“…how did a people that envisions itself in prayer as a community of tents, itinerant in the wilderness, become so fixated on construction projects?”
The fact that Oz is an outspoken opponent of occupation and the policies required...
Category Archives: Judaism
“In addition to the biblical distinction between normal and abnormal discharges, the rabbis developed two more categories…”
Leviticus 15 is concerned with normal and abnormal, male and female genital discharges. As...
“The practice of waiting seven blood-free days following the end of a regular menstrual period is variously described in the Talmud as heḥemiru al atzman, minhaga, and halakhah pesukah, indicating that a variety of attitudes existed as to the severity of the requirement”
Zimmerman is correct in saying that a seven-day wait after any bleeding has become...
“…if misrepresented as a rabbinic ordinance, a custom may be seen as more sweeping than it actually is”
…custom, even when considered obligatory, derives its authority from the practice of either a...
“Through their sharp political interpretations of the Passover story, Rav and Shmuel described the political condition of the Jewish people long after the Exodus from Egypt”
In its transition from Joseph’s death to a new era, the book of Exodus...
“I find Pesach stunning for its integrating the particular redemption story of a particular people into a moral message that is universal; or the reverse, routing a universal story into the particular story of the Jewish nation”
I find Pesach stunning for its integrating the particular redemption story of a particular...
“Pesach: better for peoplehood organizing, in my view, than community organizing…”
I am not enamored by the politicization of Seder symbols into clear public policy...
“The core pedagogies of the Haggadah are asking questions and telling stories”
The core pedagogies of the Haggadah are asking questions and telling stories. Real questions...
“The sexualization of Purim is partly just a matter of convenience”
The sexualization of Purim is partly just a matter of convenience. The easiest and...
“The goals of tzeniut can only be fulfilled in a society that fosters intimacy and empathy”
The unconscionable physical and verbal violence against women in Beit Shemesh and elsewhere have...