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Symbolic FoodsFriday, September 3, 2010 by Phyllis Glazer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
On Rosh Hashanah, as on other Jewish holidays, cuisine becomes a system of meaning.
The Romance of Gush EtzionFriday, September 3, 2010 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The modern return of the Jewish people to their homeland succeeded thanks to the extraordinary tenacity of pioneering individuals who, in a dangerous environment, created new communities from scratch. One such community, or rather series of communities, is the Etzion district—in Hebrew, Gush Etzion—located along the ancient mountain route between Jerusalem and Hebron. The first three communities built by Jewish settlers were completely destroyed by Arabs. The fourth still stands today.
Friday, September 3, 2010 by Hillel Frisch | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
The Palestinian leader needs the pretense of movement in peace negotiations, but what he needs more is the continued presence of Israel's army in the West Bank.Classical Islam and the Jews
Thursday, September 2, 2010 by Hagai Mazuz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
The root of the Israel-Arab conflict is not territorial but religious. Part I; part II is here.Partners in Apartheid?
Thursday, September 2, 2010 by James Kirchick | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
A serious attempt to reconstruct the historical relationship between Israel and South Africa is marred by manipulative, irresponsible, and offensive speculation.A Jerusalem Childhood
Thursday, September 2, 2010 by Miriam Gross | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
The longtime literary editor of the (London) Sunday Telegraph recalls her years as the child of German Jewish refugees in 1940's Jerusalem.Is Diss a System?
Thursday, September 2, 2010 by David Spencer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
A new book explicates the work of the American cartoonist and storyteller Milt Gross (Nize Baby, Dunt Ask!, etc.), who flourished in the 1920s and 30s—and whom it would be a colossal error to judge from a 21st-century perspective.One Nation, Under God
Thursday, September 2, 2010 by Dov S. Zackheim | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
The ancient Israelite experience in nation-building differed from the American experience in many ways; but what is striking, and not accidental, are the similarities.
Repentance = Freedom?Thursday, September 2, 2010 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In the thick of the month of Ellul, nearing Rosh Hashanah, penitence is or should be in the air. Also recently marked was the 75th yahrzeit of the great mystic, jurist, and theologian Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935). As it turns out, Kook's teachings on the meaning of repentance are among his most striking, stamped with his distinctive mix of piety and audacity. In his eyes, teshuvah, generally translated as "repentance" but literally and more powerfully "return," signifies not only a deepened and renewed commitment to religion and commandments but, paradoxically, nothing less than a new birth of freedom.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010 by Fred MacDowell | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Picks
In a declassified 1976 document, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the president of the ultra-Orthodox Agudath Israel discuss the shipment of matzah into the Soviet Union.