Religious Communities
Meet Sholem AleichemTuesday, July 19, 2011 by Nahma Sandrow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In the 1880's, the Ukrainian Jew Solomon Rabinowitz began his literary career under an assumed name—assumed because he was writing in Yiddish, rather than a respectable language such as Hebrew or Russian. The pseudonym he chose was Sholem Aleichem.
David Mamet’s HomecomingMonday, July 18, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A new book by the playwright, director, and author David Mamet is by definition a significant literary event—but to judge from its critical reception, The Secret Knowledge is not only a bad book but possibly an evil one. Why such heat?
The Reluctant RenegadeTuesday, July 12, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Since its founding, Conservative Judaism in the U.S. has defined itself in sharp contrast to Reform, pursuing a more religiously centrist and Zionist middle course. Its UK parallel, Masorti ("traditional") Judaism, was born as a secession movement from Orthodoxy—inspired by theologian Louis Jacobs.
A Two-Day Weekend in Israel?Friday, July 8, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
With July 4th behind them, Americans can look forward to closing out the summer season with Labor Day on September 5th. All told, they will enjoy ten national holidays. And, of course, they have the leisure of weekends.
Getting Birthright WrongWednesday, July 6, 2011 by Philip Getz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In mid-June, The Nation magazine, which for decades has provided a special platform for Jewish critics of Zionism, published an article by a young alumna of Birthright Israel, the organization that since 1999 has sent 260,000 young Diaspora Jews (including this writer) on free ten-day tours of the Holy Land.
Montreal, a Love StoryTuesday, June 28, 2011 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The second International Yiddish Theater Festival, an elaborate ten-day fete whose program ranges from carnavalesque performances to academic symposia, just wrapped up last week in Montreal. What is especially surprising about this celebration is that Montreal is a city with a Jewish population of less than 80,000.
Hebrew SchoolWednesday, June 22, 2011 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Samson Benderly, one might say, had crusading in his blood. A direct descendant of Jacob Emden, the zealous 18th-century European battler against Sabbateanism, he spent his youth in Palestine before coming to the United States in 1898 with the aim of becoming a physician.
Love, True Love, and StatisticsTuesday, June 14, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The depth of sympathy for the Jewish state among ordinary Americans ought to be cause for positive amazement. In stark contrast to strikingly negative European attitudes, a far-reaching CNN poll released on May 31 presents an uplifting picture of American public opinion toward Israel.
The Forgotten FestivalMonday, June 6, 2011 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The holiday of Shavuot, which begins this year on Tuesday evening, is the orphan among Jewish holidays; it is the forgotten festival. Let me count the ways.
American Orthodoxy and Its DiscontentsFriday, May 27, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
A "case study in institutional decay": that description of Orthodox Judaism in America was offered in 1955 by the late sociologist Marshall Sklare. It has long since entered the gallery of scholarly misjudgments, acknowledged as such by Sklare when events turned out to belie his assessment.
Editors' Picks
Up Lucette Lagnado, Wall Street Journal. One New York woman who has "done Hagbah" is a physical trainer who lifts weights and teaches Pilates. Yet when she raised the Torah, she says, "I was shaking."
Bloc Party Colin Campbell, Politicker. New York's ultra-Orthodox citizens don't watch TV or follow sports. What do they pay attention to? Politics. And more and more, politicians are paying attention back.
The Practice of Musar Geoffrey Claussen, Conservative Judaism. The Conservative movement likes to see itself as intellectual one. But it might have something to learn from a 19th-century movement of strenuous moral development.
The Patrilineal Predicament Naomi Zeveloff, Forward. Nearly three decades after the Reform movement's landmark decision to accept patrilineal Jews, statistics confirm that the worst fears of critics have come true.
Rabbinic Malpractice? Josh Yuter, Yutopia. Why did it take forty years for Orthodox Judaism to go from the "Lieberman Clause" to the strikingly similar "Halakhic Prenup"? It seems it was more concerned with delegitimizing Conservative Judaism than with addressing the agunah problem.
Notes on Camp Jason Miller, Huffington Post. Across denominations, statistics show that Jewish summer camps have a significant effect on children's lifelong Jewish involvement. But can Jewish camps keep up with secular alternatives?
Why U? Helen Chernikoff, Jewish Week. As secular universities offer kosher food and religious students opt for more traditional—and cheaper—colleges, Yeshiva University risks losing not only its market share, but its raison d'etre.
Ghetto Seminaries Fred MacDowell, On the Main Line. No fooling: On April 1, 1906, The New-York Tribune published a long article about the "Jewish boys who risk health by long study in foul rooms"—including the heder that would become Yeshiva University.
The Writing on the Synagogue Wall Shmuly Yanklowitz, Forward. James Kugel warned of the "Ceremonial Hall Synagogue," the "Nostalgia Center," and the "Davening Club." Are we witnessing the demise of the synagogue—and should we try to save it?
A Tale of Two Synagogues David Gelernter, Jewish Review of Books. Frank Lloyd Wright's sprawling celebration of suburban Judaism echoes the shape of a long-ago building in Poland. And that echo tells us something about the remarkable history of synagogue architecture. (With images)