Lest anyone think I am engaging in false flattery for some reason, dismiss that thought from your mind. Be assured that I am not. I have absolutely no reason to do that. I simply admire who he is and what he does online.
Although I have no personal relationship with Gil and have never met him in person, we both go back to an email list called Avodah/Areivim owned and operated by Rabbi Micha Berger. It was (and still is) a forum for Jewish thought focusing on Halacha, Hashkafa, and world events affecting the Jewish people. Gil and I both participated quite profusely offering our insight on all of those issues.
As blogging became a more popular form of online discussion, Gil started his own blog: Hirhurim. Whose subject matter followed along similar lines of Avodah/Areivim.
I had continued to opine on that Avodah/Areivim but some of my more ciritical material was censored. Some subjects, like Chabad Meshichism became entirely off limits. At the time it was at the height of its controversy. I was frustrated by my inability to comment on what I felt is a vital issue that needed to be discussed. Gil suggested I start my own blog and the rest as they say is history.
A few years ago and for his own reasons, Gil converted his blog into a website that featured a variety features including opinions by Gil and other prominent Orthodox rabbis and personalities on Jewish issues. His website now called Torah Musings is a valuable resource for my own blog.
As for me, any success that I have had in expressing and spreading what I believe to be the ‘Emes VeEmunah’ of Judaism I attribute to Rabbi Gil Student. For which I would like to now express my sincere gratitude.
All of this was just an introduction to Gil’s latest book entitled Articles of Faith. Therein he describes his own journey as a spokesman for observant Judaism and why he transitioned from blogging to an online magazine of sorts. The topics he discusses in his new book are based on decades of articles he has written on his views of Halacha and Hashkafa in the Internet era. Views that I generally strongly agree with. Areas of discussion include: belief, technology, sacred texts, and the State of Israel. Obviously Judaism has a lot to say about all of those issues, and I can think of no one better to express them than Rabbi Gil Student.
I do not generally review books. But I sometimes do make an exception. This is one of those times. I highly recommend this book. If you want to know what the fundamentals of Judaism has to say about the online world in which we live today, Articles of Faith (published by Kodesh Press) is a great way to begin that journey.