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Covenant


Fresh-Baked Matzah and the Spirit of Capitalism Fresh-Baked Matzah and the Spirit of Capitalism
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 by Yoel Finkelman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Small-scale matzah bakeries in Israel are enabling people to fulfil the mitzvah of baking matzah—and strengthening communities.
What Is Free Will? What Is Free Will?
Monday, March 18, 2013 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

For millennia, philosophers have attempted to prove or disprove the existence of free will.  Ludwig Wittgenstein saw this as a misguided exercise—which obscures a genuine moral issue.
Judaism and the Meaning of Life Judaism and the Meaning of Life
Friday, March 1, 2013 by Emil Fackenheim | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Emil Fackenheim is often remembered only for his Holocaust theology.  This 1965 Commentary essay reminds us of his understanding of the covenantal relationship between God and man.
The Covenantal Thought of David Hartman The Covenantal Thought of David Hartman
Thursday, February 21, 2013 by Ari Ackerman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

By treating the covenant between God and the Jewish people as a partnership, David Hartman found room for autonomy alongside halakhic observance.
Theology, Identity, and Covenant Theology, Identity, and Covenant
Friday, February 15, 2013 by David Hartman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

David Hartman, who passed away on Sunday, was among the foremost Jewish theologians of his generation. Here, we reprint some of his thoughts on God and the Jewish people. 
Leibowitz at 110 Leibowitz at 110
Monday, February 11, 2013 by Jeffrey Saks | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

A scientist, a philosopher, and a sharp-tongued public intellectual, Yeshayahu Leibowitz was an oracle for some, a crank to others.  Two decades since his death, his ideas remain influential on Israeli society.
If I Forget Thee? If I Forget Thee?
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

As a recent seminar at New York's Mechon Hadar testified, throughout Jewish tradition, everyone—even the anti-Zionists—recognizes that the Land of Israel has more sanctity than any other place.  But what follows from that?
Does Jacob Hate Esau? Does Jacob Hate Esau?
Monday, October 29, 2012 by Jerome A. Chanes | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Jews have traditionally kept non-Jews at arm’s length.  The rabbinic approach to anti-Semitism may be summarized as Halakhah hi b’yadu’a she-Eisav sonei et Yaakov, “It is an established normative principle that Esau hates Jacob.” 
Biblical Politics Biblical Politics
Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by Alan Mittleman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Michael Walzer is a pivotal figure in the recovery of the Jewish political tradition.  From his early book, Exodus and Revolution, which traced the impact of the Exodus story on Western politics, through his editorship, with Israeli colleagues, of the projected four-volume Jewish Political Tradition, Walzer is almost unrivalled as a scholar of Jewish political thought.
Editors' Picks
Rationalizing the Commandments Lawrence H. Schiffman, LawrenceSchiffman.com. The Pseudepigraphal Book of Jubilees, a retelling of Genesis, explains the Torah's commandments in terms of God's covenant with the Patriarchs.
Children of Israel David Wolpe, Weekly Standard. A new book on Jacob asks why the Torah begins with the patriarchal narrative rather than with the Exodus—and why a deeply flawed man is chosen to be the father of the Jewish people.
Playing Politics with God Jonathan Neumann, Commentary. Examining the dynamics of Israelite society, Michael Walzer finds politics "largely missing" from the Bible.  But he ignores the politics of the Israelites' relationship with God.
The Politics of Revelation Jonathan Sacks, Algemeiner. "There is no legitimate government without the consent of the governed, even if the governor is Creator of heaven and earth."
Game Theory Discovers the Torah Jonathan Sacks, Jewish Press. Sophisticated game theorists have established the optimal formula for human well being: the covenants of justice and mercy established between God and Noah after the flood.