Journalism by Jewish college students, for Jewish college students.
Why is that every time an Israeli tech firm so much as takes a leak, JTA is there to tell all about it? Today, they wrote: JERUSALEM (JTA) — AOL has purchased an Israeli web video start-up firm. The deal to acquire 5min Media is reported to be at about $65 million, according to the Israeli business…
Last Thursday, UT Austin newspaper Daily Texan columnist Daley Epstein put it best: The holiest day of the Jewish year and the holiest day of the Longhorn calendar don’t usually coincide. However, next year, Yom Kippur and the Red River Rivalry both fall on Oct. 8, leaving Jewish Longhorns, about 10.5 percent of the UT…
Here at Drew University, we’ve got a very nice sukah. It lives with Drew Facilities all year and they kindly put it up for us. It’s one of these canvas affairs that has little windows. Hung the windows are signs that say “SUKKAH” and have a little explanation. Despite this, I’m constantly asked about what…
As previously mentioned at my person blog, The Reform Shuckle, I’m taking a Jewish Spirituality course this semester. This post, crossposted to The Shuckle here, is actually just the first of four two-page reflection papers that I’ll do for this course over the course of the semester. There a few ideas in here that I…
A basket in the Lower East Side’s Bialystoker Synagogue chronicles a century of weddings, as recorded in the kippot. [NYT] Less than half of all Israelis see themselves as secular. “8% of Jewish Israeli adults define themselves as ultra-Orthodox, 12% as religious, 13% as traditional-religious, and 25% as traditional but ‘not very religious,’ according to…
God bless Benji Lovitt for pointing out this gem of Israeli advertising to the blogosphere today. Benji’s blog, What War Zone???, is a never-ending buffet of satire on Israel from the perspective of an American oleh. I highly recommend it. He’s doing a US comedy tour soon and looking for venues. Hillels are perfect, I…
J.J. Goldberg has assembled his favorite selection of (mostly Christian) music about repentance to help us all get in the mood for the season. [J.J. Goldberg] The other Goldberg, Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, was invited by Fidel Castro to come chat in Havana. It seems that Castro really liked Goldberg’s story about Iran a few…
Rabbi Jason Miller, blogger of RabbiJason.com, heard that an article in Time Magazine isn’t good for the Jews. After having read a few posts about the article, he decided to throw his several hundred words of cents in. He has cleverly titled his post, Time not on Israel’s Side. (Get it? See, the name of…
The Columbia Spectator featured an op-ed yesterday by Aviva Beuchler, president of Columbia-Barnard Hillel about Rosh Hashanah choices. Beuchler writes: Navigating the first few days of classes is always a daunting task. Does this history class fit my schedule, or should I try to enroll in the political science class? Should I take physics or…
Apparently it’s an RPG, but it’s also like The Sims and Civilization… and it has a biblical setting. And it’s being created by Germans? [Religion Dispatches] Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says that peace is an “unattainable goal.” Someone remind me why this jackass is the FM. [JTA] In a case that could go to…
Several LA synagogues are trying to attract young professionals to their Rosh Hashanah services with a variety of bizarre offerings, including game shows and appletinis. Good luck with that, guys. [Jewish Journal] The U.S. would like Bibi and Abbas to meet every two weeks during peace talks. Sounds good, I guess. [JTA] The LA Jewish…
Vox Tablet checks in with some Jewish football players as America gears up for a season of America’s real pastime. [Tablet] More sports! The Jewish Journal’s sports blog lists the top ten most Jewish sports franchises. What constitutes as a Jewish franchise? Really anything from a Jewish owner, history, players, announcers, food, or anything else that the…
Yesterday, we posted my review of two new machzorim, pluralist Machzor Eit Ratzon and Conservative Mahzor Lev Shalem. If you’re into brevity, or less obsessed with liturgy than I am, I recommend that review. If however, you like to read very long things or you’re into siddur design and liturgical minutiae, head on over to…
Two new machzors, one from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the other from a professor at Rutgers University, have come out just in time for the High Holy Days. New Voices Editor at Large David AM Wilensky reviews them both,