A Congregation Toras Chaim Shabbaton with Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Poupko of Jerusalem | Shabbos Parshas Vayikro, March 11-12, 2011
Friday Night
- Davening/Speech: “Shammai’s Shabbat – and Hillel’sâ€Â As archetypes of the Torah’s two equally valid postures toward G-d, Hillel and Shammai experience G-d, Shabbat, and themselves differently. The Talmudic Aggadah illuminating this, also sheds light on the concept of reliance on Providence.
Shabbos Day
- 8:30 AM Shabbos Morning Davening/Speech (following davening approx. 10:30 AM): “Purim: Sequel to Sinai” If any of our holidays can be characterized by Churchill’s phrase “a riddle wrapped in an enigma shrouded in mysteryâ€, it is certainly Purim. Although its Halachic sanctity is minimal, the holiday of Purim is endowed with a measure of eternity unequalled by our other festivals. Purim whose Megilla has no explicit mention of G-d, completes our acceptance of Torah at Sinai. This talk addresses these paradoxes.
- Mincha/Shalosh Seudos/Speech: “A Golden Calf becomes a Golden Opportunity” An analysis of the cryptic dialogue between G-d and Moshe in the aftermath of the Golden Calf sheds light on the revolutionary transformation of “T’shuva me’Ahava”, that leads to the Second Tablets.
Sunday Morning
- 8 AM Shacharis followed by Breakfast and Speech: “Experiencing Israel’s Kulturkampf: This talk draws on my experiences debating religious issues with reform spokesmen at the IDF Officers’ Institute and other forums, including the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council in the USA.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
I’m looking forward to Rabbi Poupko’s visit! Noa 3/3