Judaism on Steroids

Ryan Braun, the reigning MVP of baseball's National League, is having a rough offseason. On December 12, ESPN reported that Braun had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug (PED) after a league-mandated drug test revealed elevated levels of testosterone in his system.

Braun’s Temple  Richard Sandomir,  New York Times.  Why such interest in whether a ballplayer plays a game or worships on a High Holy Day? Call it the Greenberg-Koufax Yom Kippur Precedent.  SAVE

The Golden Age of Jewish Ballplayers?  David Elfin,  Moment.  Profiles of Braun, Craig Breslow, Ike Davis, Danny Valencia, and Kevin Youkilis.  SAVE

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2011: A Year in Books

The holidays are over, the coffee-table books have all been unwrapped and set aside, and winter isn't going anywhere for a while. In short, it's time to settle in for some good reading. The literary critic D. G. Myers here presents the 38 best Jewish books of 2011, all of which merit your attention.

2010: A Year in Books  D.G. Myers,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  From the popular to the scholarly, a reader's and buyer's guide to 34 of the best books of 2010.  SAVE

Retrieving American Jewish Fiction  D.G. Myers,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  A historical symposium of some neglected classics, and an introduction to the avot and imahot of American Jewish writing.  SAVE

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Jerusalem and Athens

The holiday of Hanukkah is, in part, a celebration of the victory of traditionalist Jews over Jews bent on assimilation to Greek Seleucid culture.  As such, the second-century B.C.E. Maccabean revolt has resonated throughout the ages not only as a key historical contest, but as a wellspring for interpretations of the divergent views of the Hebrews and the Greeks. 

Hebraism and Hellenism Reconsidered  Louis H. Feldman,  Judaism.  For almost every supposed difference between the two systems of thought, one can point to exceptions or actual similarities; yet certain very real divisions remain.  SAVE

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Jewish Farm School.

Eating Your Values

The many Jewish laws regarding food—how it gets from the ground and into our mouths in a kosher manner—are central to Jewish life.  But what ethical framework underlies the system of kashrut? Maimonides' justifications for kashrut range from avoiding cruelty to animals and eschewing the idolatrous practices of antiquity to considerations of health.

Yiddish Farm  Devra Ferst,  The Jew and the Carrot.  Where Yiddish-language immersion meets sustainable agriculture. (Interview with Naftali Ejdelman)  SAVE

Locusts, Giraffes, and the Meaning of Kashrut  Meir Soloveichik,  Azure.  Sifting historical and contemporary explanations, one Orthodox intellectual settles in the end on divine love and Jewish difference. (PDF)  SAVE

They Were What They Ate  Susan Marks,  H-Net.  A new volume on the role of food in shaping ancient Jewish identity goes farther and deeper than earlier studies of the subject.  SAVE

Slaughterhouse Rules  Elli Fischer,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  As Jewish ritual slaughter makes multiple provisions for the minimization of animal pain, it's evident that those who seek to ban the practice often have something other than animal welfare in mind.  SAVE

Going Kosher  Sue Fishkoff,  JTA.  Reform rabbis of late are challenging their constituents to develop a dietary practice based on such values as sustainability, morality—and, yes, kashrut.  SAVE

Kosher Nation  Jenna Weissman Joselit,  New Republic.  The expansion of the kosher food industry has, ironically, caused kosher food to become invisible.  SAVE

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Career Corps

The United States has its military academies at West Point and Annapolis. The British put their officers through Sandhurst. But how will the Israeli Defense Forces, a citizen army, train its officers for the 21st century?

Brass Tactics  Yuval Bazak,  Military and Strategic Affairs.  The IDF remains a people's army, but the Second Lebanon War made clear the need for professionalization and adaptation. (PDF)  SAVE

The Jewish Way in War  Elliot Jager,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  What does Judaism have to say about the rules of war? Jewish and Israeli theoreticians have mined Jewish tradition for a moral reality check.  SAVE

Assessing General Ashkenazi  Avi Kober,  BESA Perspectives.  Ashkenazi helped restore faith in the IDF, but when he stepped down, shortcomings in clarifying battle doctrine and educating commanders remained.  SAVE

Beyond Tanks  Alex Joffe,  Jewish Ideas Daily.  Israel has fought large-scale conventional wars and it has faced down terrorists. In the next war, just as enemy tactics will be different, so too will be the response.  SAVE

In the Officer's Course  YouTube.  Docudrama about the rigors IDF cadets must endure to obtain their lieutenants' bars. (Video)  SAVE

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