Whose Holocaust?

 

For much of Europe, today is the UN-designated International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has dedicated his address this year to children murdered by the Nazis, with the message that "the best tribute to the memory of these children is an ongoing effort to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust, so that no such horror is visited upon future generations."

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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. MyersJewish 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. MyersJewish 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"

Swiss illustration of I Maccabees.

The First War of National Liberation

 

This is the 2,179th anniversary of the world's first war of national liberation. There have been many since. To a surprising extent, such wars have followed the pattern first established by the Maccabees. They, like later heads of independence movements, were leaders of a people conquered and occupied by a great empire.

The History of the Menorah  Daniel SperberJournal of Jewish Studies.  When the Maccabees recaptured the Temple in Jerusalem, its golden menorah was gone. So, following a soldiers' custom, they made a menorah out of their hollow spear-heads.  SAVE

Sri Lanka Leader Says International Criticism “Tainted”  Agence France-Presse.  There were international allegations that the Sri Lankan army massacred civilians as they ended the Tamil rebellion. The Sri Lankan president disagreed.  SAVE

The Warrior Rabbi  Aryeh TepperJewish Ideas Daily.  Shlomo Goren, first chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, helped revive the tradition of the Jewish warrior.  SAVE

Mel and the Maccabee  Alex JoffeJewish Ideas Daily.  Should Mel Gibson play Judah Maccabee in "Hannukah—the Movie?"  SAVE

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View More in Sabbath & Holidays

Insight & Analysis

Digital Davening  Michael J. BroydeTorah Musings.  Smartphones have already begun to supplant traditional siddurim; but the potential of the digital revolution to transform the experience of prayer has barely been realized.  SAVE

Changes  Fred MacDowellOn the Main Line.  On Orthodox liturgical reform during the 19th century, and the case of one British synagogue.  SAVE

Is the Kotel Plaza a Synagogue?  David GolinkinG’vanim.  How should the State of Israel respond to the increasing religious policing around the Western Wall that is slowly but surely turning the area into a Haredi synagogue? (PDF).  SAVE

Sha-bot  Gil StudentTorah Musings.  Can a robot be a Shabbos goy? The question is not simple, but it is not without Talmudic precedent.  SAVE

Radical Orthodoxy  Daniel BoyarinBook of Doctrines and Opinions.  The Talmud scholar imagines a religious practice, "free of the ethnocentrism and even racism that characterizes so much of contemporary orthodox language . . . that would authentically enable my own radical political commitments." (Interview with Alan Brill).  SAVE

Go Ahead, Buy that Train Set  Dennis PragerJewish Journal.  A holiday season defense of material pleasures.  SAVE

Hanukkah (from "Meditations on the Fall and Winter Holidays")  Charles ReznikoffPoems of Charles Reznikoff.  Go swiftly in your chariot, my fellow Jew,
you who are blessed with horses;
and I will follow as best I can afoot,
bringing with me perhaps a word or two.
Speak your learned and witty discourses
and I will utter my word or two— 
not by might not by power
but by Your Spirit, Lord.  SAVE

The Weekly Portion

B'shallah: Hands Up!

 

Exodus 13:17–17:16

By David Hazony

B'shallah: Hands Up!
The stories in this week's reading may seem disjointed, but in fact they form a single unit. A modern editor, looking for a groovy chapter title, might have called the collection, "Ancient Israel's Bipolar Moment." Or, even more flippantly, "Hands Up!"

Continue Reading "Hands Up!"  David HazonyJewish Ideas DailySAVE

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The Weekly Portion

Bo: Pharaoh and Macbeth

 

Exodus 10:1–13:16

By Moshe Sokolow

Bo: Pharaoh and Macbeth
Our parashah begins: "God said to Moses: 'Come to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants in order to place these signs of mine in his midst.'" Indeed, this motif of the hardened heart already appeared in last week's portion and recurs nearly a dozen times in the context of the ten plagues. The problem, however, is this: If Pharaoh and the Egyptians were denied free will in their dealings with Moses, how can their subsequent punishment be justified?

Continue Reading "Pharaoh and Macbeth"  Moshe SokolowJewish Ideas DailySAVE

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The Weekly Portion

Va'era: What's in a Name? (Part Two)

 

Exodus 6:2–9:35

By Michael Carasik

Va%u2019era:  What%u2019s in a Name? (Part Two)

In last week's column, Moshe Sokolow pointed out that the name of the portion was Sh'mot, a word that itself means "names." He took that as an opportunity to mention some of the more interesting Jewish surnames and their meanings. I cannot resist adding my own favorite: Remba, an acronym taken from Proverbs 19:21, "Many are the schemes of the human mind."

Continue Reading "What's in a Name? (Part Two)"  Michael CarasikJewish Ideas DailySAVE

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The Weekly Portion

Sh'mot: What's in a Name?

 

Exodus 1:1–6:1

By Moshe Sokolow

Sh%u2019mot: What%u2019s in a Name?

"These are the names of the children of Israel": Despite having designated them by name during their lifetimes, [Scripture] enumerates them again, posthumously, to indicate how beloved they were. (Rashi 1:1)

While the traditional English title of Sh'mot is "Exodus," the word translates literally as "names." This presents us with the opportunity to explore the significance the Bible attaches to names, in general, and the meaning of one individual name, in particular.

Continue Reading "What's in a Name?"  Moshe SokolowJewish Ideas DailySAVE

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