Beer, Bible “Ancient Israelites, with the possible exception of a few teetotaling Nazirites and their moms, proudly drank beer—and lots of it” Author Drew Kaplan Date 25 May 2017 Ancient Israelites, with the possible exception of a few teetotaling Nazirites and their moms,...
Amoraim, Babylonian Talmud “…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” Author Drew Kaplan Date 25 May 2017 Perhaps it can be argued that the ḥumra of the daughters of Israel is...
Jewish Education, Marketing “Which brand of Judaism has the most credibility on which topic? How did you know?” Author Drew Kaplan Date 22 May 2017 I asked the new president of a growing synagogue about their brand. “Young couples...
Halakhic Books/Works/Writings “The notion that the seven blood-free days are an undue stringency imposed by the Rabbis is a commonplace of contemporary halakhic discussion among liberal Orthodox and non-Orthodox feminist Jews who discuss the laws of nidah…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 22 May 2017 The notion that the seven blood-free days are an undue stringency imposed by the...
Beer, Bible “…if ancient Israel did not drink beer, their abstention was unique in the entire ancient Near East” Author Drew Kaplan Date 21 May 2017 …the Hebrew Bible records barley (שְׂעֺרָה) as one of the most abundant and important...
Amoraim, Babylonian Talmud, Beer, Late Antiquity, Wine “The contrast between wine culture of Palestine and beer culture of Babylonia is well documented in the Talmud…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 17 May 2017 One of the important distinctions between the diet of Graeco-Roman Palestine and Babylonia was...
Conservative Judaism “The Conservative movement is torn between two conflicting positive imperatives…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 16 May 2017 “The Conservative movement is torn between two conflicting positive imperatives,” said Steven Bayme, director...
Beer, Bible, Middle East “The process for making beer was different in the ancient world from that used today, and it didn’t include the addition of hops or carbonation” Author Drew Kaplan Date 14 May 2017 Barley, one of the more popular grains for making beer in the ancient world,...
Halakhic Books/Works/Writings “The family purity handbook shares the qualities of the other halakhic handbooks…, but it has a history of its own” Author Drew Kaplan Date 14 May 2017 The family purity handbook shares the qualities of the other halakhic handbooks…, but it...
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...