June 2015 – Excerpted

“The ‘I was born in the wrong body’ rhetoric favored by other trans people doesn’t work any better and is just as offensive”

30 June 201517 June 2015 Drew KaplanGender

The “I was born in the wrong body” rhetoric favored by other trans people doesn’t work any better and is just as offensive, reducing us to our collective breasts and vaginas. Imagine the reaction if[…]

“The motivations and ideology of Second Temple sectarian groups appear primarily in Rabbinic tales…, yet employing these stories for the purpose of writing history is problematical”

30 June 201517 June 2015 Drew KaplanTalmud

The motivations and ideology of Second Temple sectarian groups appear primarily in Rabbinic tales (as opposed to halakhic discussions), yet employing these stories for the purpose of writing history is problematical. As Fraenkel has insisted,[…]

“…the threat of losing Israel’s character as a Jewish state is also seen not only as a matter of values and identity but also as an existential threat”

29 June 201517 June 2015 Drew KaplanIsrael

Some people in Israel and abroad have a dismissive or even contemptuous attitude toward this fear. They invoke Israel’s enormous military might, including its reported nuclear weapons, as evidence that this fear is unfounded and[…]

“There is no real reason for Modern Orthodoxy to be, in any way, connected to Brisk”

29 June 201526 June 2015 Drew KaplanModern Orthodoxy

There is no real reason for Modern Orthodoxy to be, in any way, connected to Brisk. It just so happens that the two dominant religious figures of our movement in the past eighty years happen[…]

“Creative work isn’t a regular job. Sure, eventually your skills improve and you get better at structure”

28 June 201517 June 2015 Drew KaplanCreativity

Creative work isn’t a regular job. Sure, eventually your skills improve and you get better at structure. You learn to compress the process. But it’s still a herculean extravaganza. A journalist I know calls this[…]

“…although much of Second Temple and Rabbinic literature can be read in light of the Greek and later Roman-Christian context in which they were composed…”

28 June 201517 June 2015 Drew KaplanLate Antiquity

…although much of Second Temple and Rabbinic literature can be read in light of the Greek and later Roman-Christian context in which they were composed, we should be wary of attributing all differences to a[…]

“The difficulty in starting companies is not just about finding the right technology, but also getting the timing right”

26 June 201522 June 2015 Drew KaplanBusiness

The difficulty in starting companies is not just about finding the right technology, but also getting the timing right. It’s easier to predict what might happen in the future; it’s harder to predict when the[…]

“Incivility shuts people down…”

26 June 2015 Drew KaplanBusiness

Incivility shuts people down…. Employees contribute less and lose their conviction, whether because of a boss saying, “If I wanted to know what you thought, I’d ask you,” or screaming at an employee who overlooks[…]

“The Jedi…had unwittingly trained their students to be the perfect fugitives, able to cut and run at any moment”

25 June 201522 June 2015 Drew KaplanBooks

The Jedi had always preached against forming connections, to prevent their acolytes from putting too much value in any one relationship. In so doing, they had unwittingly trained their students to be the perfect fugitives,[…]

“When a version of a myth is told (orally or in writing), it is always an account of the past in intimate connection with some conclusion to be drawn in the present experience of the person recounting the tale”

25 June 201522 June 2015 Drew KaplanScholarship

When a version of a myth is told (orally or in writing), it is always an account of the past in intimate connection with some conclusion to be drawn in the present experience of the[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Month: June 2015

“The ‘I was born in the wrong body’ rhetoric favored by other trans people doesn’t work any better and is just as offensive”

“The motivations and ideology of Second Temple sectarian groups appear primarily in Rabbinic tales…, yet employing these stories for the purpose of writing history is problematical”

“…the threat of losing Israel’s character as a Jewish state is also seen not only as a matter of values and identity but also as an existential threat”

“There is no real reason for Modern Orthodoxy to be, in any way, connected to Brisk”

“Creative work isn’t a regular job. Sure, eventually your skills improve and you get better at structure”

“…although much of Second Temple and Rabbinic literature can be read in light of the Greek and later Roman-Christian context in which they were composed…”

“The difficulty in starting companies is not just about finding the right technology, but also getting the timing right”

“Incivility shuts people down…”

“The Jedi…had unwittingly trained their students to be the perfect fugitives, able to cut and run at any moment”

“When a version of a myth is told (orally or in writing), it is always an account of the past in intimate connection with some conclusion to be drawn in the present experience of the person recounting the tale”