Fifty Synagogue Seminars

During the last twelve years, Dr. Baron has led fifty pre-Sabbath-service seminars at the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, New York and/or the New London Synagogue. These didactic essays explore the Bible, theology, liturgy, social responsibility, and the arts - from Who wrote the Bible? to Mark Twain's Concerning the Jews. Each chapter examines a problem that had perplexed Baron, and for which he provides a detailed evidence-based review together with sources. He pursues each issue from hundreds or thousands of years ago to the present, including both the Diaspora and Israel. He looks at what countries bordering Palestine had discussed and practiced, and scrutinizes the attitudes of other Abrahamic and Eastern religions and their differing denominations. Finally, he attempts to assess the relevance of each topic for the twenty-first century.