Archive
Bernard Avishai has a really excellent essay (PDF) based on survey data (summarized by Haaretz here) from the Macro Center for Political Economic Research. It’s a long read, but worth every bit of it. A highlight: Approximately 40% of young Israeli Jews believe (about a third, strongly) that the state should not offer civil marriage. […]
Max Keisler’s preceding kosher-by-habit post makes a lot of sense to me. But had he seen the video I did yesterday, I have to wonder if he would consider moving from “semi-traditional” to 100 percent traditional. What did I see yesterday? Probably one of the most revolting yet incredibly entertaining videos on Youtube. It’s called […]
Recent posts on Pesach got me thinking about my own kashrut practices. To my non-Jewish friends, I’m that guy that’s really Jewish. I have a mezuzah up on my front door and my bedroom door; I have thick glasses and a not insignificant nose; I work at a synagogue. And I kind of keep kosher. […]
Beginning in 2006, I began the process of converting to Judaism – orthodox style. I came from a mixed family (and my Mom eveven converted via Conservative Judaism!), and for me it was probably inevitable after so many years of searching out the Jews. I lived in a pretty goyische town and grew up with […]
A synopsis of an article about the University of Wisconsin’s Jewish community from 1924: “The author defends the Jewish student population at the University of Wisconsin, declaring that such Jews do not engage with Jewish communal life because communal institutions have no interest in accommodating their specific requests.” Sound familiar? [BJPA] 45 years later, Woody […]
Every Pesach, it’s the same routine. Wipe down our pantries, pull out the “special” dishes, and discard of all the delicious bread products that are practically a staple item in my life. But recently, I read an article from Heritage: Florida Jewish News that will make me think twice about what I do with my […]
In Lod yesterday, Israeli Arabs and liberal Israelis demonstrated in commemoration of Land Day – an Israeli Arab and Palestinian day to protest the seizure of private Arab land by the Israeli state. But it has taken on more significance this year. That is not because of the protetss sweeping the Arab world, but regardingthis […]
I don’t think anyone can officially call themselves a college student until they have been cancelled out of a class. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, what’s the big deal? So you can’t take ONE class this term. La-de-da. Well, that’s not the real problem. Getting closed out of a class thrusts you into […]
Crossposted to The Reform Shuckle JewishBoston.com, the genius website that every other federation in the country should be clamoring to imitate, has created a new haggadah, “The Wandering is Over Haggadah.” Much to the delight of people who get bored during the seder, they claim that this haggadah’s version of the seder should take only […]