Poverty
The Moral Costs of Jewish Day SchoolMonday, May 20, 2013 by Aryeh Klapper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
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.
God the EconomistMonday, May 13, 2013 by Joshua Berman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
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.
A Time CapsuleTuesday, May 7, 2013 by Glenn Dynner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
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.
Tithing and TaxesFriday, April 12, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A significant proportion of tax revenue is used for charitable purposes: food stamps, Social Security, housing assistance, public healthcare. May Jews therefore count tax payments as charitable contributions?
New York Jews: Growing in Numbers, Growing ApartThursday, July 5, 2012 by Leslie Lenkowsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Ever since the first 23 Jewish settlers arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, New York City has been the economic, cultural, religious and, not least, demographic center of Jewish life in North America.
Editors' Picks
Lending Limits Gil Student, Torah Musings. By allowing loans to be reformulated as business deals, the Talmud circumvents the Torah’s prohibition on usury. But there are limits to when this legal device should be used.
The Indignity of Dependence Jonathan Sacks, Huffington Post. "Judaism recognizes that unemployment has a psychological as well as economic dimension. As a matter of religious principle, job creation must be at the center of any long-term welfare policy."
What Makes Purim Tzedakah Different? Yossi Prager, eJewish Philanthropy. "All year long we seek to be instrumental in our giving of tzedakah. On Purim, however, we give because we feel the emotional need to do so."