The current edition of Jewish Action Magazine (Fall, 2016) contains my review of the recently published collection of essays entitled Torah and Western Thought: Intellectual Portraits of Orthodoxy and Modernity.  As I note in the piece, I believe this volume can help advance the much needed conversation about what Modern Orthodoxy is and what it can be as we stand, perched upon the shoulders of the twentieth century's giants, looking forward toward our community's future.

Here are two selections:

...what emerges from these essays amounts to an ambitious and robust platform for Modern Orthodoxy. It is a set of ideas that has the power to advance the communal conversation well beyond the notions of “synthesis” and “Torah U’Madda” that have defined Modern Orthodoxy since the middle of the twentieth century, and toward a broader program of sophisticated, sensitive and engaged Modern Orthodoxy for the twenty-first century and beyond...

...Seen holistically, a profound program begins to unfold from the pages of this volume. It calls for a Modern Orthodoxy that celebrates its unique aptitude for honest, dignified and mutually enriching engagement of the “other.” It calls for a Modern Orthodoxy fed by a wellspring of sophisticated talmud Torah in which a gender-blind community of teachers and learners immerse themselves in a wide variety of texts and a range of methodologies, both for the purpose of blazing new paths and for the purposes of creating personal space. And it calls for a Modern Orthodoxy that actively seeks opportunities to share the gift of authentic Torah learning and authentic Torah living for the betterment of society and for the elevation of humanity at large.

 The entire review can be found here.