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
Walking in the Ways of God – Ekev 5781
Rabbi Moses Schreiber, known as the Hatam Sofer, connects the opening words of the Torah portion with Avot 1:4 where Yosi ben Yo’ezer teaches about the Sages: “sit in the dust of their feet and...
Defending the Inalterable – Va-ethanan 5781
Moses worries. He worries that one day in the future the Israelites might forget what they witnessed at Mt. Sinai and, being led astray by their baser desires, ignore the Torah they were given...
Friendly Criticism- Devarim 5781
The Midrash (Devarim Rabbah, Parashah 1) assumes that the word “devarim” does not refer to ordinary words but to words of rebuke. Even with this assumption, Rabbi Aha, the son of Rabbi Hanina...
Patriarchs and Chieftains – Mattot Massei 5781
In his book Mi-sinai Ba, Rabbi Yehudah Shaviv notes that the book of Numbers consistently incorporates the tribal chieftains in decision-making. When, for example, the tribes of Reuven and Gad...
Compromise in Texts and in Life – Pinhas 5781
Buoying the spirits of the Israelites is the knowledge that very soon they would enter into the Promised Land. When it comes to dividing up the land of Israel the Torah says the land shall be...
What Jews Don’t Know About Themselves – Balak 5781
When Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin co-authored their popular 1986 Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism they hit upon some of the most relevant contemporary Jewish issues like “Can one doubt...