October 31, 2019November 3, 2019Michael Bettencourt
Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen 鈥89YC, 鈥89BR, 鈥94R, is a Rabbi at the Otniel Yeshiva in Israel and a leading figure in encounters between Judaism and Eastern religions.
In two lectures sponsored by the , , the and The Confucius Institute at SUNY, Dr. Nagen expanded upon the idea that at its core, Judaism is a method of detecting truth through honest (rather than self-aggrandizing) disputation that, when done with sincerity and humility, integrates principles of 鈥渄oing鈥 (defined as an effort to fix things because the world is constantly under construction) and 鈥渂eing鈥 (which he sees as a focus on the present moment) into a balanced and active life.
(l-r): Dr. Mordechai Cohen (professor of Bible; associate dean, Bernard Revel School of Jewish Studies; divisional coordinator of academic Jewish studies and Yeshiva College; and director of the Chinese-Jewish Conversation) and Rabbi Dr. Yakov Nagen
In 鈥淚ntroduction to Jewish Thought from Beijing and Shanghai,鈥 delivered on Oct. 24, 2019, he spoke about his family鈥檚 connection to the Jews who went to Shanghai for refuge. This family history has made him sensitive to the ways in which the traditions of Israel and China complement each other, especially in their respect for a truth derived from an engagement with ancient wisdom.
Enjoying the wit and wisdom of Rabbi Yakov Nagen
In 鈥淭o Do and To Be: Judaism鈥檚 Integration of East and West,鈥 on Oct. 28, 2019, he continued this train of thought by referring to the two stories of creation in the Bible, what Rabbi Dr. Joseph Soloveitchik referred to as Adam I and Adam II in The Lonely Man of Faith. 鈥淭he world of Adam I,鈥 said Dr. Nagen, 鈥渋s a story about conquering and about separating and dividing time.鈥 However, the world of Adam II is 鈥渢imeless,鈥 linked to the imagery of water and cyclical life. For Dr. Nagen, the two stories come together in the word 鈥渟halom,鈥 with its knitting together into a dynamic whole the opposites of fire and water.
Much of the material in these lectures can be found in his book, Be, Become, Bless 鈥 Jewish Spirituality between East and West, where he converses with both Eastern spirituality and Western thinking in an attempt to create a synthesis that unifies 鈥渂eing鈥 and 鈥渄oing鈥 in service to a search for truth.
