Gil I’ll go one step further and argue that the origins and historical trajectories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam can not be adequately understood from within the framework of Jewish Studies and require the updated framework of Israelite Studies for proper analysis, explanation, and theory.
Elephantine. Idumea. Himyar. Kaifeng. Samaritans. Bené Anusím. Bene Israel. Beta Israel. Bene Menashe. Igbo. Qaraites. Amazighs. Palestinians. Ashkenaz. Sepharad. Teiman. Paras. Jewish Studies is an outdated discipline. It’s time to get serious about Israelite Studies.
The Igbo culture always surprises me. Today I learned that those Igbos that still pray according to the ways of Omenana, convene an additional service steeped in tradition (after they recite together the tephilloth that they have learned from Jewish sources) with the invocation: “Whom do Igbos serve?” “Yah!” I don’t think we’re talking about … Read more
Who invented the Jews? Who invented the Palestinians? “Sand explained during a newspaper interview his reasons for writing the book: “I wrote the book for a double purpose. First, as an Israeli, to democratise the state; to make it a real republic. Second, I wrote the book against Jewish essentialism.” Sand explained in the same … Read more
Zion is mentioned 196 times in Isaiah. 64 times in Jeremiah. 130 times in the Twelve Prophets. 152 times in Tehillim. 441 times in the Talmuds (374 in the Zohar!) 98 times in the Ashkenazi liturgy. 228 times in the Mizrahi liturgy. Over 1400 times in the most popular collections of responsa literature. But yes, … Read more
The Z Word – open and honest conversations with Palestinians and Israelis about Zionism, the land, the conflict, and the hope for a shared future… These are going to be an amazing series of convos. Barukh Hashem, I have some great guests lined up.
A valued friend privately messaged me to take issue with my personal insult to Yosef Mizrachi in a previous post. He felt it was in conflict with the overarching principle of politeness in the Religious way. I agree with the importance of politeness (although Lord knows my tongue sometimes gets ahead of my filter, mea … Read more
“My dearly beloved fellow New Yorkers, It’s an honor and privilege to not only be one of you but to fight for this opportunity to represent and lead you – all of you. New York is a city that is strong because of its diversity, not just in terms of of culture – although we’ve … Read more
“Falling upon one’s face” in supplication and confession after the standing prayer/guided meditation is an essential part of the ancient Jewish way of prayer Bring the body into the moment and the heart out of its shell It may not be advisable in your synagogue, depending on how educated the crowd is, but it’s definitely … Read more
Is prayer broken? Do you find the act of praying meaningful, or even coherent? Do you connect to the text of prayer? Does the melody of prayer resonate with you? Do you have a praying community? Do you have a relationship with the one to whom you pray? Do you find yourself in prayer? They … Read more