Miscellaneous

Can military force be effective?

A series of talks responding to a new book on the Rebbe's social vision. Hosted by the Chabad Society at Oxford University, a group of renowned scholars offer thoughts and reflections on Social Vision: The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Transformative Paradigm for the World, by Professor Philip Wexler.

How happiness is a conduit for resilience.

How the Chief Rabbinate of Israel can be effective in bridging the gap between religious and non-religious through a full understanding of its vitally important role.

3500 years ago Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, instructing them to ‘Remember this day on which you went out of Egypt.’ Does the retelling of the Exodus and the Passover story have relevance to contemporary events in the UK and Europe in terms of forming national identities and developing different concepts of freedom?

Daniel Mark is the Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and a professor of political science at Villanova University, where he teaches political theory, philosophy of law, American political thought, and politics and religion.

MP John Mann discusses the rampant issue of Anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party, detailing the extent and depth of the issue, his battle against it and what must be done further to combat it.

An academic analysis looking at neo-liberalism, globalization, and the rise of radical Islam as factors in the recent rise in anti-semitism in Europe, and of intolerance across the world.

Marcus du Sautoy examines the confines of science; using props, he takes us on a journey to the edges of knowledge. Examples from the laws of probability, chaos theory, and radiation emitting uranium. This lecture explores the limitations of science from a purely non-religious standpoint.

After successfully arguing that "The BDS Movement Against Israel is Wrong" at the Oxford Union debating society, Alan Dershowitz talks about how he integrated his yeshiva education into his career as a Harvard law professor, about the past and future of advocacy for Israel, and about why he loves Chabad.

There are many approaches to the relationship between science and religion. But Einstein didn't take one consistent approach. He grappled with scientific mystery and religious wonder in different ways throughout his life.

In Isaiah Berlin's 1962 essay, The Purpose of Philosophy, he wrote that enlightenment philosophers were tormented by the same ancient questions as their ancestors "in Greece and Rome and Palestine." He clearly believed that the Jews of ancient Israel had as much to contribute to philosophy as anyone else. Yoram Hazony calls for a contemporary renaissance of a uniquely Jewish philosophical vision for all of society.

His great grandfather was a revered rabbinic scholar imprisoned by the Soviets, his grandson a card carrying communist party member who filled his London home with thousands of rare works representing vastly different worlds.

The early development of psychiatry led to medical reductionism, allowing no place for a positive interchange with religion and spirituality. But modern advances show that a sympathetic understanding of a patient's religious orientation greatly increases the practitioner's ability to effectively heal.

The effort to find common ground between psychiatry and religion, involves a search for corresponding language that is as meaningful to secular people as it is to those of religious persuasion. Historical precedent provides several intellectual and emotional avenues via which this can be achieved.

While some have debated the primacy of religion, culture, ethnicity and other factors in forging a strong Jewish identity, Professor Chaim Waxman conclusively demonstrates that Jewish identity in America is stronger, more vibrant and more durable amongst those who practice traditional Judaism.

Renowned astronomer and astrophysicist, Professor Tzevi Mazeh, is interviewed at the Oxford Chabad Society by its co-director, Freidy Brackman.

Rhodes scholar at Oxford University, Zohar Atkins, presents a paper on the unique roll of prayer and poetry in the Jewish tradition.

A musical historian provides a "show-and-tell" of various types of musical instruments mentioned in the Bible.

Jewish New Year reflections on an Oxford college coat of arms. as based on Psalm 42.

Fate and destiny in the thought of Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik.

Why Heidegger's philosophy is problematic from a Jewish perspective.

An Introduction to medieval Hebrew grammar