Clear Thought, Rabbi Uri Sherky

B"H SHALOM YOCHAI HOUSE Under the leadership of HaRav Uri Sherky STATEMENT BY THE RAV The state of Israel, and the Jewish people as a whole, need a Torah of greatness. There is need for public discussion on a high level that can address the great questions of the world in a profound and ongoing way, in a language that can communicate with the intellectual and artistic elites. There is great need to make Judaism accessible on a high level to a wide audience, and this is what we are trying to do at "Shalom Yochai House" – a center we have opened in Jerusalem in order to give light to the entire Jewish world and to the world at large. We need, moreover, to learn with what I call a "clear mind." By this I mean that the basics of faith are not learned from a position of submission, from a belittlement of human stature, or from fear and anxiety, but on the contrary, from largemindedness, from struggle, from an encounter with the great expanse of Jewish and universal thought. To see how Judaism, as the word of G-d, fits in with the great expanse of human thought – this is one of the aims with which Shalom Yochai House was founded, of course with your help, with the help of the whole community. We are not in the position of asking for gifts, rather we are in the position of offering an ideal, a vision. We are going to establish among the people a center of life that will serve as a magnet, a citadel, for all who are looking for deep and serious dialogue in this time. Judaism can no longer afford to close in on itself. If we want a Judaism that is alive and breathing, it needs to exert an influence on all sectors of the people and on all of humanity. From this standpoint the vision of "Brit Olam" fits in well with the great vision of Shalom Yochai House, which will serve as a center for those interested in classical Torah studies as well as for academics, artists, and all who think about culture, whether religious or secular, as well as those who will come from the nations in order to receive Torah and guidance for their peoples. All of this great enterprise is in your service, dear and beloved friends, participants in this great and beautiful journey which will change something in the world, which will bring about a transformation in our life as a people and in the lives of each one of us. With faithful blessings for success and redemption, HaRav Uri Sherky