A Congregation Toras Chaim Shabbaton with Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko of Jerusalem | Shabbos Parshas Shoftim, September 2-3, 2011 | Everyone is invited.
Friday Night
- Davening/10-15 min speech: T’shuva with the Flick of a Wrist? This brief talk, focusing on seemingly sharp contradictions in the Rambam’s position on character improvement as the goal of T’shuva , also sheds light on his understanding of the dynamics and essence of T’shuva.
Shabbos Day
- 8:30 AM Shabbos Morning Davening/Kiddush/Speech: Malchios Zichronos and Shofaros The lyrical liturgy of Rosh Hashana focuses on the ultimate truths of our Torah and our lives. This talk, drawing from the Rambam and the Maharal shows how the majestic prose of Malchios Zichronos and Shofaros delineates our Jewish identity while expressing our loftiest aspirations.
- 6:15 PM Shabbos Afternoon Before Mincha: Must Rosh Chodesh be Eclipsed for Rosh HaShana to Emerge? This talk focuses on David HaMelech’s instruction to find the meaning of Rosh HaShana in the mysterious disappearance of Rosh Chodesh from Rosh HaShana’s agenda, and delineates the dichotomy of “Tekias HaShofarâ€.
- Mincha/Shalosh Seudos/Speech: Proving Prophecy while Minimizing Miracles This talk clarifies the Rambam’s view of the respective roles of revelation and miracles in authenticating Moshe’s mission and explains the Maharal’s theory of the distinct character of Sefer Devarim.
Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko
Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko was ordained by Yeshivath Ner Israel where he earned his Master’s Degree in Talmudic Law in 1969. He continued his post-semicha studies in the famed “Kodshim Chabura†of Beth Midrash Govoha of Lakewood where he held a select graduate instructorship in Jewish philosophy. He founded the Talmudic College of Florida and served as its associate dean until his aliya in 1977. In Israel he served as dean of Yeshivat Ohr Torah in Efrat. In 1986 Rabbi Poupko founded Kneseth Beth Eliezer , a yeshiva training students with a backround in public and organizational life for the rabbinate and offering programs for laymen as well.
As a reservist in the Israel Defense Forces Rabbi Poupko served as a non-commissioned Officer in Lebanon, Gaza and the Golan Heights. He lectured for over seven years in the IDF Officers’ Institute and has been cited for excellence in this capacity. He has also taught in various programs offered to students at the Overseas Program at the Hebrew University and at the Bnai Brith Hillel House on Mount Scopus at the University. In Israel, Rabbi Poupko’s weekly Biblical commentary is broadcast on Israel National Radio. A lecture of his , delivered at the Van Leer Institute, was included in an anthology of contemporary Israeli thought published by Yediot Achronot. Articles of his on Talmud and Jewish philosophy have also appeared in the Hadarom scholarly journal.
He has served as scholar-in-residence at the Marble Arch Synagogue of London, the Cape Town Hebrew Synagogue (S.A.) and the Young Israel Congregations of Woodmere, West Hempstead, Edison N.J. and the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue of Manhattan, Shevet Achim of Seattle , as well as at other synagogues in America and the U.K. Rabbi Poupko also represented the Orthodox Union in its debate with the leadership of Israel’s Reform movement and was twice selected by the Supreme Court of Queens (N.Y.) to lecture the judges’ weekly study group.
Rabbi Poupko currently lectures on Jewish Philosophy at the Orthodox Union’s Israel Center, where he serves as a rabbinic consultant. He continues to serve communities in Great Britain as a scholar-in-residence and lectures Christian clergymen at the Ami Jerusalem Center of Biblical Studies.
Allen Hoffman author of the best selling “Small Worlds†novels offers this description of his lectures:
“Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko defines both the nature of man and the ethical challenge to the Jew through his literary, philosophical, and halachic inquiries into Biblical narratives and midrashic commentaries. He dramatically engages his listener as he skillfully applies the rich, classical interpretive tradition to examine the most mythic and mystifying Biblical and Talmudic texts. In the timeless encounter between man and his Creator, between talmid and text, imagination complements knowledge to provide interpretive solutions that are sensible, psychologically satisfying, and profound.â€