Rousseau, Melody, and Mode

Boycotting the Boycott Charlie Laderman, Standpoint. Instead of "respecting” the boycott, Spanish novelist Antonio Munoz Molina accepted the Jerusalem prize  saying, "there is in Israel a society that is alive, democratic, pluralistic and open, in which I can recognize myself as a citizen."

Israel's Strongest Union Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom. "Simple arithmetic teaches us that contrary to the official announcement on Monday, the defense budget wasn't actually cut by 3 billion shekels.  In fact, it was actually increased by 2.5 billion shekels."

Friends Again? Shashank Joshi, Fathom. The recent rapprochement between Israel and Turkey has repaired diplomatic ties, but the relationship is not about to be restored to what it once was.

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.

Nabokov's Jews Benjamin Ivry, Forward. A sympathetic portrayer of Jews in his fiction, Vladimir Nabokov denounced anti-Semitism as "philistinism in all its phases" in both Russia and the United States.

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."

The Theology of Cheesecake Ben Elton, Jewish Chronicle. "It is anything but trivial to turn eating cheesecake into a religious experience, it is an example of the Jewish genius."

Burial Rights and Wrongs Shlomo M. Brody, Tablet. Should Tamerlan Tsarnaev, co-perpetrator of the Boston bombings, have been buried?  Jewish law extends burial rights even to the worst criminals and the most ardent enemies of God.

Eichmann's Jews Anton Pelinka, H-Net. A new history of the Viennese Jews forced to co-operate with Adolf Eichmann argues that Benjamin Murmelstein, long vilified as collaborator, tried to save Jewish lives wherever possible.

Interfaith Monologue Patrick Morrow, Jewish Chronicle. The Church of Scotland's report questioning Israel's right to exist read "as if there had been no Jewish-Christian dialogue since the Second World War."

Next Year in Brooklyn Adam Blitz, Aeon. "Should Damascus fall, as many of us believe it will, there remains the very real possibility that there will soon be no trace of a Jewish past in Syria at all."

Beyond Emancipation Robert Fine, Fathom. "Mendelssohn insisted that the Haskalah, the Jewish enlightenment of the 18th century, was about the education and advancement of Jews, not about saving humanity from their allegedly noxious influence."

Remembering Geza Vermes Mark Goodacre, NT Blog. An authority on the early history of both Judaism and Christianity, Geza Vermes, who passed away this week, translated the Dead Sea Scrolls and revolutionized the academic study of Jesus.

Defrauding Holocaust Survivors Paul Berger, Forward. Three Claims Conference employees have been convicted of fraudulently claiming $57 million meant for Holocaust survivors.  But the Claims Conference denies institutional responsibility.

Our Mothers, Our Fathers Thomas Rogers, New Republic. A new German miniseries depicting the cruelty of soldiers during World War II shows that "the crimes of the Wehrmacht are no longer a taboo," but "a well-integrated theme in German history."

Rage against the Rebbe Baruch Sterman, Huffington Post. The Pshiskhe Hasidim challenged the establishment belief that "only the great and holy Rebbe could bring salvation," maintaining instead that spirituality comes from within.

Bad Education Vigen Guroian, Imaginative Conservative. "I try to explain to my pupils that envy is despicable," wrote Martin Buber, "and at once I feel the secret resistance of those who are poorer than their comrades."

Hawking of Arabia Giulio Meotti, Arutz Sheva. "Would Professor Hawking ever survive in any Arab country or under the Palestinian autocracy he shamefully defends?"

Whitewashing White Supremacy Ben Cohen, Contentions. Delegates at the World Jewish Congress expected Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, to commit to eliminating anti-Semitism from public life. They were disappointed.

The Pleasures of Anti-Semitism Eve Garrard, Fathom. "You can’t miss the relish with which some people compare Jews to the Nazis, or the fake sorrow with which they bemoan the supposed fact that Jews have brought hatred on themselves."

Prolonging the Inevitable Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. Private donations to the haredi kollel system in Israel help to ensure that haredi men never acquire the skills they will need when they are forced to enter the workforce.

Lost Cause? Francis J. Caponi, Marginalia. A new book argues that the root of the conflict between science and religion is the reductive modern understanding of causality—which many scientists are now rejecting.