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American Judaism


Jews and Black Baseball Jews and Black Baseball
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Prague has its Altneuschul and Rabbi Judah Loewe, who created the original Golem; Worms has its Raschi-Haus, where the great medieval scholar is said to have studied. And in America, St. Paul, Minnesota has its Temple of Aaron.
Thanksgiving: A Jewish Holiday After All Thanksgiving: A Jewish Holiday After All
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation recommending that Thursday November 26th of that year be devoted "to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be." 
People of the Byte People of the Byte
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Jews have long been the People of the Book. But as computers replace books and possibly libraries, museums, and universities, will they soon be the People of the Byte?
The Dead Sea Scrolls, Alive in Times Square The Dead Sea Scrolls, Alive in Times Square
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In the basement of a converted theater on West 44th Street, tucked between the legendary Sardi's restaurant and a bowling alley, a block from Times Square and across the street from the musical Memphis, is Discovery Times Square.
Eating Your Values Eating Your Values
Friday, November 4, 2011 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The many Jewish laws regarding food—how it gets from the ground and into our mouths in a kosher manner—are central to Jewish life.  But what ethical framework underlies the system of kashrut? Maimonides' justifications for kashrut range from avoiding cruelty to animals and eschewing the idolatrous practices of antiquity to considerations of health.
America’s Holy Haunted Houses America’s Holy Haunted Houses
Monday, October 31, 2011 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Halloween is most certainly no Jewish holiday; yet its spooky mood is curiously congruent with the ambience that overcomes American synagogues this time of year.
Are Young Rabbis Turning on Israel? Are Young Rabbis Turning on Israel?
Monday, October 24, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

For all the theological, ritualistic, and institutional differences separating the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements, what distinguishes the groups in the minds of many ordinary American Jews comes down to branding.
Political Contrail Political Contrail
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

This month marks the 30th anniversary of an emotionally fraught and bitterly waged political confrontation between the Reagan administration and the organized Jewish community.
Muslims and Jews in America Muslims and Jews in America
Monday, October 10, 2011 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Consider these two questions: During the past ten years, approximately 170 American Muslims have been arrested for plotting terror attacks against Jews or materially aiding other terrorists.
All These Vows All These Vows
Friday, October 7, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

No one knows for sure how Kol Nidrei originated. It is by far the best-known Yom Kippur prayer, but in fact it is neither a prayer nor actually recited on Yom Kippur. Rabbis have never liked it.
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Editors' Picks
The Future Belongs to Religious Conservatives Eric Kaufmann, American. The Jewish example shows that population change can reverse secularism and shift society's center of gravity in a conservative religious direction. It's happening in the U.S.
Anti-Fascist Warrior-Hairdresser Tiffany Gabbay, Blaze. From a Sephardic orphanage to the Haganah to the hair salon, Vidal Sassoon, who died yesterday at age 84, lived a life worth celebrating. (Read an interview with Sassoon here.)
Murder is My Business Elizabeth Greenwood, Guernica. Weegee lived opposite NYPD headquarters, and slept most of the day, rising at night to pack flashbulbs into the trunk of his '38 Chevy and prowl the streets looking for bloodstained sidewalks to photograph.
The First Book Maurice Sendak Ever Illustrated Peter D. Sieruta, Collecting Children's Books. The co-author of Atomics for the Millions asked one of his high school students if he would illustrate the volume. The student agreed to do the artwork in exchange for $100 and a passing grade.
Nobel Nuggets Jay Nordlinger, National Review. There was no Nobel Peace Prize for 1939, because Germany invaded Poland on September 1. (Forty-seven years later, Henry Kissinger would write to Elie Wiesel: "I was not proud of my Nobel, but I am of yours.")
Strength in Numbers Simon Yisrael Feuerman, Tablet. What is the Yiddish saying? Nine rabbis cannot daven together, but 10 illiterate shoemakers make a minyan.
Is There Such a Thing as Jewish Fiction? , Moment. Howard Jacobson, Geraldine Brooks, A.B. Yehoshua, Shalom Auslander, Walter Mosley, Etgar Keret, André Aciman, Nathan Englander, Nadia Kalman, and others answer.
Debate: Zionism and American Jews Peter Beinart, Daniel Gordis, Tablet/The Current. The proposition: Zionism is failing and American Jews are hastening its decline. (Video)
Quebec's Kosher Bootleggers David Sugarman, Tablet. Montreal Hasidim are selling kosher wine without a permit. Are the Hasidim acting criminally? Are the permitting laws effectively anti-Semitic? The answers are surprisingly unclear.
When a Cantor Can't Debra Rubin, JTA. What's the difference between an "ordained" and an "invested" cantor? Plenty, say Reform officials.