Berdyczewski, Blasphemy, and Belief
Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg, one of the towering figures of the rabbinical establishment, found deep lessons about faith in the writings of the Nietzschean heretic Micha Josef Berdyczewski.
Borges, the Jew
Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentinian Nobel Prize-winning writer was captivated by Judaism. In 1934, he lamented, "hope is dimming that I will ever be able to discover my link to the Table of the Breads and the Sea of Bronze; to Heine, Gleizer, and the ten Sephiroth; to Ecclesiastes and Chaplin."
Dust-to-Dust Song
Nelly Sachs was 50 years old when she fled the Nazis with her mother in 1940. Few would have perdicted that she would receive the Nobel Prize for Literature twenty-six years later.
Homage to Mahj
A traveling exhibit attempts to explain the Jewish fascination with Mah Jongg, a favorite past-time of mid-century Jewish suburbia, Jewish country clubs, and Catskill resorts.
Israel’s Arab Sholem Aleichem
Sayed Kashua's new novel presents a characteristic depiction of the dual identities of Israel's Arabs.
Lawfare
What's the trouble with the international laws of war?
Letters, Summer 2012
Too much Chometz? Leon Wieseltier responds to his critics.
Matisse and His Jewish Patrons
Some of Henri Matisse's earliest and most committed supporters (and buyers) were Jewish. That might explain why Histoires Juives, a book of Yiddish jokes in French translation, and other Jewish items can be found in his paintings.
Muddling Through
In his new book about an Upper West Side Jewish family, Joshua Henkin proves himself as a skillful writer, alternately witty and moving.
Reorientation
A sober look at Jews and Christians under medieval Islamic rule.