synagogues
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.
The Decline of the Rabbi-IntellectualTuesday, April 30, 2013 by Zach Mann | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The congregation-based scholars of yesteryear labored to make Judaism intellectually stimulating as well as emotionally stirring and politically applicable.
Back When the Jews Built Like JewsThursday, March 21, 2013 by Ben Greenfield | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In December 1872, authorities in Florence halted elaborate plans for a grand synagogue and criticized the city's Jews—for not building more Jewishly.
The Jewish Egyptian RevivalWednesday, March 13, 2013 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Passover marks the day on which God liberated the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule. But three millennia after the Exodus, emancipated Jews expressed their national identity by building synagogues in the Pharaonic style.
Editors' Picks
The Post-Yeshiva Synagogue Yonatan Kaganoff, Torah Musings. In American Orthodoxy, a fair number of synagogues have shifted from being places for whole families to gather to becoming places for men to pray and, especially, to study.
Evading the Synagogue Tax Rachel S. Harris, Sh'ma. Young Jews are increasingly reluctant to pay synagogue membership fees. But they are paying for other kinds of Jewish affiliation.
A New Lease on Life Winnie Hu, New York Times. From the Bronx to New Orleans, struggling synagogues have come up with a new way to survive: They pay Jewish families to move into the neighborhood.
Mornings at the Stanton Street Shul Emily Katz, H-Net. Jonathan Boyarin’s book on a summer spent as part of the minyan at the historic synagogue is about Judaism, Jewishness, the changing Lower East Side—and Boyarin himself.
Anglo-Jewish Architecture Christopher Howse, Daily Telegraph. An authoritative survey of English architecture neglected to mention any synagogues—even those of outstanding artistic merit. Now a new book corrects the omission.