Non-Jews often wonder about the value of close study of Jewish law. To the outsider it can seem hyper-specialized, often applying to a very narrow range of situations. What wisdom comes from this nitpicking about legal requirement, they wonder? Quite a bit, in fact. Seemingly remote rabbinic . . . . Continue Reading »
Our working definition of holiness must include a new understanding of holy space, at least for the time being. Continue Reading »
Recent rom-coms paint Hasidic communities in a bad light while leading their characters into a postmodern abyss. Continue Reading »
It may seem odd to outsiders that in the middle of the last century, seating arrangements in synagogues were the most prominent marker of the division between American Orthodox Judaism and the other American Jewish religious movements. Orthodoxy maintained separate seating for men and women and the . . . . Continue Reading »
For Yaakov Smith, a transgender person who lives and teaches in Jerusalem, Orthodoxy is a bit like the exaggerated femininity of the drag queen. Continue Reading »
Secular society sees religion—and public worship in particular—as little more than a cultural expression or a lifestyle choice. Continue Reading »
Nathan Alterman (1910–1970) was the most important Hebrew poet of his generation. He was popular with readers of poetry and continues to be much-studied. Side by side with the major modernist works that established his reputation, Alterman was also a prolific producer of occasional verse on . . . . Continue Reading »
God’s deliverance of his people from the dominion of Pharaoh is a raising of Israel from the dead. Continue Reading »
Israelis are praying and loving and studying at home, the true center of Jewish life. Continue Reading »
A flame goes up from each home, each place of isolation: the flame of the human spirit. Continue Reading »
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