…it’s important to note that despite the contemporary association of concentration camps with the Shoah, they are not a Nazi invention. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various imperial forces — including the[…]
Tag: Holocaust
“The phenomenon of a minority people arising out of the ashes of Auschwitz to reframe not only their world but to also profoundly impact the broader culture may best summarize this century of Jewish influence”
…out of the trauma and tragedy of the earlier decades of the 20th century, Jews redefined their image and reconstructed their roles in the post-World War II period. This represented a point in time when[…]
“Should Auschwitz or Sinai be the orienting category shaping our understanding of the rebirth of the State of Israel?”
One of the fundamental issues facing the new spirit of maturity in Israel is: Should Auschwitz or Sinai be the orienting category shaping our understanding of the rebirth of the State of Israel? There are[…]
“The Shoah, it seems, has come to be read for portents and interpretation as much as for history itself”
The Shoah, it seems, has come to be read for portents and interpretation as much as for history itself. Yet one reason that the small scholarly details matter is that they provide an arsenal for[…]
In the 1990s, “the relative ordinariness of Israel left room for other topics – and spirituality made the most sense”
The mini (and short lived) spiritual explosion… took place in the 90’s, the era of Oslo, of Yitzhak Rabin, of what seemed like real negotiations with the Palestinians. Israel appeared to be on the path[…]
Judaism is not about the Holocaust
So which statistic surprised me? A statistic that, while overlooked by many, says much about the state of contemporary American Jewry. The Pew survey asked respondents to answer the following: What is essential to your[…]
“If “remembering the Holocaust” is an essential part of what it means to be Jewish, then it follows that a substantial core of Jewish identity is primarily defined by heinous acts committed by Nazis upon Jews”
If “remembering the Holocaust” is an essential part of what it means to be Jewish, then it follows that a substantial core of Jewish identity is primarily defined by heinous acts committed by Nazis upon[…]
“People will observe the Shabbas if it actually works for them”
I am actually not interested in simply furthering that we represent the Jewish people. I understand that it was a blip, a modern blip, exacerbated by the Holocaust, the Jewish peoplehood and “more than the[…]
Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha’Atzmaut’s Timing Seems Like Shiva
There are seven days between Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha’Atzmaut. It is as if the entire country sits shiva, mourning the tragedy of the Holocaust, then rises to be comforted by the existence of the[…]