Judaism, Late Antiquity “… in the Second Temple period, Judaism was a petri dish of ideas that nurtured a pluralism which invited all people to worship the Jewish God” Author Drew Kaplan Date 10 October 2016 We tend to think of the consecutive developments of Greek philosophy, normative Judaism, and...
Christianity “Scholars who have argued that early Christians were influenced by Stoic thought miss a key link…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 10 October 2016 Scholars who have argued that early Christians were influenced by Stoic thought miss a...
Religion “Universalism has nothing to do with welcoming converts into one’s faith community…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 10 October 2016 Universalism has nothing to do with welcoming converts into one’s faith community, which actually...
Bible, Jews, Judaism “The moment that a person’s interpretation of Torah would evoke the deep disgust of the average civilized person is the moment when the Torah’s intended story about itself has been lost” Author Drew Kaplan Date 11 September 2016 The story the Torah tells us about itself is that the way of life...
Conversion “Converts who request funding should probably be explicit about the costs and their own contribution to the process” Author Drew Kaplan Date 6 September 2016 Some people were bewildered that there was anything other than minor administrative costs associated...
Scholarship “The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse and so complex that no one person can master them all and the secondary scholarship in full thoroughness” Author Drew Kaplan Date 24 May 2016 The various literatures relevant to Judaism and Christianity are so bulky and so diverse...
Israel, Zionism “Should Auschwitz or Sinai be the orienting category shaping our understanding of the rebirth of the State of Israel?” Author Drew Kaplan Date 24 February 2016 One of the fundamental issues facing the new spirit of maturity in Israel is:...
Holidays, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur “Eschewing a sense of entitlement and control in favor of a sense of meaning and potential is the work of the High Holiday season” Author Drew Kaplan Date 9 September 2015 Eschewing a sense of entitlement and control in favor of a sense of meaning...
Gender, Judaism, Orthodoxy “Whether it’s from mere discomfort around women or buried chauvinism, the reality is that most men relate best to male leaders” Author Drew Kaplan Date 31 August 2015 For better or for worse, men like their boy’s clubs. They’re attracted to environments...
Judaism “Joy and love and acceptance are the greatest resources we can offer our children to foster their spiritual renewal” Author Drew Kaplan Date 17 August 2015 It’s so easy for religious observance to become a wedge issue between you and...