On the Square Today

Leroy Huizenga on why opposing gay marriage is rational, not religious :

Many make the mistake of thinking that opposition to gay marriage is religious. A Facebook friend recently posted this quote: “Have you ever noticed the same people who claim that marriage is a religious institution only think that LGBT people shouldn’t get married? They never seem to object to Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, or atheists getting married.”

Also today, Noah Glyn on how Jewish professionals read the Talmud :

There is a stereotype of the Talmud scholar: glasses, pasty skin, hunched back, and long side-curls. Although many students do indeed match this description, a new type of student has emerged. Modern Jews—lawyers, doctors, accountants, and businessmen—have assumed the responsibility of studying a page of Talmud everyday until they complete all six orders of the Talmud, or  shas . The practice is called  daf yomi , which literally means “a page a day.” With careers of their own, the aforementioned professionals cannot possibly spend their days and nights studying the Talmud.  Daf yomi  offers them a limited yet substantial way to continue studying. It takes seven-and-a-half years to complete  daf yomi .