Leading Figures
When Jews Became DoctorsFriday, June 22, 2012 by Jacob Friedman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The study of medicine has fascinated the Jewish imagination for centuries, from the mysterious remedies of the Talmud to the medieval medical practice of Maimonides and the modern age of my-son-the-doctor bragging rights.
The Last Holy RebelThursday, June 21, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Some years ago, a friend asked what I thought was the more impressive title: "Rabbi," "Doctor," or (the often unwittingly self-parodying) "Rabbi Dr." You know, I said, there's a man in Israel who's one of the most impressive talmidei hakhamim I've ever known—and he's not "Rabbi" or "Doctor."
The Jewish Left, between History and RevelationMonday, June 11, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The association of Jews with leftist ideas and movements has been a fixture of Western politics for the past 150 years. But is the relationship logical and necessary, or is it historical and contingent?
Day Four: “Attack! Attack!”Friday, June 8, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On June 1, 1967, when Prime Minister Levi Eshkol yielded to public pressure and turned over the portfolio of defense minister to former IDF chief of staff Moshe Dayan, the mood in Israel changed overnight.
Gershom Scholem, 30 Years OnTuesday, May 8, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Thirty years after his death at age 84, Gershom Scholem casts a long shadow. The field he created, the modern study of Jewish mysticism, has grown beyond him, yet his work remains the indispensable foundation.
Righteous Among Our NationThursday, April 19, 2012 by Chaya Glasner | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Even before visitors walk through the door of Yad Vashem, they see a powerful tribute to Holocaust heroism. Along the Avenue of the Righteous leading to the museum, thousands of trees bloom in honor of the approximately 21,000 "Righteous Among the Nations," courageous Gentiles who defied the Nazis and risked their lives to save Jews from deportation.
Reading between the ListsWednesday, April 4, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
As long as humans have been writing, humans have been making lists and ranking things. The new Daily Beast/Newsweek list of "America's Top 50 Rabbis for 2012" is, like most American lists, whether of rabbis, cars, or colleges, designed to shape reality as much as reflect it.
The Unseen ShieldTuesday, April 3, 2012 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The news report hardly makes an impression on most Israelis: another West Bank checkpoint search, another discovery of explosives and weapons, and the familiar finale: "The suspect was taken in for questioning by the Shin Bet."
Make Yourself a TeacherTuesday, March 27, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The meanings of "Torah" are inexhaustible, but its plainest sense is "teaching." It does not exist apart from being communicated. That circulation between human beings, and between humans and God, both gives Torah life and teaches us that Torah itself teaches life.
Varieties of Post-Religious ExperienceWednesday, March 21, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Israel is, on top of everything else, a gigantic open-air laboratory for experiments in Judaism and Jewish identity, mixing and matching old and new forms, deliberately and on the fly. One of the more interesting recent specimens is Religiozionisticus Postreligious.
Editors' Picks
Uncle Joe D. G. Myers, Commonplace Blog. “If anyone who is not his nephew is entitled to call Joseph Epstein ‘Uncle Joe,’ it is I. Or at least I once was.”
A Safe Pair of Hands Jeremy Rosen, Algemeiner. Ephraim Mirvis is a good pastoral leader. But his appointment as Chief Rabbi in the U.K. testifies to the unwillingness of Britain's centrist Orthodoxy to challenge Haredi authority.
In Memory of a Friend Seth Mandel, Commentary. Senator Daniel Inouye, who died this week, was a decorated war hero, a champion of his state of Hawaii—and a stalwart and constant friend of Israel.
Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Robert Kuttner, American Prospect. Refugee scholar and political economist Albert Hirschman, who died this week, taught that consumers must do more than vote with their feet if they want a civil society.
Wardrobe Malfunction Shimon Peres, Spiegel. "I see it as a 'world spring' rather than an Arab spring," muses the Israeli President. "And you can't come to a world spring dressed for winter." (Interview by Hans Hoyng & Juliane von Mittelstaedt)
Dr. Atomic Jon Turney, Times Higher Education. Ray Monk’s new biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” is the first to cover all aspects of his life—including his German-Jewish background.
Brubeck’s Jewish Music Dave Brubeck, Moment. Dave Brubeck, who died this week, was not Jewish. But through his jazz, he played an important role in healing the rift between Jews and African Americans. (Interview by Howard Reich)
Rav Ovadia’s Revolution , Menachem Mendel. “Like Coca-Cola, l’havdil”: A video documentary on the idiosyncratic, infuriating genius of the Baghdadi gaon and the transformation of Sephardic Jewry in Israel.
Noam Gershony’s Incredible Gold Marcus Dysch, Jewish Chronicle. The Israeli war hero lost the use of his legs in a helicopter crash in the 2006 Lebanon War. At this year’s Paralympics, he became a hero again.
Poet of the Palmach Sigal Arbitman, Eran Swissa, Yehuda Shlezinger, Israel Hayom. Haim Hefer wrote songs that built Israel’s character and gained the status of national anthems. He died on Rosh Hashana at age 86.