Posts
Three Portraits of Jewish Excellence—at 29
At the age of 29, David Ben-Gurion was speaking to empty halls across America for the Zionist movement and Leo Strauss was finding the “theological-political predicament” insoluble. As for Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, he was in Berlin worrying about epistemology and halakha. Three portraits of Jewish excellence in the making.
Twilight of the Anti-Semites
Nietzsche’s reception has been sharply divided between anti-Semitic and philo-Semitic readings. Richard C. Holub's new book explores how the philosopher's views changed over time and whether some of his statements about Jews should be attributed to another hand.
Waiting for Moshe Right
The web series Soon by You is part Seinfeld, part Srugim.
What They Talk About When They Talk About Golems
On golems and global conspiracy theories.
What’s Yichus Got to Do with It?
For the whole history of Jewish society, until less than two hundred years ago, love and attraction played little or no role in the making of marriages, which were arranged and contracted according to the interests—commercial, religious, and social—of the families involved.
Hanukkah and State: The Hasmonean Legacy
The exchange between Rabbi Riskin and Rabbi Sacks on Jewish power and politics is illuminated by the history of Hanukkah.
Videos from Our 2nd Annual Conference
Subscribers and registered users can now watch four sessions from our 2nd Annual Conference, held November 2016 in New York City.
Darkness and Light: Leonard Cohen and the New Cantors—A Playlist for the High Holidays
Old World Ashkenazi cantorial art—khazones—is making a comeback, with a surprising little boost from Leonard Cohen's new single (yes, that Leonard Cohen).
A Cedar of Lebanon
In addition to the weight survivors feel, Friedman bears the burden of giving voice to the place that shaped young men’s lives and took others, while leaving no official trace.
A Tale of Two Night Vigils
The tradition to stay up all night studying on Shavuot is far more well-known than the tradition to do so on Hoshana Rabbah. Neither would have been possible without Kabbalah and caffeine.