Judaism – Excerpted

Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wine was the preferred fermented beverage in the upland regions of the southern Levant. The Holy Land is where two of the world’s major religions – Judaism and Christianity – originated, and their holy writings (“scriptures”) are a testament to the centrality of wine in faith and practice.

15 November 2020 Drew KaplanBeer

Whereas barley beer and beer goddesses reigned supreme in the lowlands of Egypt and Mesopotamia, wine was the preferred fermented beverage in the upland regions of the southern Levant. The Holy Land is where two[…]

“…halakha is currently paying a steep price for Orthodoxy’s exclusion of the queer community”

3 April 20193 April 2019 Drew KaplanHomosexuality

…halakha is currently paying a steep price for Orthodoxy’s exclusion of the queer community. Halakha’s *discriminatory attitude toward the gay community alienates many of MO’s younger generation. It could very well be that halakha is[…]

“Neusner moved the study of Judaism from Near Eastern Language or History departments into Religious Studies”

6 February 20195 February 2019 Drew KaplanScholarship

As both a scholar and an academic politician, Neusner moved the study of Judaism from Near Eastern Language or History departments into Religious Studies. This move allowed for the study of Judaism as a religious[…]

“A mature adult faith demands that we take in difficult, painful facts and allow them to become part of our understandings of God, our language of faith and connection”

4 December 2018 Drew KaplanHanukah

A mature adult faith demands that we take in difficult, painful facts and allow them to become part of our understandings of God, our language of faith and connection. Hanukah is not a holiday about[…]

“With the erosion of ethnic boundaries in Israel, and the mixing of different traditions to form a more general ‘Israeliness’, traditionalism has become mainstream”

29 July 2018 Drew KaplanIsrael

The roots of traditionalism lie in Mizrachi Judaism. In the Orient, instead of the dichotomy between religiosity and secularism, there arose a worldview that saw the loose, non-halachic practice of Judaism as a legitimate option.[…]

“…how did a people that envisions itself in prayer as a community of tents, itinerant in the wilderness, become so fixated on construction projects?”

27 June 201726 June 2017 Drew KaplanIsrael

The fact that Oz is an outspoken opponent of occupation and the policies required to attend to it cements his bona fides in making this argument, which is the strongest I know against the moral[…]

“…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[…]

“…the true Jewish ethos of modesty does not exclusively pertain to sexuality…”

20 February 20176 September 2017 Drew KaplanBabylonian Talmud

The topic of “tzniut” or “modesty” has recently become a prominent point of discussion in the Jewish community, mostly in response recent incidents of religious violence in Israel…. But the common theme … and indeed[…]

“Change can be very slow, even inadvertent, in Jewish tradition”

27 December 201621 December 2016 Drew KaplanJudaism

Change can be very slow, even inadvertent, in Jewish tradition. Present-day academies of Talmudic scholarship have much more in common with their medieval precursors than with modern educational systems. The core of the practices of[…]

“Universalist ideas were central to Jewish authors living in the Second Temple period…”

10 October 2016 Drew KaplanJudaism

Universalist ideas were central to Jewish authors living in the Second Temple period, and to the readers who read and circulated these authors’ texts. The circulation of Jewish universalist ideas at this time indicates that[…]

Excerpted

Excerpts of Interest

Tag: Judaism

“…halakha is currently paying a steep price for Orthodoxy’s exclusion of the queer community”

“Neusner moved the study of Judaism from Near Eastern Language or History departments into Religious Studies”

“A mature adult faith demands that we take in difficult, painful facts and allow them to become part of our understandings of God, our language of faith and connection”

“With the erosion of ethnic boundaries in Israel, and the mixing of different traditions to form a more general ‘Israeliness’, traditionalism has become mainstream”

“…how did a people that envisions itself in prayer as a community of tents, itinerant in the wilderness, become so fixated on construction projects?”

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

“…the true Jewish ethos of modesty does not exclusively pertain to sexuality…”

“Change can be very slow, even inadvertent, in Jewish tradition”

“Universalist ideas were central to Jewish authors living in the Second Temple period…”