Abraham Skorka (born July 5, 1950) is an Argentine biophysicist, rabbi and book author. He is rector emeritus of the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires,[1] the rabbi of the Jewish community Benei Tikva, professor of biblical and rabbinic literature at the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano and honorary professor of Hebrew Law at the Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires.

Rabbi
Abraham Skorka
Rabbi Abraham Skorka, January 2015
Personal
Born (1950-07-05) July 5, 1950 (age 74)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
ReligionJudaism
NationalityArgentinian
DenominationConservative Judaism
OccupationRector of the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano in Buenos Aires
Rabbi of the Jewish community Benei Tikva
Professor of biblical and rabbinic literature at the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano
SemikhahSeminario Rabínico Latinoamericano

Career

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Abraham Skorka held with the Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, later Pope Francis, a series of inter-religious talks on topics such as God, fundamentalism, atheists, death, holocaust, homosexuality, and capitalism. The dialogues alternately took place at the seat of the bishop and at the Jewish Community Benei Tikva. They were published in a book titled Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra (On Heaven and Earth).

In 1973 he graduated from the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano with ordination as a rabbi.[2]

In 1979 he was awarded his doctorate in Chemistry at the University of Buenos Aires. Skorka has published scientific papers in the field of biophysics and numerous articles in the field of Biblical and Talmudic research.[3]

He received a doctorate honoris causa from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City.[4]

In 2010 the Universidad Católica Argentina awarded him a doctorate honoris causa,[5] the first time in Latin America that a Catholic university gave this title to a rabbi.[6]

In May 2017, Skorka published an approbation in regards to the Orthodox Rabbinic Statement on Christianity entitled To Do the Will of Our Father in Heaven: Toward a Partnership between Jews and Christians which was published two years beforehand by the Israel-based Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC).[7]

In 2018-2019, he serves as Visiting University Professor at the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

On 10 May 2023, University of Trnava conferred a honorary doctorate in theology on Skorka for his "contributions to Judeo-Christian dialogue, interfaith dialogue and tolerance in science and pedagogy".[8] Skorka was congratulated and greeted by Pope Francis on this occasions.[9]

Works

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Books

  • Miles de años por semana : vision actual de la lectura de la Torah. 1997
  • co-author and editor: Introducción al Derecho Hebreo. 2001, ISBN 978-9502312002
  • Hacia un mañana sin fe? 2007, Ediciones Asamblea Rabinica Latinoameriana, ISBN 978-9875506374
  • Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Abraham Skorka: Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra. Editorial Sudamericana, Buenos Aires 2010, ISBN 9789500732932. Translated into English as On Heaven and Earth.
  • He wrote the foreword to the 2020 book, Jesus Wasn't Killed by the Jews, Orbis Books.

Cassette

Articles published in La Nacion (selection)

Articles

Skorka, Abraham. 2023. "In Search of God: A Desperate View of the Conflicts of the Present." Spirituality Studies 9 (2): 54-59. https://www.spirituality-studies.org/dp-volume9-issue2-fall2023/54/

References

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  1. ^ "Pope's book co-authored with rabbi to be translated into English". Haaretz.
  2. ^ "Seminario Rabinico Latinamericano Rabinos Graduados". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  3. ^ "Sobre el Cielo y la Tierra - Bergoglio - Skorka - Libros". Tematika.com. 2010-11-17. Archived from the original on 2013-03-15. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  4. ^ "Seminario Rabinico Latinamericano Profesores". Archived from the original on 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  5. ^ "UCA" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Doctorado honoris causa de la UCA para el rabino Skorka - LA NACION". La Nación. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2013-03-24.
  7. ^ "ORTHODOX RABBINIC STATEMENT ON CHRISTIANITY". Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  8. ^ "Udelili sme čestný doktorát Abrahamovi Skorkovi | Trnavská univerzita v Trnave | TRUNI". www.truni.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  9. ^ "Pápež vyjadril radosť z udelenia čestného doktorátu rabínovi Skorkovi v Trnave - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va (in Slovak). 2023-05-10. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  10. ^ "Judaic Lecture Audio Cassette Tape Collection at the Rosenkrantz Family Library at Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel". Beki.org. 2007-12-07. Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
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Videos

Pictures