Religion
OrthosexualityMonday, December 19, 2011 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Talmud tells a story about one Rabbi Kahana who hid under the bed of his master, Rabbi Abba (better known as Rav), as the latter was having sex with his wife. Kahana, shocked at the type of frivolous language used by his mentor, commented that Rav was behaving ravenously.
A Humanist Bible?Monday, December 12, 2011 by Armin Rosen | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
According to Jewish tradition, the Torah was delivered to Moses by God on Mount Sinai thousands of years ago. A.C. Grayling's The Good Book claims humbler origins. That text was given to us by an English philosophy professor this past summer.
Love, Marriage, and the Israeli RabbinateMonday, November 28, 2011 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The organization Tzohar is fighting for the right to perform its popular "alternative" weddings in Israel. A recent dispute with the Ministry of Religious Services was apparently resolved after a media war, frantic mediation, and a high-level Knesset meeting.
In the Jewish Dark ContinentTuesday, November 22, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Most American Jews descend from ancestors who resided in the Pale of Settlement, the territory from the Black Sea to the Baltic in which Jews were confined by the Czars. A new book describes one effort to chart that territory.
Who Owns Maimonides?Wednesday, October 5, 2011 by Joshua Halberstam | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Abraham Joshua Heschel once suggested that if one didn't know that "Maimonides" was a person, one would assume it was the name of a university. Heschel was referring to the monumental breadth and influence of the 12th-century philosopher's work.
The Book of LifeTuesday, September 27, 2011 by Tevi Troy | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The High Holy Days are traditionally a time for introspection. Even the sturdiest soul must pause with trepidation over the more harrowing passages in the somber liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Who shall live, and who shall die?
Mysteries of the MenorahThursday, September 8, 2011 by Meir Soloveichik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On the eve of Tisha b'Av, 2011, archeologists revealed artifacts newly unearthed from the great Jewish revolt against Rome (67–70 C.E.), including coins minted by the rebels and a stone incised with a sketch of the Temple menorah. But what is the menorah, and what does it symbolize?
The New Enemies of CircumcisionThursday, August 11, 2011 by Jon D. Levenson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Among the practices that have characterized the Jewish people over the millennia, surely none has been observed more widely, or more faithfully, than circumcision.
Reconstructing JudaismWednesday, August 3, 2011 by Joseph J. Siev | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
At a time when all three major Jewish denominations in America—Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform—find themselves in a state of deep internal fracture, a fourth and much smaller movement, Reconstructionism, has just voted to create a unified body to coordinate the activities of its lay and rabbinical arms.
Slaughterhouse RulesFriday, July 29, 2011 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Pending approval by its upper house of parliament, the Netherlands will join Switzerland and a handful of other Western countries in mandating that animals slaughtered for food must first be stunned unconscious, generally by a hammer blow to the skull.
Editors' Picks
America's New Religious Divide Walter Russell Mead, Via Meadia. The religious dividing line in today’s America no longer pits Protestants against Catholics or even Christians against Jews, but separates religious liberals from religious conservatives.
The Science of Muddling Through Gil Student, Torah Musings. Drawing on Burke, Chaim Navon argues that women will gradually assume larger roles in Orthodox Judaism—and that those who demand sudden change risk doing more harm than good.
The Politics of Revelation Jonathan Sacks, Algemeiner. "There is no legitimate government without the consent of the governed, even if the governor is Creator of heaven and earth."
The Original Jews for Jesus Mark Edwards, Marginalia. It wasn’t unusual in Jesus’ time to find Jews claiming that they could heal long-distance and raise the dead. Why was it only Jesus who attained the status of a god?
On Vulture's Wings Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. God told the Children of Israel, "I carried you on the wings of nesharim," translated as "eagles." Would we feel differently if we learned that the proper translation was "vultures?"
Is God Perfect? David Baggett, Tom Morris, First Things. Yoram Hazony finds the changeable, limited God of the Torah more compelling than the perfect God of classical theism. Critics say Hazony has an "unrefined conception of omnipotence."
Limmud Turns 33 Clive Lawton, eJewish Philanthropy. "As far as I remember, this was the first time in the Jewish world that Orthodox Jews could hear what Reform Jews really thought and vice versa."
Did Miriam Sing? Gil Student, Torah Musings. Because Miriam sang at the Red Sea, say some, it cannot be forbidden by halakhah for men to hear women’s voices in song. But did Miriam really sing?
Refreshing Tu Bishvat Elli Fischer, Jewish Week. "Diasporic Jewish existence is like a dried fruit: flavor and freshness are sacrificed in the interest of durability and portability."
Manna From Heaven? Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. Are miracles supernatural or naturalistic phenomena? Maimonides seems to give contradictory answers—particularly on the subject of manna.