God & Theology
The Tenth Commandment and ThoughtcrimeTuesday, May 29, 2012 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Ten Commandments lay out a blueprint for relations, first, between God and Israel and then, between God and humanity; the Shabbat serves as the hinge between the two.
Back From HeavenWednesday, April 25, 2012 by Micah Stein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In May 2011, Gallup conducted its annual "Values and Beliefs" poll, seeking to quantify religious demographics and beliefs in America. One question struck a national nerve, eliciting a consensus that defied religious or cultural distinctions. The question: Do you believe in heaven? The answer: Yes, overwhelmingly.
Jewish Ethics, from Ancient Bible to Modern BusMonday, February 13, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The next time someone tells you that ethical behavior doesn't need a foundation in religious teaching, step onto an Israeli bus (it doesn't have to be the gender-segregated variety) or open a mass-circulation Israeli newspaper and see how religion puts Jewish ethics on steroids.
The Pale GodFriday, February 3, 2012 by Aryeh Tepper | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Imagine God not as a benign force infusing the universe with love and sustaining it with mercy, and not as a stern judge smiting sinners from on high with his cosmic zap-gun, but as a grandfatherly figure, kind but, truth be told, somewhat out of it, sitting in a corner, tolerant of the various paths his children have chosen.
Jerusalem and AthensMonday, December 26, 2011 by Leo Strauss | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
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.
The Trouble with HitchensFriday, December 16, 2011 by Benjamin Kerstein | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
When Christopher Hitchens passed away yesterday at the age of 62, the encomia started pouring in almost immediately. Most of this praise is deserved, as the acumen of Hitchens's muscular criticism and the wit of his ripostes will be with us for a long time to come.
Is Judaism a Religion?Tuesday, November 29, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
There is no end to the conundrums involved in defining what it means to be a Jew. Must a Jew be someone who believes in the Jewish religion, in the way a Christian believes in Christianity or a Muslim in Islam? That can't be the case, since many devoted Jews are atheists.
Who Owns Maimonides?Wednesday, October 5, 2011 by Joshua Halberstam | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Abraham Joshua Heschel once suggested that if one didn't know that "Maimonides" was a person, one would assume it was the name of a university. Heschel was referring to the monumental breadth and influence of the 12th-century philosopher's work.
The Book of LifeTuesday, September 27, 2011 by Tevi Troy | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The High Holy Days are traditionally a time for introspection. Even the sturdiest soul must pause with trepidation over the more harrowing passages in the somber liturgy of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Who shall live, and who shall die?
Rosh Hashanah with the Chief RabbiTuesday, September 20, 2011 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Ten years ago, the first day of Rosh Hashanah—the two-day Jewish New Year—fell on September 18. That was one week after September 11, 2001, when almost 3,000 people were killed by Muslim terrorists. On that Rosh Hashanah, rabbis did not lack for sermon topics.
Editors' Picks
The Politics of Revelation Jonathan Sacks, Algemeiner. "There is no legitimate government without the consent of the governed, even if the governor is Creator of heaven and earth."
Open Heart Stefan Kanfer, City Journal. In his latest book, about his recent medical misfortunes, Elie Wiesel once again shows himself to be "a generous man in a parsimonious epoch."
On Vulture's Wings Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. God told the Children of Israel, "I carried you on the wings of nesharim," translated as "eagles." Would we feel differently if we learned that the proper translation was "vultures?"
Is God Perfect? David Baggett, Tom Morris, First Things. Yoram Hazony finds the changeable, limited God of the Torah more compelling than the perfect God of classical theism. Critics say Hazony has an "unrefined conception of omnipotence."
The Purpose of Prayer Yakov Danishefsky, Kol Hamevaser. Jews are commanded to worship God. But do we pray for God's sake, for our own—or both?
Waiting for God to Call Steven Millhauser, New Yorker. "His father and Samuel, two of a kind. Samuel: 'Thou art wicked.' His father: 'You are ignorant.' A special sect: the Jewish atheist." (Fiction)
Sending An Emissary to God Dovi Nadel, Kol Hamevaser. The role of sheliah tzibbur (messenger of the congregation) as a prayer leader, is as old as the synagogue. But the term goes back further still—and is applied to God Himself.
Ascending to Heaven James Tabor, Bible History Daily. Though Paul of Tarsus decisively broke with Judaism, his vision of heaven in the Book of Corinthians was not so different from contemporaneous Jewish ideas.
Harold Bloom’s Divine Obsession David Mikics, Tablet. Literary critic Harold Bloom dismisses halakhic Judaism as a "fossil." But, 20 years after his work The Book of J, the Bible continues to obsess him.
Moses’ Choice Gil Student, Torah Musings. Moses was chosen to lead Israel not only by God but, the Gemara says, by his mother. Still, unlike his enslaved brethren and even Pharaoh, Moses had the freedom to choose.