David Sperling, originally from Utica, NY and currently residing in Tampa, FL acquired his Bachelor's in Religious Studies and minor in Behavioral Health care at the University of South Florida. He enjoys studying world cultures, psychology, Judaism, and researching how they relate to one another. Creative writing, spending time at the beach, and most importantly helping build Tampa's Jewish Community are vital parts of his life.
David's goals include utilizing the cultural knowledge he has gained from around the world and to continue his growth at Rabbinical school.
David's paper relates that it has been nearly seventy years since the end of the Second World War and the Shoah; the greatest calamity to befall the Jewish people in modern times. Yet, with the Nazis defeated, the success of Israel as a nation and the Jewish communities of the world, does The Shoah still hold sway over World Jewry today? How are issues such as Assimilation and Divisiveness connected to the Shoah? What are the Spiritual dimensions of this?
Further, these issues necessitate a course of action to neutralize them. Is it possible the answer lies in a reworking of how people use a Mikvah? This paper is an attempt to address these issues and questions.
This presentation was delivered at the Sinai Scholars Academic Symposium 2012. The Sinai Scholars Symposium is a yearly conference for university students, hosted by the Sinai Scholars Society. Students from around the world gather with an esteemed panel of Ivy League professors, world-class Torah scholars and experts in their field to study, discuss and present their thoughts on various subjects that deal with Judaism and the modern world. Each student prepares an academic paper which they present to their colleagues and a panel of judges.
Paper: Mikvah Renaissance
