Religion
Gun Control, Halakhah, and History: Further ThoughtsTuesday, January 22, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
While the use of weaponry is at times morally necessary, the glorification of weaponry is foreign to Jewish thought.
Shabbat Shirah: Song Takes WingMonday, January 21, 2013 by Jerry Friedman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Complementing the Song of the Sea, which will be read this Shabbat in synagogue, the Rabbis suggested a home-based ritual to celebrate Shabbat Shirah: feeding the birds.
Gun Control and the Limits of HalakhahWednesday, January 9, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Rabbinic disputes on the proper regulation of dangerous dogs illustrate that reasonable people, who share Jewish values regarding violence and self-defense, can disagree about gun control.
A Pillar with a PastTuesday, January 8, 2013 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Gil S. Perl’s The Pillar of Volozhin sheds light on the Netziv, one of Lithuanian Jewry's greatest leaders, whose own intellectual development is reflected throughout the yeshiva world today.
’Twas the Day After Christmas . . .Wednesday, December 26, 2012 by Ethan Schwartz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Joshua Eli Plaut’s new book, A Kosher Christmas: ’Tis the Season to Be Jewish, fails to recognize that in subverting Christmas, American Jews have promoted their own assimilation.
The Chief Rabbi of CanterburyMonday, December 24, 2012 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
With his public defense of religion, the outgoing Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has fulfilled an important role within British society—just not the one he was appointed to perform.
“Touch not Mine Anointed Ones”Friday, December 21, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Contemplating what occupies God all day, the Talmud declares that “during the last set of hours, God sits and teaches Torah to children who died untimely deaths.”
Where Did the Gaon Go?Tuesday, December 18, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Eliyahu Stern's new book portrays the Vilna Gaon as Eastern Europe's Moses Mendelssohn. But can the ascetic, who backed the persecution of Hasidim, seriously be associated with individualism and democracy?
The Whole BodyMonday, December 17, 2012 by Viva Hammer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
My rabbinic father-in-law and my lay leader mother agree on one thing: no body piercing. Ears, nose, and bellybutton, all are sacred property on loan from God.
Warfare on Shabbat: The Legacy of the MaccabeesFriday, December 14, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Ezra and Nehemiah were so successful in instilling Shabbat observance that Jews refused to take up arms on Shabbat to defend themselves—with disastrous results.
Editors' Picks
Lessons in Intermarriage John Turner, First Things. The Mormon Church prohibits intermarriage, but still succeeds in welcoming and converting non-member spouses. Can Jews learn something from Mormons?
The Virtue of Repugnance Sohrab Ahmari, Wall Street Journal. "As pain is to the body so repugnance is to the soul," says bioethicist Leon Kass. "Repugnance is some kind of wake-up call that there is something untoward going on and attention must be paid."
The Outreach Revolution Jack Wertheimer, Commentary. The gap between Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews in America is supposed to be widening. But Orthodox outreach is increasing contact—and invigorating non-Orthodox communities.
Philo's Esoteric Torah Lawrence H. Schiffman, LawrenceSchiffman.com. Influenced by the Hellenistic idea of the separation between body and soul, Philo was the first Jewish thinker to ascribe "outer" and "inner" rationales to the commandments—but by no means the last.
How Kabbalah Shaped Mormonism Tomer Persico, Haaretz. Joseph Smith was versed in Christian commentaries on Kabbalah as a teenager, but it was from a Jew named Alexander Neibaur that he came to understand the "secret Jewish Bible."
What the New Atheists Ignore Christopher Orlet, American Spectator. "I am still waiting for a single atheist group to open a hospital or school, offer free health clinics, beds for the homeless, food for the hungry, or transportation for the elderly."
"I Used to Be an Islamist" Ahmad Mansour, Commentator. "The imam evoked the oppression of the umma who had to fight for the liberation of Palestine. He forcefully spoke of the accursed Jews; the inevitable recapture of Spain; and finally the Islamization of Europe."
Purim vs. Passover Yossi Klein Halevi, Hartman Institute. "'Passover Jews' are motivated by empathy with the oppressed; 'Purim Jews' are motivated by alertness to threat."
Were the Israelites Enslaved in Egypt? Michael Carasik, Jewish Ideas Daily. The Bible gives no fewer than four different reasons for the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt. But if there really was slavery, why does the Bible have so much trouble explaining it?
Why Is This Haggadah Different from . . . ? David Stern, Jewish Review of Books. As a retelling of the Exodus, the Kaifeng haggadah is no different from any other. But this haggadah has another story to tell—about the Jews of Qing China.