Two or Three Concepts of Dignity
Is human dignity a "useless concept" Does it obscure more than it reveals? Two important new books seek to defend strong versions of human dignity.
A Certain Late Discovery
Was Jacques Derrida a Jewish thinker?
Brother Baruch
Daniel Schwartz's excellent new book is the first ever to chart the changing image of Spinoza throughout the centuries.
Chopped Herring and the Making of the American Kosher Certification System
In 1986, the discovery of non-kosher vinegar in a classic Jewish delicacy led to a revolution in kosher supervision.
Famous Jews
How is Barbra Streisand's decision not to have her nose "fixed" similar to Sandy Koufax's decision not to pitch on Yom Kippur?
From the Middle to the End
A deceptively simple novel about a suburban, Midwestern Jewish family catapults into something annoyingly profound.
Golden Apples
Meet Hyam Plutzik, the poet who wrote a major work—and then disappeared.
Israel on the Hudson
An ambitious, new three-volume work attempts to tell the story of New York's Jews from the days of Peter Stuyvesant to the present.
Jerusalem of the Balkans
In 1911, David Ben-Gurion spent several months in Salonica and declared that it was "the only Jewish labor city in the world." Now, because of an open-minded mayor and his nationalist opponents, this formerly Jewish city is experiencing a peculiar mix of Jewish memory and anti-Semitism.
Light Reading
Stoicism and the human heart.