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The Signal-to-Noise War
A "signal-to-noise" ratio compares the power of a transmitted signal to that of the accompanying background noise. In the war of words between Israel and Iran the noise-to-signal ratio is so high that it is an almost overwhelming task to decipher what's going on.
Teach Your Tongue to Say “I Don’t Know”Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A "signal-to-noise" ratio compares the power of a transmitted signal to that of the accompanying background noise. In the war of words between Israel and Iran the noise-to-signal ratio is so high that it is an almost overwhelming task to decipher what's going on.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by David Wolpe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
When a nation struggles with the threat of being vaporized in a nuclear conflict, to call its policies on the West Bank and Gaza "the great question of the age" is myopic at best.Mishpatim: Love, Freedom, and the Law
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by David Hazony | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
And now, a little bit of law. Nestled between the two mega-memes of the Revelation at Sinai and the construction of the Tabernacle, we find a weekly reading that starts with "these are the statutes (mishpatim) that you will place before them." It goes on to provide us with the basics of the Torah's civil and criminal laws.Must a Jew Believe Anything?
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Menachem Kellner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
According to one Maimonides scholar, dogma is a device for determining who is "out," whereas the demand of the hour is finding ways of keeping Jews "in." (Interview by Alan Brill.)School Ties
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Jason Diamond | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
The only thing hidden in the resurgence of the quintessentially WASPy American look is a sense of its Jewish roots.Belief and Bewilderment
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Suzanne Last Stone | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
Arguing over whether Israel or the U.S. is more religion-mad is less productive than recognizing the common Jewish struggle being played out on these two fronts.Ways and Means
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 by Joseph Lowin | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
The root alef, resh, het, meaning to travel, is used in two important narratives in Genesis and still is encountered in modern Hebrew. Just don't try to give an orhit to an airport customs agent. Publicity Windfalls
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by David Bernstein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
On most American campuses, anti-Israel campaigns usually fail. But now well-meaning opposition from pro-Israel groups is giving them the publicity they need to succeed.
Mensch in the Moon
Right now there are two Americans aboard the International Space Station, and their only way home is to hitch a ride in the Russians' Soyuz capsule, a ramshackle remnant of the 1960s. There's no space shuttle to bring them home because the shuttle's been retired; also retired are plans for an American return to the moon.
The Jews Who Fight BackTuesday, February 14, 2012 by Josh Gelernter | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Right now there are two Americans aboard the International Space Station, and their only way home is to hitch a ride in the Russians' Soyuz capsule, a ramshackle remnant of the 1960s. There's no space shuttle to bring them home because the shuttle's been retired; also retired are plans for an American return to the moon.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 by Ezra Glinter | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
For decades, Chabad struggled to maintain its enclave in a predominantly black neighborhood while keeping control over its own internal frictions. Now, it may have to recalibrate that defensive stance.