Jewish Ideas Daily has been succeeded and re-launched as Mosaic. Read more...

Secularism


Secularism and Its Discontents Secularism and Its Discontents
Thursday, May 30, 2013 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In an essay first published December 17, 2010, Yehudah Mirsky examines a defense of Jewish secularism and finds it—and Jewish secularism itself—wanting.
The Politics of Yiddish The Politics of Yiddish
Monday, 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.  
Yair Lapid’s Religion Yair Lapid’s Religion
Tuesday, February 19, 2013 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In a speech to haredi students last year, Yair Lapid advocated a shared public sphere in Israel that is neutral on questions of religion.  Does he now have the chance to implement his vision?
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.
Leaving the Ghetto Leaving the Ghetto
Friday, February 8, 2013 by Jacob Katz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

"Was there any possibility," asks Jacob Katz in this 1996 Commentary essay, "that the Jews collectively might have been accepted in Europe on their own terms—that is, as a community, with a religion opposed to Christianity?" 
It’s All in the Angle It’s All in the Angle
Friday, February 1, 2013 by Jack Riemer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In his new collection of essays, ultra-Orthodox rabbi Avi Shafran disputes the scientific worldview on its own terms.  But he refuses to acknowledge scientific challenges to Judaism.  
Jews, Law, and Human Rights Jews, Law, and Human Rights
Thursday, December 27, 2012 by Michael Pinto-Duschinsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

International human rights institutions were created as a response to the Holocaust.  But, in recent years, they have been turned against Jews and Israel. [Part I of II]
’Twas the Day After Christmas . . . ’Twas the Day After Christmas . . .
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 by Ethan Schwartz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Joshua Eli Plaut’s new book, A Kosher Christmas: ’Tis the Season to Be Jewish, fails to recognize that in subverting Christmas, American Jews have promoted their own assimilation.
Where Did the Gaon Go? Where Did the Gaon Go?
Tuesday, December 18, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Eliyahu Stern's new book portrays the Vilna Gaon as Eastern Europe's Moses Mendelssohn.  But can the ascetic, who backed the persecution of Hasidim, seriously be associated with individualism and democracy?
America’s Religious Left America’s Religious Left
Monday, November 19, 2012 by Jonathan Neumann | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Since the rise of the Religious Right, many people have associated American religion with political and cultural conservatism. Historically, however, American religion has been at least as liberal as conservative.
Page 1 of 212
Editors' Picks
Secularizing Israel Guy Ben-Porat, Moment. Since the early 1990s, secular Israelis have gained new freedoms from religious authority—even as the country has become more religious.
On Israel's Jewish Future Ruth Gavison, Tikvah Fund. "The real debate in Israel now is not whether to extend the existing religious Orthodox monopoly but whether to keep it at all."
Israel vs. Haredim Moshe Averick, Algemeiner. Haredim are criticized today for not serving in the IDF or contributing to the workforce.  But secular Zionists must acknowledge their historical role in deliberately marginalizing the Old Jew.
Reason, Revelation, and Revolution Patrick Allitt, Claremont Review of Books. America's founders have been characterized both as devout Christians and as militant secularists.  A new book argues that they remained believers in God, but revolted against the Bible.
America's New Jewish Secularism Barry A. Kosmin, Ariela Keysar, Washington Post. A new book says that American Jews, free of previous generations’ pressure to assimilate, are producing a vibrant secular Jewish culture whose continued growth "seems assured."
The Talmud, Not for Non-Believers Gil Student, Torah Musings. Ruth Calderon's inaugural speech to the Knesset advocated secular study of the Talmud.  Yet the Talmud warns against students who don't intend to put what they learn into practice.
The Godless Delusion Neilson MacKay, New Criterion. By "making a 'god out of man,'" artists like Schoenberg, Goethe, and Matisse thought that "in the wake of religious disbelief, art could give us meaning again."
The Problem with Gay Marriage Gilles Bernheim, First Things. "All the affection in the world will not suffice to produce the basic psychological structures that address the child’s need to know where he comes from."
The Ambassador from Beit Shemesh Jodi Rudoren, New York Times. One new Knesset member from the Yesh Atid party, which seeks increased haredi contributions to Israeli society, is himself an Orthodox rabbi.  Can he help bridge Israel's religious divides?
Losing Faith In America Peter Schotten, Jewish Ideas and Ideals. "Religion, society’s bedrock, is slowly but surely being eroded by the popular culture the Founders hoped it would support."