Rabbi Mel Gottlieb, Ph.D., was ordained at Yeshiva University and holds a doctorate in Mythology/Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. He is President Emeritus of the Academy for Jewish Religion - California and served as well as the Dean of its Rabbinical School. Rabbi Gottlieb has also taught at Columbia University., Yeshiva University, and the University of Southern California Graduate School of Social Work, and served as Hillel Director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Princeton University.
Rabbi Mel Gottlieb provides deep and cogent insights on the weekly Torah portions. He makes us think, evaluate, read and re-read the texts. He is a master teacher who invites us to explore the complexities of Torah and its eternally powerful teachings. -Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, Rabbi Emeritus, the historic Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York City. When an eminent teacher and spiritual guide offers his contemplations on the Torah, we should sit up and take notice. In this book Rabbi Mel Gottlieb shows how the stories, laws, and parables of the Torah point to the character-building insights often known as Mussar, but also how the same material can awaken mystical depths and provide spiritual inspiration. He gives us a combination of worldly realism and stretching toward the heights that can help us face our own challenges and ultimately contribute to a better world.' -Tamar Frankiel, PhD, Author, The Voice of Sarah: Feminine Spirituality and Traditional Judaism Rabbi Dr. Mel Gottlieb is a brilliant thinker and dynamic teacher we should all learn from. He combines insights from classical Torah commentators with psychology, philosophy, and mysticism. Further, he humanizes our traditional wisdom by making it morally and spiritually relevant to the contemporary reader. His Torah is a treasure for all people to reflect on and to inspire growth in our intellectual journeys, character development, and soul flourishing. -Rabbi Dr. Shmuly Yanklowitz, President & Dean of Valley Beit Midrash, Author, Forty Arguments for the Sake of Heaven