A Guide to the Complex is, therefore, such a helpful model for what Modern Orthodox halakhah can be. The book’s placement of Modern Orthodox and Haredi poskim in conversation with each other is a model[…]
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Month: December 2014
“Sarah’s story becomes a cautionary tale for us — a tale about the vital need every human being has to feel a sense of weight and gravitas…”
It is not coincidental that while Sarah is the direct object of several verbs toward the beginning of the story — Abraham takes her from the land of Haran and pleads with her to claim[…]
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“Calling all husbands: mikveh night is not only your wife’s ‘thing'”
Calling all husbands: mikveh night is not only your wife’s “thing”. Remember the children’s story “The Little Red Hen”? If you aren’t going to help with the preparations you don’t get the goodies at the[…]
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“For Modern Orthodoxy to remain true to its calling, it must advocate for incorporating the values of modernity into a life of Torah and mitzvot, and it must do so while remaining part of the ongoing Orthodox conversation”
Modern Orthodoxy occupies a position as a progressive wing of the Orthodox community. We advocate for the core ideas of “Modernity” which include universalism, rationalism, feminism, nationalism, and individual autonomy, while remaining linked by bonds[…]
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“Halakhah has become another tool in the arsenal of inter-denominal polemics and, even more fiercely, internal Orthodox polemics”
There is, too often, an inverse relationship between the public awareness of a given halakhic issue, and the thoughtfulness with which the issue is treated in the public sphere. Halakhic controversies or aspects of Jewish[…]
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“In preparation for marriage, teach your son that sex is about intimacy and interpersonal communication, not just physical function”
In preparation for marriage, teach your son that sex is about intimacy and interpersonal communication, not just physical function. He may be made anxious by premarital instruction that often emphasizes goals and performance. Explain that[…]
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“If civil disobedience was inevitable, I’m glad that activist rabbis were prominent among those arrested, and probably it would have been better had there been Orthodox rabbis among them”
If civil disobedience was inevitable, I’m glad that activist rabbis were prominent among those arrested, and probably it would have been better had there been Orthodox rabbis among them. Rabbi Jeremy Wieder’s learned and powerful[…]
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The Food Movement “has ignored the core economic inequities and contradictions embedded in our food system”
The food movement — led by celebrity chefs, advocacy journalists, students and NGOs — is missing, ironically, the perspective of the people doing the actual work of growing food. Their platform has been largely based[…]
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“Sexual assault may not be perfectly defined even in the law, but that term has always implied involuntary sexual activity…”
Sexual assault may not be perfectly defined even in the law, but that term has always implied involuntary sexual activity. The redefinition of consent changes that. It encourages people to think of themselves as sexual[…]
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“When it comes to voting, showing people its value is much more powerful than talking about it”
When it comes to voting, showing people its value is much more powerful than talking about it. Let people see that their votes can change who leads them, and can influence the practices of police[…]
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