From the Editor – Issue 46
From the Editor
TODAY, I would like to make two announcements: Rabbi Russell Resnik, who edited this journal since 2018, has stepped down to continue to pursue his interests in writing, counseling and pursuing the good life of relationships with his wife of 52 years, children, grandchildren, and friends, while engaging in hiking and cycling. Rabbi Resnik has done a superb job at the helm of this journal, steering it as a guide to scholarly messianic issues, while peppering it with some more popular reads. It will be very difficult to transition to another editor and meet the standards set by Russ. For now, I will be interim, as we search for a new editor of this journal that has been publishing since 1994. Additionally, after this issue, Kesher is going the way of many journals today, and that is wholly on line. Those who have paid for print subscriptions will be contacted to make necessary adjustments.
This issue’s Messiah theme opens with the article, Jewish Images of the Messiah Throughout the Ages, which cites cases in which a religious movement, as the Dead Sea Sect, or a person as the Rambam, portrays the Messiah in its/his own image. Joseph: A Prefiguration of Messiah approaches its subject from a unique perspective, at times controversial, when comparing Joseph with Messiah. The third article, The Daring Life and Faith of the Wife of Joseph, highlights the life of Miriam in all her earthly holiness, and heavenly spirituality. This issue rounds out with articles on Creation, Covenant, and Strange Climate, a biblically focused broad-based environmental article; Awakening the Inner Voice: Prayer, Identity, and Divine Encounter, by a recent graduate of MJTI; Faded Ink and Torn Parchment, in which the author digs deeply into the Cairo Geniza to expose Jewish life under Islam; and a review of a book that critiqued Maimonidean and Kabbalistic challenges to the Incarnation. The issue closes with a play, Ogrodowa Street, based upon the life of a Holocaust survivor, Rachmiel Frydland, who came to the Lord in Poland, right before World War II broke out and survived the most threatening and terrifying conditions.
It is my hope you will read the articles that interest you. These are not just written for posterity but for NOW. We would love to hear any comments you have on any of the articles, as well as any suggestions and submissions. Please send those to: Editor@Kesherjournal.com; or P.O. Box 928004, San Diego, California 92192.
— Rabbi Elliot Klayman, Interim Editor