Ivor Jacobs chaired a panel on “Modern Orthodoxy: what’s in a name anyway?” at Limmud, with Daniel Sperber, Yaffa Epstein, and Herzl Hefter as guest speakers. Each member of the panel starts the session off with a short introduction indicating their own views on Modern Orthodoxy. Yaffa Epstein used some personal anecdotes to offer some insights into the tension between authority and individualism. Herzl Hefter followed with some impressions, discussed through the lens of Maimonidean theology, on intellectual honesty on matters which challenge the theological underpinnings of Orthodox beliefs (such as darwinism, biblical criticisim, and so on). Finally, Daniel Sperber outlined two philosophies of Judaism which differ over openess to the surrounding culture and contemporary developments. The conversation which ensued touched on all these themes in great depth, and was followed by a Q&A.
