Tradition
High Concept in Dialogue With TraditionThursday, May 9, 2013 by Diane Cole | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The artifacts of Jewish cultural history have never looked so freshly inviting or unexpectedly contemporary as in a provocative new exhibition at New York's Jewish Museum.
Going HomeWednesday, May 8, 2013 by Judah Bellin | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In his new book, Rod Dreher insists that communities are difficult to forge in America’s largest cities. But for traditional Jews, the demands of modern capitalism and community are not as incommensurate as Dreher assumes.
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."
Editors' Picks
Is Blood Thicker than Holy Water? , Economist. Mary Eberstadt argues that religion goes hand in hand with the traditional family. But religions are often founded on the triumph of faith over kinship.
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.
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."
The Science of Muddling Through Gil Student, Torah Musings. Drawing on Burke, Chaim Navon argues that women will gradually assume larger roles in Orthodox Judaism—and that those who demand sudden change risk doing more harm than good.
Musings on Metzitzah Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. If the practice of suctioning blood during circumcision was instituted on medical grounds and we now see that it has no medical benefit, why keep doing it? Tradition.