Religion
Endearment in the WildernessFriday, July 27, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
First of all, let’s stipulate that the midbar in Sefer B'midbar, the fourth of the five books of Moses which we have just finished reading, is not necessarily a desert.
Ye Sacred MusesThursday, July 26, 2012 by Simon Gordon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Are Jewish mourners forbidden from listening to music? On the face of it, the prohibition is absolute. Certainly, it is forbidden for mourners to attend concerts, or performances in general. But what about liturgical music, the music of the synagogue?
Rav Elyashiv’s Mixed LegacyTuesday, July 24, 2012 by Yoel Finkelman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Last Wednesday night, in the middle of a blazing heat wave, a quarter of a million people flocked to the funeral of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. At the request of the deceased, no eulogies were delivered, but for the rest of the week, the Haredi press spoke of little other than the man.
Doing Social JusticeWednesday, July 18, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Some years ago, when I was helping the daughter of friends prepare for her bat mitzvah, we got to talking about her ‘‘bat mitzvah project.’’ She confided that while her parents wanted her to do something Jewish, she wanted to do something related to social justice. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Do Jews Curse Christians?Tuesday, July 17, 2012 by Allan Nadler | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The patristic authority Jerome complained bitterly about the Jews’ condemnation of notsrim (believers in Jesus, “the Nazarite”), in the benediction of the daily Amidah known as Birkat ha-Minim: "three times a day in all their synagogues they anathemize the Christian name."
Text-Message HalakhahFriday, July 13, 2012 by Yoel Finkelman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
From the ancient moment when the Sages began committing the Oral Torah to writing, through the invention of the printing press, all the way to searchable electronic databases of Jewish texts, each change in communications technology has had an impact on the Torah.
The Birth of Conservative JudaismTuesday, July 10, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
My little corner of Queens, New York, where the six Conservative synagogues that existed two decades ago have dwindled to two, epitomizes the national movement.
The End is NighFriday, July 6, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Richard Landes tells us on the very first page of Heaven on Earth: The Varieties of the Millennial Experience that he isn’t going to confine himself to the usual suspects.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012 by Shlomo Zuckier | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
The red heifer, which we read about in this week’s portion, serves to purify those rendered impure by contact with a dead body. This process is traditionally known as the hok par excellence, the archetype of an inexplicable statute in the Torah.
Killing RathenauWednesday, June 20, 2012 by Carole Fink | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Walther Rathenau was neither a typical German Jew nor a traditional German statesman. Born into a wealthy industrialist family that had disowned its Jewish beliefs and practices and gaining political office late in life, Rathenau was the quintessential outsider.
Editors' Picks
Jews Crossing Fred MacDowell, On the Main Line. A 17th-century Sephardic prayer book contains instructions for making "a Jewish sign of the cross" to ward off fear. Was it intended to wean Conversos off Christian ritual?
A Sweet Aroma For the Lord? Gil Student, Torah Musings. Was incense in the mishkan and the Temple intended as a way to respond to God's presence—or as a means to mask the stench of sacrificial slaughter?
When Rabbis Spoke Greek Nicholas De Lange, Marginalia. Scholars of rabbinics claim that "there is no trace of the Septuagint in the Judaism that we know from history." But new research shows otherwise.
Benedict and the Bible Meir Y. Soloveichik, Weekly Standard. Benedict XVI "began and ended his papacy by celebrating the Hebraic, traditional Jewish understanding of love and marriage."
The Festival of Exile Adin Steinsaltz, Jewish Journal. The story of Megillat Esther, says Steinsaltz, "looks like a simplistic melodrama" but "takes on a serious meaning as the mirror of Jewish history."
How Drunk Should You Be? Ari Enkin, Torah Musings. "One who suspects that his drunkenness could lead to murder or other unacceptable conduct should not drink, though all others are indeed required to intoxicate themselves on Purim."
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.
Why Are We Fasting? Chaim Lindenblatt, Torah Musings. Megillat Ta'anit, the Scroll of Fasting, prohibits fasting the day before Purim. So, why do we observe the Fast of Esther?
Why Are We Still Fasting? Daniel Pinner, Arutz Sheva. Both Purim and Pesach celebrate the deliverance of the Jewish people. But the fast preceding each festival reminds us that "to achieve redemption, we first have to go through a measure of suffering."
When the Sun Stood Still Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. Copernicus' heliocentrism, though embraced by many Jews, threatened Judaism—not by displacing man from the center of the universe but by elevating him to the heavens.