Article Archives

Anti-Semitism and Man at Yale

Continuing our retrospective, we revisit Alex Joffe's critique of the unwillingness of Western universities to confront contemporary anti-Semitism, first published June 13, 2011. 

The Moral Costs of Jewish Day School

As Jewish Ideas Daily nears its re-launch, we look back at some of our highlights over the last three-and-a-half years—beginning with Aryeh Klapper's day-school proposal, first published May 14, 2012.

Rousseau, Melody, and Mode

Though best remembered today for his political philosophy, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also a careful student of music.  But his conclusions are undermined by the liturgical music of Ashkenazi Jews.

Was the Torah Really Given on Shavuot?

In Jewish tradition, the holiday of Shavuot is said to commemorate the giving of the Torah at Sinai.  But, as the Talmud often asks, mena hani mili, how do we know this?

God the Economist

The Occupy rallies of 2011 were the largest Israel has ever seen.  As I looked at the young couples in Tel Aviv protesting the inaccessibility of housing they could call their own, I thought of the land tenure reforms of Leviticus. 

Beyond the Giants

Strange as it may sound, my idea of Israel did match reality.  I’ve never imagined it to be some spotless utopia where everybody knows your name.  It is a land haunted by terror and tragedy, fear and doubt.  And yet it’s the land where God has chosen to reveal Himself to man. 

High Concept in Dialogue With Tradition

The artifacts of Jewish cultural history have never looked so freshly inviting or unexpectedly contemporary as in a provocative new exhibition at New York's Jewish Museum.

Going Home

In his new book, Rod Dreher insists that communities are difficult to forge in America’s largest cities.  But for traditional Jews, the demands of modern capitalism and community are not as incommensurate as Dreher assumes. 

A Time Capsule

Petitions (kvitlekh) addressed to the 19th-century miracle worker Rabbi Elijah Guttmacher provide something almost never found in hoary Hebrew tomes or official Polish documents: windows into the struggles and secret anxieties of everyday Jews in Eastern Europe.

The Black-Hat Underground

The likely closure of Aderaba, the magazine by, for, and about frustrated Israeli ba’alei teshuvah, demonstrates that the mainstream haredi community is too great to overcome—for now.