Once upon a time, goes an old Hasidic tale, the great Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev was walking down the street when he ran into a fellow Jew. It was one of Judaism’s fast days, and yet there was Levi Yitzchak’s acquaintance, enjoying a hearty meal. “My son,” said the rabbi softly, . . . . Continue Reading »
The Hebrew Bible and Talmud do not agree with Jesus in equating lust with adultery, but they indicate that the gap between these two sins is quite small. Continue Reading »
The protests raging currently across Israel are, at their core, about the conflict over the essence of what it means to be a Jewish democracy. Continue Reading »
Opposition to the existence of a nation-state with a Jewish majority is not only an anti-Israeli position, but also an anti-Jewish one. Continue Reading »
Jason Bedrick joins the podcast to discuss his recent article, “The New York Times's botched attack on Jewish schools,” and his book, Religious Liberty and Education: A Case Study of Yeshivas vs. New York. Continue Reading »
Joshua Mitchell has made a strong case that religion has returned to public life. In American Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time, he argues that growing numbers of Americans are harried and oppressed by unaddressed guilt and shame. The recession of Christianity as . . . . Continue Reading »
I consult the Talmud and not Anselm when thinking about how to live, and my Christian friends do the reverse. First Things has always hosted and will continue to host these parallel inquiries. Continue Reading »
If muscles and speed is how your community says you ought to flourish, the frail among us will be absorbed into a spectating mass useful only as an audience for a mighty few. Continue Reading »
The two days of discussions began with a frank acknowledgment that religion has all too often been a source of, or a pretext for, conflict in today’s increasingly interdependent world. Continue Reading »
Being a member of a religious minority forces one to both navigate the majority culture’s expectations and consider the boundaries of a unique identity. Continue Reading »
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