America the Biblical

The Greeks did not invent equality. Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and the gang famously believed that the rich are different from you and me—not merely because they are shaped by their privileges but because they are actually, literally made of superior stuff.

Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece  Kurt A. Raaflaub, Josiah Ober, Robert W. Wallace,  University of California Press.  Athens may have recognized political equality among citizens, but not just anybody could be a citizen.  SAVE

Americanism: the Fourth Great Western Religion  David Gelernter,  Random House.  "America is no secular republic," Gelernter says; "it's a biblical republic."  SAVE

The Scepter Shall Not Depart from Judah  Alan L. Mittleman,  Lexington Books.  There is a "theological-political predicament" in modern Jews' spiritual dependence on their surrounding political systems.  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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Highlights of 2011:
Part II

Part II of our round-up of the past year's most popular features on Jewish Ideas Daily. (Part I is here.)

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Part II"

Urban Planning, Hasmonean-Style

In the early 1990s, construction began on Modi'in, Israel's new "City of the Future." Designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie and located mid-way between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Modi'in is in many ways typical of modern planned communities.

Honoring Our Heritage  Howie Mischel,  Ynet.  A citizen of the New Modi'in asks the government to take more interest in the old one.  SAVE

The Hasmoneans Were Here—Maybe  Ran Shapira,  Haaretz.  Umm el-Umdan? Titura Hill? The competition continues among theories on the location of ancient Modi'in.  SAVE

Holy Land of Holy Graves  Shmuel Rosner,  International Herald Tribune.  Archeologists may fiercely debate the graves' authenticity, but worshipers favor tradition over suspiciously secular science.  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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