Texts & Textbooks
The Aleppo Codex and the Ownership of TraditionWednesday, September 12, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Torah belongs to all Jews and, indeed, to anyone who cares to learn and live its ways. But it is not transparent.
Jewish Studies, Once and FutureThursday, August 23, 2012 by Adina M. Yoffie | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
It’s that time of year again—not just the High Holidays but the time when Jewish college students pore over online course catalogues and make their choices for the fall semester. Will they take Jewish Studies courses? If so, does it matter which ones?
The Daily Page: A “Siyum”-posiumThursday, August 2, 2012 by Jacob J. Schacter, Yoel Finkelman, Michael Carasik, Tzvi H. Weinreb, Devora Steinmetz, Moshe Sokolow, Yehudah Mirsky, Mark Gottlieb, David Glasner, Aryeh Tepper, Marc B. Shapiro, Gil Student, Emanuel Feldman, Alon Shalev, Viva Hammer, Shlomo Zuckier, and Saul J. Berman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
UPDATE: New posts as of 8/3/12, 1:11 a.m.
Steal This SiddurWednesday, June 13, 2012 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
If anyone might be poised to understand how a project of decentralized authority and radically distributive ownership could operate in a market-based economy, it would be the treasurer of a kibbutz.
The Jewish Left, between History and RevelationMonday, June 11, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The association of Jews with leftist ideas and movements has been a fixture of Western politics for the past 150 years. But is the relationship logical and necessary, or is it historical and contingent?
Sending Mein Kampf Back to SchoolTuesday, May 22, 2012 by Alex Joffe | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Important literature can't be kept under wraps forever. A case in point is Mein Kampf. The German state of Bavaria, which holds the German copyright, has blocked the book's publication within Hitler's homeland.
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.
Eating Your ValuesFriday, November 4, 2011 | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The many Jewish laws regarding food—how it gets from the ground and into our mouths in a kosher manner—are central to Jewish life. But what ethical framework underlies the system of kashrut? Maimonides' justifications for kashrut range from avoiding cruelty to animals and eschewing the idolatrous practices of antiquity to considerations of health.
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.
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
Digitalmud Elli Fischer, Shai Secunda, Jewish Review of Books. Attempts to clarify the Talmud have always provoked new waves of commentary and dispute. Rashi's monumental running commentary opened the door for more sophisticated analysis. What might the ArtScroll app provoke?
The Fate of the Aleppo Codex Ronen Bergman, New York Times. The medieval manuscript contains a warning to would-be thieves: “Cursed be he who steals it, and cursed be he who sells it.” One huge ransom and several international maneuvers later, about 200 pages are missing . . .
Scholarship at the Fault Line Monica Osborne, New Republic. English departments and literary studies curricula have yet to acknowledge the significance of Jewish and midrashic thought to their disciplines.
Israelis, Learn Arabic! Yaron Friedman, Ynet. Though tiny Israel is surrounded by more than 200 million Arabic speakers, its government has failed to treat Arabic studies with the appropriate seriousness.
Talmud and Technology Alan Jacobs, Atlantic. Although the challenges posed by the Internet are serious, Jews have long disputed how to deal with new technology—and faced similar dilemmas with the printing press.
Reading and Religion Jeffrey Saks, Torah Musings. The late Ray Bradbury's dystopian vision of a world without books in Farenheit 451 shows that there is no substitute for reading as moral education—and as a route to spiritual maturity.
The Macaronic Talmud Yair Furstenberg, Talmud Blog. The rabbis of the Talmud were not only exposed to Greek, but proficient enough to cunningly manipulate the language with wordplay and puns.
Remembering Too Well? Joshua Hammerman, Times of Israel. The importance of fostering a Jewish identity that values "God of Sinai" over "God of Auschwitz."
A Myth for the Misbegotten Tom Gross, Tom Gross Media. Ten years after the Jenin massacre-that-wasn't, what has the press done to correct its fabrications, and to guard against further calumnies?
Trailing the Rabbis' Breadcrumbs Judith Shulevitz, Tablet. What is man? He who is capable of searching inside himself. What does he search for? Some dark or foreign matter that he has put there himself. With what does he search? The light of God, which is also in himself.