Halakha, theology, practice, and the inner life of Jewish observance.
For 3600 years, being Jewish at its core meant being accepted by a Jewish community. Not descent from a special family. Not lip service to a particular dogma. When Jewish society existed in Israel, many immigrants from Africa, Asia, and even Europe were accepted as full citizens. When Jewish society was forced to reconstitute in … Read more
Consider: “God is an anarchist” A sketch of an impression of what I drew from the well of José Faur: literature, not theology. Discussion, not domination. Self-organization around books. The author is dead, come meet the author. Literal (and literary, and literate) self-rule. Say better: “God is an anarchist / and so can you” Read … Read more
What does it mean to be a post-Judaism Jew and why does Israeli society pose that question more pressingly than any other con-text in the past nearly 2000 years? What is the editorial agenda of the Hebrew anthological /anthropological biblos, versus that of the later masterful compendia – how is the past portrayed and how … Read more
Somewhere along the way, the instrumental value (which has religious dimensions) of Talmud was transformed into a religious value of following the Gemara.
“The Decline of the Generations” – a very brief intro to the main personalities of the Israeli settler movement, standing on one leg… The father: R. Abraham Isaac Kook was a visionary of peace, love, and light. He preached social unity and cultural revival, focusing heavily on the people of Israel’s ancient and intrinsic connection … Read more
“But Israel won’t be a Jewish state anymore!” Can you, a born Jew, even coherently define “Jewish” without contradicting yourself? No? Maybe we need to be able to do that first before we can have an actually Jewish state? Maybe a Jewish state that will keep Jewish people safe…… isn’t what you think it is? … Read more
Just read Asher Lovy’s review of The Darkest Light. The phrase that stood out to me in judgment of Carlebach: “indifference to women’s bodily autonomy.” (Context was his “flippant dismissal” of his own daughter’s report of assault at the hands of his friend.) Is our indifference to his indifference acceptable? Tenable? Yes I am uplifted … Read more
Arab = European From this Jew’s perspective… There really is no difference. Whether called yahud or jude, Jews across continents both absorbed the best (and sometimes the worst) of the culture of their exilic hosts – and faced centuries of discrimination and violence at their hands. Two true things at once. Humanity is a mix … Read more
Critics of Israel underweight everything good that comes out of this society. Defenders of Israel underweight everything bad. Both groups are convinced of the unassailable rightness and reason of their position. Both groups are consumed with fear. Neither group acts in good faith. Or with love. === I don’t know if I can truly love … Read more
Love of Israel is love of humanity is love of Hashem. 3 loves = 1 love It’s the Jewish trinity.