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In light of his new record, “Spark Seeker,” out now, I interviewed over the phone Matisyahu to discuss his body of work, the recording process and his creative future. The intent was to approach the music, rather than the chatter surrounding Matisyahu’s appearance. For a taste of that music, click the link above for information […]
If there’s one thing Matisyahu wants to make clear, it’s that he, like his music, can’t be easily understood in simple terms, in boxes or categories. “I’m a varied artist, I don’t really have my foot stuck into one genre,” he explains in my recent interview with him. Important words from a man whose career has often depended on the assumptions brought on by labels: “Jewish.” “Orthodox.” “Reggae.”
But perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First things first: “OMG, did u c Matis w/o his yamikkuh (sp.?)???” “LOL! i no, rite?”
I hate New Year’s resolutions. I apologize to those of you who committed to some sort of positive change in your lives at the beginning of 2012 or of 5772, but I think that our current system of once-a-year goal-setting is silly. The problem with New Year’s resolutions is evident from their title: They only happen once a year! We decide to go to the gym on a daily basis on Rosh Hashanah, and by Sukkot most of us are already attempting to convince ourselves that shaking the lulav counts as a legitimate workout. In the Jewish world that I envision, effort toward self-improvement would be the foundation for all of what we do. We would set personal kavanot (intentions) on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis, and the result would be a thoughtful, purposeful community, constantly working to become better Jews and better human beings.
With the use of technology on the rise and our interconnectedness increasing, it is no surprise that for many Jews, the intersection of worship and tech — iPads, Kindles, projections screens, you name it — would be the next step. To understand the reasons for this and its implications, we spoke to Rabbi Daniel Medwin, publishing technology manager for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Reform rabbinic organization, about the movement’s much-praised iT’filah siddur app and what it may mean for the future.
Editor’s note, July 2012: As the 40th anniversary of the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches and a West German police officer approach, and as the 2012 London Olympics games begin, a call for some recognition of the Munich Massacre goes unheeded by this year’s organizers. We present this piece, written by our co-founder, David Twersky, in September of 1972, in aftermath of that tragedy.
Gabriel Erbs’ June 14th column “Unholy alliance: evangelicals and pro-Israel campus groups” is a vicious attack on Christianity for which the author and publication ought to be ashamed. The piece is dishonest, bigoted, and preys upon people’s prejudice towards other faiths.
In the piece, Erbs seeks to delegitimize the now strong relationship between Christian and Jewish Zionists, because he disdains the former’s faith and politics. In truth however, he seems to know little about either.
Where can you find the Jews? Thanks to the Diaspora, pretty much everywhere – and, according to recent genetic testing, there might be members of the Tribe in places we had never imagined. A new study of Colorado Native Americans has found that many of these individuals have the so-called “Ashkenazi mutation,” described as “deleterious […]
If Yeshiva University is “the flagship institution of Modern Orthodoxy,” as it is often called, then Mechon Hadar is the flagship institution of the traditional egalitarian set, a not-quite-movement made up mostly of independent minyanim concentrated in a few major cities. To most students at Y.U., Hadar — which runs America’s only full-time egalitarian yeshiva — would appear to be obviously out of bounds, but a few supplement their Y.U. education with the more liberal, mixed-gender learning available at Hadar.
As the farmer walked through his fields, he spotted a freezing viper. Taking pity on the snake, he placed the shivering reptile in his coat. Upon warming, the snake bit the man. As the farmer died, he realized his own fault: “I knew it was a snake when I picked it up.”
This fable characterizes the unholy alliance between Jewish pro-Israel organizations and Evangelical Zionist organizations here at Portland State University — and nationally.
You may recall the “BDS conference” at the University of Pennsylvania earlier this year. Well, strap in folks, because an even more overly niche-y conference has the Jewish community crying foul. A report in the Algemeiner alerted me to this gem: The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at City University of New Yorkplans to […]