New York City
The Politics of YiddishMonday, April 29, 2013 by Ruth Wisse | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Jews who hold on to, or reach back for, the Yiddishkeyt of Yiddish yearn not merely for a declining language but for the social and political ideal that seems embedded in it.
Purim in a New York TaxiFriday, February 22, 2013 by Viva Hammer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In reading the megillah together, my brother and I share a special bond of experience, family history played out against the rich backdrop of our people’s history.
Raider of the Lost KnishWednesday, January 30, 2013 by Laura Silver | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
More than Hebrew School, a Torah scroll or the eternal light in the synagogue, the knish provided sanctuary. It encapsulated my identity: ethnic, funny, and grounded in the past.
A Voice Saying Something RightTuesday, January 29, 2013 by David Curzon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Poet Harvey Shapiro, who passed away this month at age 88, captured in plain words the mystery of everyday life, the trauma of war, and the grandeur of Jewish tradition.
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?
Can Reform Judaism Get Its Mojo Back?Friday, November 9, 2012 by Evan Moffic | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The American Jewish community as a whole cannot survive if there is no non-Orthodox movement to which American Jews can belong; in other words, survival depends on a strong Reform movement. But in light of current trends, is that possible?
The Jewish Vote, Once and FutureTuesday, November 6, 2012 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
This Election Day reminds us, yet again, of the paradox of the “Jewish vote” in American politics. Here is a series of varied snapshots of the Jewish vote as it has looked to different writers for Jewish Ideas Daily over the past two years.
A Jewish View of HurricanesThursday, November 1, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
With school closed, transportation suspended, and the local park off limits, I cast about for something other than “work” to fill the day. My thoughts turned to the weather, and I asked myself whether Judaism has anything instructive to say about hurricanes.
Max Lilienthal’s Aborted ReturnWednesday, October 31, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In Bruce L. Ruben’s new biography Max Lilienthal: The Making of the American Rabbinate, about one of the pioneers of the American Reform movement, I was surprised to learn that Lilienthal almost made a second trip to Tsarist Russia.
Promises, PromisesThursday, October 25, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
City of Promises, a new three-volume history of Jewish New York, is remarkable for the complex metamorphoses it explains—and for the 21st century transformation it doesn't mention.
Editors' Picks
Israel on the Hudson Jenna Weissman Joselit, Jewish Review of Books. Spanning three volumes, City of Promises offers a thorough history of Jewish New York. But “where, oh where, is the expansiveness and, yes, the sheer incommensurability of it all?”
Constitutional Discrimination Peter Berger, American Interest. New York City’s human rights commission has charged ultra-Orthodox businesses with discrimination for demanding female modesty—that is, for exercising a constitutional right.
The Redemptive Chutzpah of Ed Koch Thane Rosenbaum, Jewish Week. As New York City’s mayor from 1978 to 1989, Ed Koch, who died last week, is credited with having saved the city from bankruptcy—in a "brashly Jewish way."
21st Century Lox Ron Rosenbaum, New Republic. As smoked salmon has evolved from deli staple to the pride of artisanal markets and upscale restaurants, has it lost its Jewish soul?
Paradise Regained? D. G. Myers, Commonplace Blog. Francesca Segal's latest novel The Innocents, a reworking of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence for Jewish north-west London, substitutes tragedy for repentance and redemption.
Our Movies, Our Selves J. Hoberman, Nation. In 1947, the movies changed—partly because of Jewish critic Siegfried Kracauer, whose work showed the extent to which films reflect the mentality of a nation.
No Child Left Behind Avital Chizhik, Forward. While many Russian Jewish immigrants to America are staunch conservatives, their children’s route to Americanization is through liberal Jewish politics.
Mornings at the Stanton Street Shul Emily Katz, H-Net. Jonathan Boyarin’s book on a summer spent as part of the minyan at the historic synagogue is about Judaism, Jewishness, the changing Lower East Side—and Boyarin himself.
Spinning Spinoza Allan Nadler, Forward. From David Ben-Gurion to Jonathan Sacks, Jews are determined to see the traditionally Jewish elements of Spinoza’s thought—by misreading his genuine heresy.
Losing the Shadow War Christopher Dickey, Daily Beast. Despite last month’s attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, Iran’s covert operatives are being foiled at virtually every turn by their Israeli and American counterparts.