescribed act… — David Novak Copy Share Image
A traditional rabbi is the man to whom the community and its members turn to rule on what Jewish law requires of them, particularly… — David Novak Copy Share Image
Historically, Jews only accept converts rather than actively seeking them. — David Novak Copy Share Image
As a traditional Jew, I have benefited personally from the hospitality of Chabad Hasidim on many occasions, and I marvel at how many Jews… — David Novak Copy Share Image
Roots can live without branches, although truncated; branches cannot live without roots. — David Novak Copy Share Image
In deciding among theological views, one should be something of a consequentialist: the choice of one theological position over another should be, if not… — David Novak Copy Share Image
At the political level, most Jews and most Catholics have accepted the liberal idea of religious freedom. — David Novak Copy Share Image
Jewish status is defined by the divine election of Israel and his descendants. One does not become a Jew by one's own volition. — David Novak Copy Share Image
Although most Christian churches advocate some sort of mission to non-Christians, no Jewish group advocates a mission to non-Jews. Proselytization seems to be foreign… — David Novak Copy Share Image
The community in which one hears the voice of God structures how one hears that voice and interprets what it says. — David Novak Copy Share Image
Religious traditions are in a constant state of development and renewed self-understanding. — David Novak Copy Share Image
In historical messianism, the reign of the Messiah is brought about by a Jewish ruler powerful enough to gather the Jewish exiles back to… — David Novak Copy Share Image
The Holocaust, taken by itself, is a black hole. To look at it directly is to be swallowed up by it. — David Novak Copy Share Image
