Faith & People
Beyond the GiantsFriday, May 10, 2013 by Robert Nicholson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
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.
The New Jewish LeadersFriday, April 5, 2013 by Hal M. Lewis | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Distinguished scholars profile the new generation of American Jewish leaders, from the ages of 22 to 40, and ask how they differ from the leaders of the generation past. But who counts as a Jewish leader?
As a Driven LeafThursday, March 28, 2013 by Phil Cohen | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Milton Steinberg's As a Driven Leaf is no literary masterpiece. But the novel, with its story of a notorious 2nd-century, C.E. heretic, has been in print for 75 years. What accounts for the book's appeal to generations of modern Jews?
AIPAC and the Secret Worlds of PeoplehoodTuesday, March 12, 2013 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
No cause, force or organization, brings Americans, primarily Jews but also Christians, together like the cause of Israel as managed by AIPAC.
The Voice That Speaks in My SoulFriday, March 8, 2013 by Susan Taubes | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Echoing Kafka in this 1949 letter of protest to a domineering male, Susan Taubes writes: "I can no more keep to the laws of the Bible than I can cross myself or take the sacrament."
Who Says There Are No Coincidences?Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by David Glasner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In certain Orthodox circles, the idea that there are no coincidences has become a principle of faith. But it contradicts a more fundamental Jewish doctrine: human free will.
Judaism and the Meaning of LifeFriday, March 1, 2013 by Emil Fackenheim | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Emil Fackenheim is often remembered only for his Holocaust theology. This 1965 Commentary essay reminds us of his understanding of the covenantal relationship between God and man.
It’s All in the AngleFriday, February 1, 2013 by Jack Riemer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In his new collection of essays, ultra-Orthodox rabbi Avi Shafran disputes the scientific worldview on its own terms. But he refuses to acknowledge scientific challenges to Judaism.
The First War of National LiberationWednesday, December 12, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Maccabees' revolt can lay claim to being the first war of national liberation. Reprinted here is Diana Muir Appelbaum’s account of why the Book of Maccabees is so modern and so dangerous.
Whose Akedah Was It, Anyhow?Friday, October 26, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Today, October 26, 2012, the world’s Muslims will celebrate `Id al-Adha, commemorating Abraham’s willingness to demonstrate his love of God by sacrificing his son. While most Muslims assume that the son Abraham intended to sacrifice was Ishmael, this was not the unanimous opinion of early Muslims and Qur’anic scholars.
Editors' Picks
Is Blood Thicker than Holy Water? , Economist. Mary Eberstadt argues that religion goes hand in hand with the traditional family. But religions are often founded on the triumph of faith over kinship.
Memorializing the Rav David Shatz, YU News. On the occasion of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik's 20th yahrzeit, some thoughts on how his thought will be conveyed to a generation that did not know him.
Religion without God Ronald Dworkin, New York Review of Books. In acknowledging a sense of value, mystery, and purpose in life, many non-believers live by a form of faith—and reject the naturalism of the New Atheists.
Torah from Sinai? Marc B. Shapiro, Seforim. Today, Mosaic authorship of the Torah is an Orthodox principle of faith. But, "in medieval Ashkenaz, it was not regarded as heretical to posit post-Mosaic additions."
Children of Israel David Wolpe, Weekly Standard. A new book on Jacob asks why the Torah begins with the patriarchal narrative rather than with the Exodus—and why a deeply flawed man is chosen to be the father of the Jewish people.
Believing in the Novel J. L. Wall, First Things. Recently, author Paul Elie sounded the death knell for the "novel of belief." But did he overlook contemporary Jewish fiction?
Defending the Faith Allan Nadler, Forward. The Great Partnership, Jonathan Sacks' new book on the relationship between science and religion, is a moving expression of his own faith. But does it lack intellectual honesty?
The Faith Stays in the Picture Yair Raveh, Fathom. Israeli cinema used to be a reliably religion-free zone. Not any more.
The Six Commandments Ari Enkin, Torah Musings. If all of the Torah’s 613 commandments seem too much, relax: there are only six that a person must fulfill constantly to keep the evil inclination at bay.
European Muslims: The Quiet Revolution Ari Varon, Haaretz. It’s the radical Islamists who get the headlines. But in the background, European Muslims, for the first time in Islamic history, may be developing a locally based Islamic-European identity.