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Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Month: May 2017

“Where are the Torah graphic novels?”

30 May 201726 May 2017 Drew KaplanJewish Books

For many people, the texts of Torah learning are themselves the biggest obstacles. They are dense, difficult, often unpunctuated and written in a foreign language. Where are the Torah graphic novels? Where are the books[…]

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“…if misrepresented as a rabbinic ordinance, a custom may be seen as more sweeping than it actually is”

29 May 201726 May 2017 Drew KaplanJudaism

…custom, even when considered obligatory, derives its authority from the practice of either a community or a family; if misrepresented as a rabbinic ordinance, a custom may be seen as more sweeping than it actually[…]

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“…denominations are more than just ideas and orientations…”

29 May 201726 May 2017 Drew KaplanConservative Judaism

It seems kind of obvious that, if there is a denominational shakeup and a reclassification of the religious-behavioral map, there is an emerging denomination that constitutes a hybrid of conservative Conservatives, the Open Orthodox, and[…]

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“The people of Israel will not prove itself worthy of its land by listing more companies on NASDAQ or with an increased number of start-ups…”

28 May 201726 May 2017 Drew KaplanIsrael

The State of Israel exists, first and foremost, as the nation-state of the Jewish people, not because the Jewish people is particularly deserving or fit for it, but by the grace of God toward a[…]

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“…it will be fascinating to see if the term ‘Conservative’…makes a comeback in the form of the Conservative Jews who want to ‘hold the line’ on intermarriage”

28 May 201726 May 2017 Drew KaplanConservative Judaism

…it will be fascinating to see if the term “Conservative” – which many Conservative Jews have tired of, either because it does not reflect their more progressive outlook or because it implies a history and[…]

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“The truth is that no thinker worth remembering has some monolithic ‘project’ to undertake…”

26 May 201723 May 2017 Drew KaplanIdeas

The truth is that no thinker worth remembering has some monolithic “project” to undertake; all express a personality inevitably double, and full of the tensions and contradictions that touch any real life. Voltaire was greedy,[…]

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“Ancient Israelites, with the possible exception of a few teetotaling Nazirites and their moms, proudly drank beer—and lots of it”

25 May 201723 May 2017 Drew KaplanBeer

Ancient Israelites, with the possible exception of a few teetotaling Nazirites and their moms, proudly drank beer—and lots of it. Men, women and even children of all social classes drank it. Its consumption in ancient[…]

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“…the term halakhah pesukah need not be considered the opposite of minhaga. It may simply mean a rule that cannot be questioned or supported on the basis of conventional talmudic dialectics”

25 May 20172 January 2020 Drew KaplanAmoraim

Perhaps it can be argued that the ḥumra of the daughters of Israel is termed a halakhah pesukah not because it is “a ruling that all agree to,” as explained by Zimmerman (this is an[…]

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“I can’t believe ‘Across the Stars’ is in Star Wars – it’s so rich”

24 May 201723 May 2017 Drew KaplanMusic

I still listen to this piece and I get chills. I can’t believe it’s in Star Wars – it’s so rich. I mean there’s this sort of like very gentle love story emerging and then[…]

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“Now ownage communicates dominance, but it also belies an underlying impotence”

24 May 201723 May 2017 Drew KaplanSemantics

In the hacking context, owning someone is all about a display of superior technological abilities. When the word migrated from hacking to gaming, “owned” became a mantra for those who had mastered the game play[…]

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