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The Roots of Teshuva

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A Mishnat HaRAL Program in memory of David Landes z"l upon his third Yahrzeit. Sunday, Sept 1, 2002 at Cong. Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck NJ.

A discussion with Rosh Yeshiva Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein and Rabbi Dr. Benjamin Samuels '86, Rabbi, Cong. Shaarei Tefillah, Newton, MA. Moderated by Rabbi Chaim Strauchler '95, Senior Rabbi, Cong. Rinat Yisrael. With remarks by Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein

Dr. David J. Landes z"l learned in Yeshivat Har Etzion over the course of three years during the 1970's. He remained a loyal talmid and committed alumnus of Yeshivat Har Etzion throughout his life, serving as the Chairman of the Board of the Etzion Foundation, and was a parent of Yeshivat Har Etzion and Migdal Oz alumni. An independent scholar, his penetrating studies of contemporary Orthodox Judaism, deeply informed by anthropology, broke new ground in the study of Jewish life. Landes enjoyed careers in law and in business before completing his Ph.D from Princeton in Anthropology. His widely known but unpublished doctoral dissertation, a brilliant ethnographic study of Yeshiva University’s Rabbinical school, bore the arresting title: “Traditional Struggles: Studying, Deciding and Performing the Law at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary” (2010). He went on to publish a series of valuable articles for different audiences including his 2012 reflections on the Siyum HaShas (https://thetalmud.blog/2012/08/03/solidarity-and-redemption-at-metlife-stadium-notes-from-the-siyum-ha-shas-guest-post-by-david-j-landes/); and a 2013 Tablet longform profile of Beth Medrash Govoha / Lakewood (https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/133643/lakewood-redefining-orthodoxy).

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