All content items and modules

The Pale God

Aryeh Tepper — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Imagine God not as a benign force infusing the universe with love and sustaining it with mercy, and not as a stern judge smiting sinners from on high with his cosmic zap-gun, but as a grandfatherly figure, kind but, truth be told, somewhat out of it, sitting in a corner, tolerant of the various paths his children have chosen.

Secularism and Its Discontents

Yehudah Mirsky — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

A dependence on the idea of Jewish "tradition" has been a hallmark of Jewish secularists and proto-secularists for nine centuries or so.

Should We Worry about Adelson?

Ira Sharkansky — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Sheldon Adelson almost single-handedly kept Newt Gingrich's candidacy alive. Maybe that's bad for the Jews—or maybe Adelson is just providing some ideological balance to George Soros.

Auster and Erdogan on Human Rights in Turkey

Dave Itzkoff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The Turkish Prime Minister called the novelist ignorant for refusing to visit Turkey because of all those journalists in Turkish jails. Auster has delivered quite an answer.

Reading the Netanyahu Tea Leaves

Zvika Krieger — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Does the collapse of recent Israeli-Palestinian exploratory talks mask an increased flexibility in the Prime Minister's position on Israeli control of the Jordan Valley? The Atlantic is hopeful.

Independent is the New Democrat

Ilana Ostrin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Jewish affiliation with the Democratic Party has dropped by ten percent since 2009. This won't hurt President Obama—but may affect other electoral races in 2012.

The Wages of Criticism

Zev Eleff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The 18th-century scholar Aryeh Leib Ginsburg was a harsh critic of earlier halakhic authorities. Did they finally exact revenge on him? And, if so, who's been covering up the story?

Gender Trouble

Yehudah Mirsky — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Israel's secularists have their work cut out for them in implementing their vision of a moderate, state-friendly Judaism.

Spinoza: A Life

Steven Nadler — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The first complete biography of Spinoza in any language—and a portrait of 17th-century Jewish Amsterdam.

A Portrait of Israeli Jewry

Asher Arian, Ayala Keissar-Sugarmen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

A comprehensive study of religious behavior among Israeli Jews, worshiping Spinoza's pale God. (PDF)

Hear, O Friends of Israel

Daniel Johnson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

In 1987, exactly a quarter-century ago, the appearance of a work of Jewish history caused a stir. For one thing, the author was not Jewish; for another, the book was unashamedly supportive of the State of Israel, which even then was enough to provoke hostility, especially on the Left.

Who's Afraid of a Nuclear Iran?

Douglas Murray — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Israel is—and since 1973, Israel has had reason to think that on the brink of its annihilation, Europe wouldn't act to save it. (Video)

Ardor, or Architecture

Yonatan Silverman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The holiness of Jerusalem in the Muslim tradition owes less to the Koran than it does to the opportunistic building program of Jerusalem's eight-century Umayyad rulers.

Cancelling Conversion

Gil Student — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

While many Orthodox rabbis have become too willing to annul conversions, even the non-Orthodox world recognizes that there are some circumstances in which a conversion must be overturned.

History without Witnesses

Deborah E. Lipstadt — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

As the Holocaust disappears from living memory, what matters is not who is speaking but who is listening.

Barter in Bartaa

Tali Heruti-Sover — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Straddling the Green Line, the village of Bartaa has become a booming market town. Or, rather, the Palestinian half has.

The Miracle

Paul Johnson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

The creation of Israel was the quintessential event of the last century, and the only one that can fairly be called a miracle.

Celebrity Politics, Israel-Style

Micah Stein — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Just two weeks ago, the always-excitable Israeli political world was abuzz with the news of two famous new Knesset candidates. One of them was a famous son—journalist Yair Lapid, whose father, Tommy Lapid, served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice under Ariel Sharon.

B'shallah: Hands Up!

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

By David Hazony

The stories in this week's reading may seem disjointed, but in fact they form a single unit. A modern editor, looking for a groovy chapter title, might have called the collection, "Ancient Israel's Bipolar Moment." Or, even more flippantly, "Hands Up!"

Just Deserts

Shlomo Avineri — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Plato warns in the Republic that democracy is endangered when the public begins to confuse theater with politics.