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
Still Relevant – VaYikra83
Professor Jacob Milgrom offers a surprising explanation of the purpose of the book of Leviticus. While the text centers mostly on priestly laws, the subtext is the eradication of pagan religion...
Tribute to Teachers – VaYakhel-Pekuday 5783
An oft repeated observation is that those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. At times, even Jews have denigrated teachers. In the Eastern European shtetl, the melamed – teacher of small children –...
Choosing to Be for God – Ki Tissa 5783
Growing up as I did in Washington Heights, Manhattan, there were two names that were pre-eminent in the minds of the Jewish community. The first was Rabbi Joseph Breuer and the second was Rabbi...
Clothes Make a Statement – Tetzaveh 5783
A story is told – presumably apocryphal – about the time Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, was scolded by one of the more officious members of the Kenesset for attending with an open...
Spiritual Solutions for Spiritual Problems – Terumah 5783
The decline in synagogue attendance in the non-Orthodox world is not a new phenomenon, though the problem has been exacerbated by COVID restrictions. The immigrant generations that populated...
Relieving Another’s Burden – Mishpatim 5783
Not only was he an ordained rabbi from an illustrious family, Dr. Abraham Twersky was a trained psychiatrist and proficient author. Early in his career he had served as a psychiatrist in a large...