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messianism


The Outstretched Hand The Outstretched Hand
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 by Motti Inbari | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

My family and I celebrated Passover in Lumberton, North Carolina. We are the only Israelis in town and, as far as I know, the only Jews.  But it’s not as lonely as it might sound, thanks to our Evangelical Christian neighbors.
When Liberal Protestants Were Zionists When Liberal Protestants Were Zionists
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 by Judah Bellin | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

It is hard to imagine a liberal Christian theologian passionately defending Zionism today.  But Reinhold Niebuhr praised Zionism as a means to the establishment of "highest civilization." 
Judaism and the Meaning of Life Judaism and the Meaning of Life
Friday, March 1, 2013 by Emil Fackenheim | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Emil Fackenheim is often remembered only for his Holocaust theology.  This 1965 Commentary essay reminds us of his understanding of the covenantal relationship between God and man.
Where Does the Modern Period of Jewish History Begin? Where Does the Modern Period of Jewish History Begin?
Friday, January 18, 2013 by Michael A. Meyer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In this classic 1975 Judaism article, Michael Meyer argues that there is no value in "setting a definite terminus for the beginning of modern Jewish history."
A Meditation on <i>Maoz Zur</i> A Meditation on Maoz Zur
Monday, December 10, 2012 by Ismar Schorsch | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In this 1988 essay, Ismar Schorsch writes that the much maligned final stanza of  Maoz Zur, which calls for divine retribution against Israel’s enemies, illustrates a distinction between redemption within history and the ultimate redemption, which must come from without.
Clothes Make the Man Clothes Make the Man
Friday, December 7, 2012 by Chaim Saiman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The recent daf yomi Shabbat 63 appears to present just the technicalities of what can and cannot be transported on Shabbat.  Yet it is simultaneously an exploration of war, peace, and the nature of manhood.
The Rebbe The Rebbe
Thursday, June 10, 2010 by Yehudah Mirsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The story of Lubavitcher Hasidism in our time is nothing short of astounding. Here is an ultra-Orthodox sect, deployed all over the world, exuberantly engaged with non-observant Jews and with non-Jews, availing itself of every imaginable form of contemporary communications technology. What was, for generations, the most intellectual and scholastic-minded hasidic dynasty—its other name, Chabad, is an acronym for "Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge"—has become an ecstatic mass movement. At the heart of it all is the seventh and last Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), who died childless—and whom some substantial number of his followers forthrightly regard as the messiah.
Editors' Picks
The Embrace of the Evangelicals Maud Newton, New York Times. Christian bar mitzvahs, Christian prayer shawls, Christian support for Israel—should Jews be mistrustful and offended?  Or should they welcome the new evangelical reality?
God's Children James Tabor, Taborblog. Angels, anointed kings, and the Children of Israel are all called sons of God in the Bible—without its implying that they share in God's divinity.
"Are you the Messiah?" James Tabor, Taborblog. Scholars have long dismissed Jesus' self-identification as the Messiah, related in Mark, claiming that his followers called him the Messiah only after his death.  But the sources suggest otherwise.
The Original Jews for Jesus Mark Edwards, Marginalia. It wasn’t unusual in Jesus’ time to find Jews claiming that they could heal long-distance and raise the dead. Why was it only Jesus who attained the status of a god?