May 2016 – Excerpted

“The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness”

24 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanScholarship

The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness. This has been[…]

“It’s not that we shouldn’t have covered Trump’s craziness, but that we should have aggressively provided context in the form of fact checks and robust examination of policy proposals”

23 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanJournalism

Although many of us journalists have derided Trump, the truth is that he generally outsmarted us (with many exceptions, for there truly have been serious efforts to pin him down and to investigate Trump University[…]

“Nothing should scandalize us more than a so-called religious person keeping his wife captive as a means of revenge”

23 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanDivorce

In matters of divorce, my feeling is that when either husband or wife wants a get, and it is obvious that there is no future in the marriage, then neither party should prevent the divorce[…]

“The tragedy of the child-welfare system lies, unnoticed, at the bottom of the chasm that divides American politics”

22 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanPolitics in America

The tragedy of the child-welfare system lies, unnoticed, at the bottom of the chasm that divides American politics. On the right, in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, Victorian child-saving was reborn as the pro-life[…]

“In a cardigan or a crew neck, this model is just another model. In the hoodie, he is a folk demon and a scapegoat, a political symbol and a moving target…”

22 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanClothing

In a cardigan or a crew neck, this model is just another model. In the hoodie, he is a folk demon and a scapegoat, a political symbol and a moving target, and the system of[…]

“Known now as ‘The Bates Bill’, the new law allowed the explosive growth of microbreweries and brewpubs, first throughout California…”

20 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanBeer

In 1983, the California state legislature successfully passed Assembly Bill 3610, amending Section 23357 of the California Business and Professions Code relating to alcoholic beverages. Statewide, producers of beer could legally sell their products on[…]

“…every major ‘populist’ insurgency is a warning about serious problems festering in our politics”

19 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanPolitics in America

In their own fashion, Sanders and Trump are protesting inequalities and the corruption of public life without calling the entire system into question. (Sanders may speak of “revolution,” but he still chose to run for[…]

“There can be no doubt of the fact that the Sabbath is a, or perhaps the, central institution of biblical and rabbinical religion”

19 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanShabbat

There can be no doubt of the fact that the Sabbath is a, or perhaps the, central institution of biblical and rabbinical religion. It is commanded in the Decalogue; it is one of the few[…]

“…it is difficult to accept a haredi message about women’s more private roles when haredi kollel culture means that their women have to take jobs requiring much more exposure to the broader world…”

18 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanHaredim/Haredi-ism

In general, it is difficult to accept a haredi message about women’s more private roles when haredi kollel culture means that their women have to take jobs requiring much more exposure to the broader world[…]

“The prevalence of “cafeteria Judaism” is part of what frustrates so many Jewish professionals in their search for how to promote a greater interest in Judaism among their constituencies”

18 May 201616 May 2016 Drew KaplanJewish Education

The prevalence of “cafeteria Judaism” is part of what frustrates so many Jewish professionals in their search for how to promote a greater interest in Judaism among their constituencies. In my conversations with Jews from[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Month: May 2016

“The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness”

“It’s not that we shouldn’t have covered Trump’s craziness, but that we should have aggressively provided context in the form of fact checks and robust examination of policy proposals”

“Nothing should scandalize us more than a so-called religious person keeping his wife captive as a means of revenge”

“The tragedy of the child-welfare system lies, unnoticed, at the bottom of the chasm that divides American politics”

“In a cardigan or a crew neck, this model is just another model. In the hoodie, he is a folk demon and a scapegoat, a political symbol and a moving target…”

“Known now as ‘The Bates Bill’, the new law allowed the explosive growth of microbreweries and brewpubs, first throughout California…”

“…every major ‘populist’ insurgency is a warning about serious problems festering in our politics”

“There can be no doubt of the fact that the Sabbath is a, or perhaps the, central institution of biblical and rabbinical religion”

“…it is difficult to accept a haredi message about women’s more private roles when haredi kollel culture means that their women have to take jobs requiring much more exposure to the broader world…”

“The prevalence of “cafeteria Judaism” is part of what frustrates so many Jewish professionals in their search for how to promote a greater interest in Judaism among their constituencies”