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halakhah


Orthosexuality Orthosexuality
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Addressing a trend toward greater openness about sexuality in the Modern Orthodox community, Elli Fischer reminds us, in an article first published December 19, 2011, that Judaism has never treated sex as a taboo subject.
Tithing and Taxes Tithing and Taxes
Friday, April 12, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

A significant proportion of tax revenue is used for charitable purposes: food stamps, Social Security, housing assistance, public healthcare.  May Jews therefore count tax payments as charitable contributions?
Sh’mini: The Clean and the Unclean
Wednesday, April 3, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions

Kosher creatures, non-kosher creatures, and what the difference has to do with the priestly calling. (Click here for source sheet.) Download
The Voice That Speaks in My Soul The Voice That Speaks in My Soul
Friday, March 8, 2013 by Susan Taubes | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Echoing Kafka in this 1949 letter of protest to a domineering male, Susan Taubes writes: "I can no more keep to the laws of the Bible than I can cross myself or take the sacrament."
Knowing When It’s Time to Go Knowing When It’s Time to Go
Thursday, February 28, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The Talmud states, "The older Torah scholars become, the greater wisdom increases within them."  Yet the Torah imposes an age limit on spiritual leadership.
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.
Opening the Gates of Judaism Opening the Gates of Judaism
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 by Motti Inbari | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Given the demographic and spiritual decline among “biological” Jews in America, if we want to keep Judaism alive, we must do something that we haven't done for 2000 years: proselytize.
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. 
The Halakhah of Selling Arms The Halakhah of Selling Arms
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Jewish law prohibits individuals from selling weapons to irresponsible or violent customers.  But how does this apply to Israel's arms sales to foreign governments?
Gun Control, Halakhah, and History: Further Thoughts Gun Control, Halakhah, and History: Further Thoughts
Tuesday, January 22, 2013 by Shlomo M. Brody | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

While the use of weaponry is at times morally necessary, the glorification of weaponry is foreign to Jewish thought.
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Editors' Picks
Heaven on Earth Nathan Lopes Cardozo, Cardozo Academy. Jewish law rescues man from unrealistic dreams, replacing them with dreams that are viable.
Blowing the Whistle Moshe Simon-Shoshan, Torah Musings. According to respected Orthodox rabbis, the prohibition against reporting Jewish suspects to secular authorities rarely applies in the modern Western world. 
Lending Limits Gil Student, Torah Musings. By allowing loans to be reformulated as business deals, the Talmud circumvents the Torah’s prohibition on usury.  But there are limits to when this legal device should be used. 
Restoring the Grand Gesture Naftali Brawer, Jewish Chronicle. Whatever happened to the worship of God through a spontaneous outpouring of the soul?
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.
God, Your Healer Daniel Eisenberg, Community. The Shulhan Arukh states, "the Torah gives permission to the physician to heal; moreover, this is a mitzvah."  But how does that square with the Jewish conception of God as the ultimate healer?
On Orthodoxy and Homosexuality Alan Jotkowitz, Torah Musings. While the halakhic prohibition on homosexual relations remains, several Orthodox rabbis have advocated  the communal acceptance of individual homosexuals.  But can the same be done with same-sex families?
Locust Cheeseburgers Natan Slifkin, Times of Israel. As Pesach approaches, Egypt is once again beset by a plague of locusts.  But if they descend upon Israel, they might end up on at least one man's menu.
Costume Customs Akiva Males, Tradition. For Purim, Renaissance halakhist Moshe Isserles justified a custom breaching the prohibition on wearing clothes combining wool and linen.  Where did this custom come from?  That's what Mordecai wore.
The Conversion Crisis Marc Angel, Haaretz. "The halakhic Jewishness of an Orthodox convert is not decided by the Rabbanut—but by God.  The Rabbanut has no right whatever to question or deny the validity of halakhic conversions."