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Teach Your Tongue to Say “I Don’t Know”

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

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?

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

The only thing hidden in the resurgence of the quintessentially WASPy American look is a sense of its Jewish roots.Belief and Bewilderment

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

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.      Through First-Century Eyes

We can learn much about Jewish life from the earliest texts of the rabbinic period: the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo and Josephus, archeological material, and . . . the New Testament? (Interview by Shmuel Rosner)The Frozen Chosen

Roosevelt's plan to resettle Jewish refugees in Alaska came to nothing, as locals doubted that the newcomers could adapt. But unbeknownst to them, Jews had been among Alaska's pioneers.Publicity Windfalls

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.