The Next Generation of
Modern Orthodoxy
Edited by Rabbi Shmuel Hain
The Orthodox Forum
This volume contains papers from a special Orthodox Forum conference which featured leaders of the next generation of Modern Orthodoxy discussing the questions most essential to the future of the Jewish community. This volume has two types of papers. The first revisits three important themes raised in Orthodox Forums past with new viewpoints offered by a new generation of contributors. These topics were: the impact of new voices (female, academic, and spiritual) on the traditional beit midrash, a reexamination of the tension between rabbinic authority and personal autonomy, and new perspectives on social justice and tikkun olam. A second set of papers examines three new topics that were of particular interest to a younger generation of Orthodox Jews. These topics were: the Odyssey Years and the role of emerging adults in the Jewish community, the future of Modern Orthodoxy, and the prospects for Modern Orthodoxy's educational system. The blend of timeless and timely topics, the inter-generational dialogue, and the range of academic and more popular perspectives all combined to create a new energy and vitality to the discourse at the Forum and to the papers in this volume.