Torah
OrthosexualityWednesday, May 29, 2013 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Addressing a trend toward greater openness about sexuality in the Modern Orthodox community, Elli Fischer reminds us, in an article first published December 19, 2011, that Judaism has never treated sex as a taboo subject.
Was the Torah Really Given on Shavuot?Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by David Glasner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In Jewish tradition, the holiday of Shavuot is said to commemorate the giving of the Torah at Sinai. But, as the Talmud often asks, mena hani mili, how do we know this?
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
The straying wife of Num. 5:13—was she "seized" or was she "caught in the act"? (Click here for source sheet.) Download
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.
Beyond the GiantsFriday, May 10, 2013 by Robert Nicholson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Strange as it may sound, my idea of Israel did match reality. I’ve never imagined it to be some spotless utopia where everybody knows your name. It is a land haunted by terror and tragedy, fear and doubt. And yet it’s the land where God has chosen to reveal Himself to man.
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?
Rejoice When Your Enemy Falters?Friday, March 22, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Proverbs says, "When your enemy falters do not rejoice and when he stumbles do not feel glee." Does that apply even if your enemy is really, really evil?
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.
The Voice That Speaks in My SoulFriday, March 8, 2013 by Susan Taubes | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Echoing Kafka in this 1949 letter of protest to a domineering male, Susan Taubes writes: "I can no more keep to the laws of the Bible than I can cross myself or take the sacrament."
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
It\'s a fundraiser\'s dream: The people have to be told to stop bringing gifts for the Mishkan. (Click here for source sheet.) Download
Editors' Picks
The World's Oldest Torah Scroll , Agence France-Presse. A Torah scroll discovered in a Bologna archive was originally misidentified as a 17th-century manuscript; its true date has now been established as five centuries earlier.
Israel's Talmudic Turn Sid Slivko, Jewish Week. Educators reaching out to young secular Israelis in the hope of introducing them to the Talmud have discovered a willing audience.
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 Samaritan Torah Chavie Lieber, Tablet. The Samaritan version of the Torah, recently translated into English, differs from the Masoretic text in 6000 instances—but has far fewer discrepancies with the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Voice in the Wilderness Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Cardozo Academy. "Avraham found God in the desert and so the people of Israel received the Torah in a place of ultimate authenticity: The Desert of devastating conditions and great opportunities."
A Love Letter from God Jonathan Sacks, Jewish Press. "In giving the Torah to Israel, God was not asserting His power, dominance or lordship over Israel. He was declaring His love."
Children of the Revelation Gil Student, Torah Musings. From equality to heresy via dueling mountains, here is your guide to Revelation at Sinai and its aftermath. (E-book)
Where Worlds Collide Eli Rubin, Chabad.org. "At Sinai—the Torah tells us—'God descended upon the mountain.' From this point on, man would be able to enjoy a direct relationship with the essentiality of the divine self."
Second Temple Torah Lawrence H. Schiffman, LawrenceSchiffman.com. "Fostering the conception that rationales can be offered for almost all the commandments is a product of Hellenistic Judaism in the Second Temple period."
God, Your Healer Daniel Eisenberg, Community. The Shulhan Arukh states, "the Torah gives permission to the physician to heal; moreover, this is a mitzvah." But how does that square with the Jewish conception of God as the ultimate healer?