Author

  • Elliot Dorff

    Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Ph.D., Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University, has written or edited 29 books and over 200 articles on Jewish theology, law, and ethics. His latest two books are Modern Conservative Judaism: Evolving Thought and Practice and Ethics at the Center: Jewish Theory and Practice for Living a Moral Life. Awarded four honorary doctorates, he has chaired four scholarly organizations, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, and the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. His wife, Marlynn, and his four children and eight grandchildren are, he thinks, more important than anything listed above.

Rabbi Elliot Dorff, Ph.D., Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at American Jewish University, has written or edited 29 books and over 200 articles on Jewish theology, law, and ethics. His latest two books are Modern Conservative Judaism: Evolving Thought and Practice and Ethics at the Center: Jewish Theory and Practice for Living a Moral Life. Awarded four honorary doctorates, he has chaired four scholarly organizations, Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, and the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. His wife, Marlynn, and his four children and eight grandchildren are, he thinks, more important than anything listed above.

My Posts

How To Live A Morally Good Life

How To Live A Morally Good Life

The moral life, with its choices, its responsibilities, its missteps, and its modes of repair, is an integral part of what it means to be ...
The history of Mitzvot

The History of Tzedakah

The degree to which a person was obligated to contribute to the poor became the mark of membership in a community.

The Importance of Community Giving

Fundamentally, Jewish law offers some clear guidelines responding to the problems of poverty, the best of which is to prevent poverty itself.

Ethical Fundraising: A Jewish Perspective

Are bingo and more serious forms of gambling allowed to raise funds for synagogues and other Jewish institutions?
The Biblical Sources and Context for Tzedakah

The Biblical Sources and Context for Tzedakah

The Torah provides many examples and legal provisions which are the foundation of our understanding of tzedakah.
What is Tzedakah?

What is Tzedakah?

Jewish tradition does not see contributions to the community’s welfare as mere charity, but rather as tzedakah, literally “acts of justice.”