Burning the Talmud (Poland, 18th century).

Sympathy for the Devil

Occupying a place of particular infamy in Jewish collective memory is an 18th-century serial apostate, sexual deviant, messianic pretender, and chameleonic charlatan. His name was Jacob Frank.

Frankism  Pawel Maciejko,  YIVO Encyclopedia.  Initially thinking of themselves as a branch of Judaism opposed to the authority of the rabbis, the followers of Jacob Frank subsequently redefined themselves as independent from both Judaism and Christianity.  SAVE

Their Master’s Voice  Ben Zion Wacholder,  Hebrew Union College Annual.  After Jacob Frank's death, in an urgent effort to sustain his message, his disciples circulated two apocalyptic letters ascribed to him.  SAVE

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Identity = ?

In discussions of that elusive entity known as "Jewishness," few terms have become so ubiquitous, and as a consequence so elusive, as "Jewish identity." The phrase regularly serves as the name of a communal dream: the wished-for end product that vast apparatuses of education, institution-building, and programming aim to instill and perpetuate. But what is it?

Who Is a Jew and What Is Jewish  Susan A. Glenn, Naomi B. Sokoloff,  Sh’ma.  Introducing a symposium on Jewish identity today, with links to individual essays by diverse contributors.  SAVE

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Skeletons in the Closet of Hasidism

Popular demands for transparency in our institutions and the availability of technological means to achieve it have made it hard to keep secrets. This has affected the conduct not only of government and business but also of religion.

Scandal in the Family  Yair Sheleg,  Haaretz.  David Assaf's book about figures and episodes out of the past history of Hasidism carries clear implications for the movement's present and future as well. (2006)  SAVE

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Haim Amsalem.

The Seed of Israel

Until modern times, the boundaries of Jewish identity were cut and dried. If you were born to a Jewish mother, or if you were a convert according to Jewish religious law (halakhah), you were Jewish. If not, you weren't.

Rabbi. Parliamentarian. Heretic?  David Horovitz,  Jerusalem Post.  "There is no monopoly on Torah": an interview with Haim Amsalem.  SAVE

Helping Israel's Image  Dina Kraft,  Jewish Telegraphic Agency.  In Spain, descendants of forced converts learn about their Jewish heritage and how to become voices for Israel in their communities.    SAVE

A Credo for Conversion  Irving Greenberg,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  An American modern-Orthodox rabbi would synthesize traditional requirements of the law with a principled openness to converts who will not become fully Orthodox.   SAVE

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