Dear friends;

In each generation God sends us prophetic souls who raise their voices out of love for Torah and concern for the future of the Jewish people.

Dr. Aharon Ebrami is one of these holy souls. Written with both erudition and urgency his fine book “Contemporary Judaism in the Second House of Bandage “  calls from the depth of his great love for Judaism and Jewish people. The establishment of the State of Israel, Dr. Ebrami reminds us , has liberated the Jewish people while Judaism remains in a condition of Diaspora bondage. Carefully tracing the historical roots of this circumstance he decries the divisions that have rent  the Jewish people; and the deformities that have twisted and tortured Judaism in the Diaspora.

In his second section Dr. Ebrami details the pillars, the original principles of a Judaism that speaks to all mankind and he concludes with a passionate call for a return to this principal Judaism.

It is his last chapter, the letter to young Jews that is most notable. This section should be read aloud in every Jewish school and youth group. It states in the most clear and dramatic fashion what all of us who love Torah  and the Jewish people would say to our children and children’s children about the marvelous heritage they have received and their responsibilities to learn, to teach it and to live it in pride. This book is wonderful and welcome contribution to our communities’ conversation.

We are grateful to Dr. Ebrami for this fine and insightful book.

Yours,
Rabbi Edward Feinstein
Valley Beth Shalom
Encino, California
September 2003

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