Neither Christianity nor Judaism is actually a “religion of the Book”—both regard scripture as a secondary witness to something infinitely greater, namely, the presence of God with his people. Continue Reading »
The Ninth of Av commemorates the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, catastrophes whose repercussions are still endured by Jews today. Continue Reading »
Something resembling a real religion-and-society debate is finally emerging in Israel. Continue Reading »
Why did God disperse the men who built the Tower of Babel? The ancient rabbinic texts uncovered several vices that justified their punishment: A tower intended to reach heaven manifests the ambition to challenge God, the desire to “make for ourselves a name” expresses the sin of pride, and so . . . . Continue Reading »
This great country has come a long way from when Jews had to choose between their jobs and the Ten Commandments. Let us not let the Trump media frenzy take us back to that unpleasant time. Continue Reading »
In the three centuries since the prince-elector of Hanover became George I of Great Britain, few power brokers have been more detached from the populace they affected than Rabbi Menachem Shach (1898–2001). Born and bred in Lithuania, where he devoted himself to Talmudic study with some of the . . . . Continue Reading »
The Jewish community has a great deal more experience than the Christian community at operating independently of many of society’s boundaries. Continue Reading »
The Collected Works of Spinoza, Vols. I and II edited and translated by edwin curleyprinceton, 1,544 pages, $66 Aprospective donor to Yeshiva University with whom I was once asked to meet was obsessed with one question: Did we teach Spinoza? He had not the least interest in discussing why Spinoza . . . . Continue Reading »
In a provocative and profound essay in this magazine (“A King in Israel,” May 2010), the late Michael Wyschogrod proposed that the Jewish state define itself as a democratic, constitutional monarchy. Israel, Wyschogrod suggested, should rename its head of state—the president elected by its . . . . Continue Reading »
The sun falls between the leaves outside the kitchen window as I prepare for my first Sabbath alone. Beginning on Thursday morning, Sabbath greetings have arrived, and they have not ceased. From Berlin a photograph of flowers for the Sabbath table, and then a goodbye to my parents in Sydney as they . . . . Continue Reading »
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