Torah
Clothes Make the ManFriday, December 7, 2012 by Chaim Saiman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The recent daf yomi Shabbat 63 appears to present just the technicalities of what can and cannot be transported on Shabbat. Yet it is simultaneously an exploration of war, peace, and the nature of manhood.
Endearment in the WildernessFriday, July 27, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
First of all, let’s stipulate that the midbar in Sefer B'midbar, the fourth of the five books of Moses which we have just finished reading, is not necessarily a desert.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
We start reading this week at Deuteronomy 1:1. But where do we stop—and why? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:41Mattot-Masei: Where Moses Walked
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
This week, the shocking truth about Kadesh-Barnea. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:09Pinhas: Pact, Plot, Passion
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Two strange words are used this week to describe what the Midianites did to the Israelites. We'll talk about what they are and why they are here. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:38Hukkat: Wise Blood
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 by Shlomo Zuckier | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
The red heifer, which we read about in this week’s portion, serves to purify those rendered impure by contact with a dead body. This process is traditionally known as the hok par excellence, the archetype of an inexplicable statute in the Torah.
The Tenth Commandment and ThoughtcrimeTuesday, May 29, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Ten Commandments lay out a blueprint for relations, first, between God and Israel and then, between God and humanity; the Shabbat serves as the hinge between the two.
Shavuot: The Stopping PointFriday, May 25, 2012 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
There is always something going on in the Jewish festival calendar. From the fast of the 10th of Tevet through Hanukkah right around to the next fast of the 10th of Tevet on December 23rd, it's hard to go more than four or five weeks in a row without finding some special day to be observed.
The Stuttering ServantThursday, April 12, 2012 by Samuel Davidkin | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Stuttering, the curious speech impediment that causes a few percent of the mostly male population to succumb unpredictably and unwillingly to occasional muteness, most recently received attention with the Oscar-winning film The King's Speech, the story of Britain's wartime King George VI.
Were the Israelites Enslaved in Egypt?Friday, April 6, 2012 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Did the exodus really take place? To many, this will seem like an absurd question. The book of Exodus has a dozen chapters explaining that it did. Yet recent decades have found at least some biblical scholars casting doubts on the historicity of this story.
Editors' Picks
Making Money Holy Gil Student, Torah Musings. Moses counted the Israelites by making each one contribute a half-shekel. Was the money holy because it was used for sacred purposes? Or simply because it was pure silver?
Tower of Babble Judah Bellin, Commentary. A recent book on Jewish social justice claims to apply “Jewish values and law” to “pressing contemporary moral issues.” But does it reduce the Torah to a vehicle for a political agenda?
The Genesis of Genesis Jon D. Levenson, Moment. A new book explains Genesis by isolating it from the rest of the Bible and later religious contexts. But the fact that it can be read in isolation is no argument that it ought to be.
Benedict and the Bible Meir Y. Soloveichik, Weekly Standard. Benedict XVI "began and ended his papacy by celebrating the Hebraic, traditional Jewish understanding of love and marriage."
The Bible, for Non-Believers Hayyim Angel, Tradition. In his commentary on the Torah, Leon Kass does not begin from the premise that the text is divinely revealed. But he makes a strong case that man cannot live by reason alone.
The Problem with Gay Marriage Gilles Bernheim, First Things. "All the affection in the world will not suffice to produce the basic psychological structures that address the child’s need to know where he comes from."
Rebelling In God's Name Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Jerusalem Post. "When we go to synagogue, it is a protest against man’s arrogance in thinking that he can do it all himself."
God Above Moves Down David Wolpe, Sh'ma. "Belief in what is above us has increasingly moved to what is within us.... God has been not only dethroned, but given a seat next to us in the bleachers."
Misunderstanding Midrash Moshe Shamah, Jewish Ideas and Ideals. Maimonides wrote that those who take the Midrash literally "destroy the Torah’s glory and darken its brilliance," but many Orthodox teachers today do just that.
Criticizing the Biblical Critics James Kugel, Kavvanah. Modern biblical criticism, for all its sophistication, treats "only the literal meaning of the Bible’s words on the page, divorced from Judaism’s age-old traditions of interpretation." (Interview by Alan Brill)