Judaism “…if misrepresented as a rabbinic ordinance, a custom may be seen as more sweeping than it actually is” Author Drew Kaplan Date 29 May 2017 …custom, even when considered obligatory, derives its authority from the practice of either a...
Amoraim, Babylonian Talmud, Passover “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” Author Drew Kaplan Date 9 April 2017 In its transition from Joseph’s death to a new era, the book of Exodus...
Passover “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” Author Drew Kaplan Date 9 April 2017 I find Pesach stunning for its integrating the particular redemption story of a particular...
Passover “Pesach: better for peoplehood organizing, in my view, than community organizing…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 7 April 2017 I am not enamored by the politicization of Seder symbols into clear public policy...
Passover “The core pedagogies of the Haggadah are asking questions and telling stories” Author Drew Kaplan Date 6 April 2017 The core pedagogies of the Haggadah are asking questions and telling stories. Real questions...
Purim “The sexualization of Purim is partly just a matter of convenience” Author Drew Kaplan Date 29 March 2017 The sexualization of Purim is partly just a matter of convenience. The easiest and...
Judaism “The goals of tzeniut can only be fulfilled in a society that fosters intimacy and empathy” Author Drew Kaplan Date 21 February 2017 The unconscionable physical and verbal violence against women in Beit Shemesh and elsewhere have...
Babylonian Talmud, Judaism, Rabbinic Literature “…the true Jewish ethos of modesty does not exclusively pertain to sexuality…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 20 February 2017 The topic of “tzniut” or “modesty” has recently become a prominent point of discussion...
Haredim/Haredi-ism, Marriage “…there is no such concept [of “falling in love”] in the haredi world” Author Drew Kaplan Date 3 January 2017 …there is no such concept in the haredi world (and...
Judaism “Change can be very slow, even inadvertent, in Jewish tradition” Author Drew Kaplan Date 27 December 2016 Change can be very slow, even inadvertent, in Jewish tradition. Present-day academies of Talmudic...