An award-winning speaker, popular teacher, and experienced officiant.
“Man can alter his life by changing his thinking”
~ William James
An award-winning speaker, popular teacher, and experienced officiant.
“Man can alter his life by changing his thinking”
~ William James
Rabbinic Services
Rabbi Allen is ready to serve your needs in a variety of capacities. He is an award-winning speaker, popular teacher, and experienced officiant.
Speaker
Teacher
Officiant
Rabbi Allen is pleased to meet with you to discuss officiating at your wedding. With the experience of officiating at more than four hundred weddings, Rabbi Allen can customize each …
Books
In addition to the scholarly articles he has contributed to peer reviewed publications, Rabbi Allen has edited two books on Jewish law and co-written along with Harvey Haber a book of introductory prayers for various occasions. Rabbi Allen has also made a significant contribution to the understanding of Jewish theology, philosophy, history, and religious practice through his books.
Thinking About Good And Evil: Jewish Views From Antiquity To Modernity
The most comprehensive book on the topic, Thinking about Good and Evil traces the most salient Jewish ideas about why innocent people seem to suffer, why evil individuals seem to prosper, and God’s role in such matters of (in)justice, from antiquity to the present.
Outlook & Insights
Hard to Convince – Beshallah 5783
As a rabbinical student, I learned that should anyone generate a novel understanding of the text (hiddush, in Hebrew), two questions need be asked: first, is this novel understanding of the text...
Searching for God Through Tefillin – Bo 5783
As any Bar Mitzvah boy will attest, the transition from minor to adult is manifested by the wearing of tallit and tefillin. (In the 1950’s and 1960’s many traditional synagogues organized Tallit and...
Leftist Antisemitism
One of the most telling comments of the pre-eminent medieval commentator, Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak of Troyes appears at the very beginning of the book of Genesis. Citing a question raised by an...
The Finger of God – Veara 5783
Pharaoh remained unimpressed. Turning a staff into a snake was a feat easily repeated by Egyptian magicians (Exodus 7:11). And even after Moses’ snake swallowed up the magically crated ones,...
Nahmanides and Rosenzweig – Shemot 5783
A most remarkable Jewish thinker of the twentieth century is Franz Rosenzweig. His biography is of special interest and requires more space and consideration than this short piece allows. But what...
Why Kings Come from Judah – VaYehi 5783
On his death bed, Father Jacob offers blessings to his sons gathered around him. According to the Rabbis, his blessings were prophetic: predicting what will await each in the future (Genesis Rabbah...