People & Places
Eating Your ValuesFriday, November 4, 2011 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The many Jewish laws regarding food—how it gets from the ground and into our mouths in a kosher manner—are central to Jewish life. But what ethical framework underlies the system of kashrut? Maimonides' justifications for kashrut range from avoiding cruelty to animals and eschewing the idolatrous practices of antiquity to considerations of health.
Ladies in WaitingWednesday, November 2, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The winter session of the Knesset began this week and, in what is surely a sign of the times, two of its most closely watched stories involve female political leaders. One is a rising star; the other is struggling to stay alive.
The Great Orthodox ComebackTuesday, November 1, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The resurgence of Orthodoxy may be the most profound, and is certainly the most surprising, transformation of Judaism in the past 60 years.
America’s Holy Haunted HousesMonday, October 31, 2011 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Halloween is most certainly no Jewish holiday; yet its spooky mood is curiously congruent with the ambience that overcomes American synagogues this time of year.
Creating the Master RaceFriday, October 28, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan's peaceful Battery Park is an unlikely place to explore some of the 20th century's most horrific evils. Deadly Medicine, an exhibit on Nazi racial science, is a sobering examination of the intertwined history of science and evil.
The Yiddish Silver ScreenThursday, October 27, 2011 by Nahma Sandrow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Nobody is sure exactly how many movies were ever made in Yiddish. James Hoberman's exhaustive study Bridge of Light (2010) lists some hundred such films, made in the 20th century primarily in America, Germany, Austria, Romania, Poland, and Russia.
Portrait of the Artist as a Self-Hating JewTuesday, October 25, 2011 by Dan Kagan-Kans | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The French author Irène Némirovsky lived through one world war and died at Hitler's hands in the second. Born to a wealthy Jewish family in Kiev at the turn of the last century, she came of age just in time to flee revolutionary Russia for Paris.
Are Young Rabbis Turning on Israel?Monday, October 24, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
For all the theological, ritualistic, and institutional differences separating the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements, what distinguishes the groups in the minds of many ordinary American Jews comes down to branding.
In Egypt, with LiberalsWednesday, October 19, 2011 by Michael J. Totten | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
American relations with the Arab world have been strained for decades; Israel's relations with the Arab world barely exist. But the Arab world itself is not all of a piece. The outright enemies of Israel and the West—preeminently, Syria and Iran—are political totalitarians.
The Genesis of Modern ScienceTuesday, October 18, 2011 by David Curzon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton, and the other founders of modern science were all believers in the truths of the opening chapter in the Hebrew Bible.
Editors' Picks
Is There Such a Thing as Jewish Fiction? , Moment. Howard Jacobson, Geraldine Brooks, A.B. Yehoshua, Shalom Auslander, Walter Mosley, Etgar Keret, André Aciman, Nathan Englander, Nadia Kalman, and others answer.
Debate: Zionism and American Jews Peter Beinart, Daniel Gordis, Tablet/The Current. The proposition: Zionism is failing and American Jews are hastening its decline. (Video)
The Good Göring Christoph Gunkel, Spiegel. Albert Göring has remained essentially unknown—perhaps because it's hard to believe that the brother of Hitler's deputy was a member of the resistance.
When Stalinism Was in Vogue Michael Moynihan, Wall Street Journal. Playwright Lillian Hellman disdained a system that made her fabulously rich while romanticizing one that made its citizens spectacularly poor.
Mixed Views Anav Silverman, Huffington Post. Last month, Israel became the first Middle Eastern country to be added to Google Street View. It remains to be seen whether the technology will be a bigger boon to tourists or terrorists.
Paranoid or Realist? Jeffrey Goldberg, Bloomberg. Benzion Netanyahu gave his son, Israel's prime minister, a dark view of the Middle East—and, therefore, the ability to negotiate a realistic peace.
Budding in Budapest Andrew Sacks, Jerusalem Post. Much of Hungary's Jewish establishment is government-funded and ossified. But in its shadow, in Budapest's old Jewish quarter, a kind of revival is going on.
The Afghani Genizah Shai Secunda, Talmud Blog. We are starting to hear about the Jewish manuscripts recently discovered in an Afghani cave. But before we learn more, someone has to buy them.
Abbas's Police State Jonathan Schanzer, Foreign Policy. The Palestinian Authority moves to block websites critical of Abbas. The White House has sanctioned such behavior by Iran and Syria—but not the PA.
Quebec's Kosher Bootleggers David Sugarman, Tablet. Montreal Hasidim are selling kosher wine without a permit. Are the Hasidim acting criminally? Are the permitting laws effectively anti-Semitic? The answers are surprisingly unclear.