Welcome

This web site aims to encourage open discussions on every possible topic related to Torah study. We welcome the involvement of men and women from anywhere in the world. The website is an extension of the Etta Kossowsky Fund learning programme, which encourages Torah learning for women in Israel through Study Groups. Like the Fund, it is a memorial to Etta Ehrman Kossowsky z.l. (1969-95).

Our articles section covers a very wide range of topics. Many of the contributions are summaries of talks given in Etta Kossowsky Study Groups. All are Torah oriented and reflect personal readings of texts and commentaries. Some articles are in Hebrew, but most of the contributions are in English.

Three recent articles by Esther Ehrman are about the Book of the Kuzari:

Judaism as introduced in the Book of the Kuzari
Medieval philosophers were very good at arguing the case for the truths by which man lives. Believers and non-believers, defenders of the three major faiths and neo-Aristotelian secularists, battled to articulate the merits of their value-systems. The Book of the Kuzari by Yehuda HaLevy, completed around 1140, is a major contribution in this philosophical debate. more

Is This Your Judaism? The Jew in Sefer HaKuzari
In the dialogue presented by Yehuda HaLevy in the third essay of his Sefer Hakuzari, between the King of the Khazars and the Chaver, the discussion focuses on what distinguishes the observant Jew. Which of the G-d given commandments mark him as specifically Jewish? more

Philosophical Truth and Torah Truth in the Kuzari
In the fifth Essay of the Kuzari, Yehuda HaLevy expands on views that he had stated briefly in the first Essay. The aim of the Jewish Chaver is to demonstrate to the King of the Khazars the merits of Torah truth in topics that philosophers had seemingly analysed successfully. Medieval Jewish thinkers were concerned to explore whether the 'god' of the philosophers, their description of the universe in terms of Spheres and basic constituent Elements, their analysis of the Soul were compatible with Jewish teachings. more

We welcome your feedback on whatever you read on this site.