Menorah carved on stone, found in a 2,000-year-old tunnel to Jerusalem.

Mysteries of the Menorah

On the eve of Tisha b'Av, 2011, archeologists revealed artifacts newly unearthed from the great Jewish revolt against Rome (67–70 C.E.), including coins minted by the rebels and a stone incised with a sketch of the Temple menorah. But what is the menorah, and what does it symbolize?

SAVE "Mysteries of the Menorah"

Yoram Hazony.

The Bible and the Good Life

What manner of work is the Hebrew Bible? The 17th-century freethinker Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza had an answer. As part of his war to emancipate philosophy from the influence of religion, he reduced the biblical message to, in effect, one word: obedience.

The Biblical Century  Yoram Hazony,  Jerusalem Letters.  In the universities, the door is open for a real change in the standing of the Hebrew Bible, and of Judaism more generally.  SAVE

SAVE "The Bible and the Good Life"

Louis Jacobs.

The Reluctant Renegade

Since its founding, Conservative Judaism in the U.S. has defined itself in sharp contrast to Reform, pursuing a more religiously centrist and Zionist middle course. Its UK parallel, Masorti ("traditional") Judaism, was born as a secession movement from Orthodoxy—inspired by theologian Louis Jacobs.

Between Maimonides and Jacobs  Neil Gillman,  Conservative Judaism.  No other contemporary theologian has explored the issue of revelation as thoroughly or systematically.  SAVE

Ask the Rabbi  louisjacobs.org.  In the last year of his life, Jacobs answers questions on law, community, and fundamentalism with his characteristic humor and humanity. (Video; 2006)  SAVE

Against Capitulation  Michael Harris,  Jewish Quarterly.  From a modern Orthodox perspective, it is Jacobs himself who fails adequately to respond to the challenge of biblical criticism.  SAVE

SAVE "The Reluctant Renegade"

Binyamin Lau.

What is Aggadah, and How to Read It

Although the Talmud is best known for its discourse on religious law, its pages contain a vast amount of non-legal material, including ethical teachings, interpretations of biblical narratives (midrash), and excurses on topics from brain surgery to dream interpretation.

The Sages Beyond Time  Noam Seri,  Haaretz.  Binyamin Lau casts the rabbis of the Talmud as the architects of a culture of turbulent and passionate debate, reverberations of which still sound after 2,000 years.  SAVE

The Tasks of the Translators  Moshe Simon-Shoshan,  Prooftexts.  The development of rabbinic legends about the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek reflect rabbinic attitudes and anxieties about their place in the prevailing culture.  SAVE

SAVE "What is Aggadah, and How to Read It"

Murdered March 11, 2011: Udi (36), Ruth (35), Yoav (11), Elad (4), and Hadas (3 months) Fogel.

Capital Crime. Capital Punishment?

Since its founding, the only person ever to be executed by the state of Israel has been the notorious Nazi, Adolf Eichmann. But the brutal murders of Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their young children this past March has the IDF weighing the possibility of seeking the death penalty for the Fogels' murderers.

The Death Penalty in Jewish Law  Dennis Rapps, Robert L. Weinberg, Nathan Lewin, Alyza D. Lewin,  Jewish Law.  Four jurists delineate the approach of the Jewish tradition to capital punishment.  SAVE

Religion and the Death Penalty  Walter Berns,  Weekly Standard.  When duly or deliberately imposed, capital punishment strengthens the moral sentiments required by a self-governing community.  SAVE

SAVE "Capital Crime. Capital Punishment?"