jewish culture

From the ashes of Mt. Carmel, the largest forest fire in Israel’s history, a strange phoenix is rising: a clash of civilizations. It’s not between Israelis and Arabs, nor between Jews and Muslims. It’s a clash between two worldviews. Let’s oversimplify, for convenience…

On August 31, a few days before the opening of the current American-led Middle East peace talks in Washington, four Israelis were killed by Hamas operatives in the West Bank. Among them was a pregnant woman. This did not bode well for the future of the talks, about which there was already a great…

If Eid ul-Fitr falls on the anniversary of 9/11, it will be an especially difficult task for a Muslim in New York. How do I, as an American and a Muslim, deal with what people claiming my religion did to us—New Yorkers, Americans, human beings?

Can a religious text be lethal? The story of Abraham and Isaac, shared by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, has been used for centuries to glorify sacrifice—and it has never been our own story more than it is right now.

An exhibit now at the New York Institute of Technology features the designs of theoretical architect Jonathan Block Friedman.

The first decade of the twenty-first century seems to have upended the Jewish world. What does it mean that conservatives, and some Orthodox, have begun to agitate for social justice, while progressives, traditionally secular, are “taking back the texts”?

Depends whom you ask, these days. Either way, the senator’s obstructionist posture regarding health care reform has exposed him to a round of criticism in the press, including the theory, rapidly gaining traction, that he’s not all that smart.

A goyish writer wrestles with the anti-imperial themes of Hanukkah and the discomfiting questions it raises for citizens of the American empire. Might an empire be a force for good? Is “force for good” an oxymoron? And finally: how does a Roman manage, in practical terms, to say no to Rome?

The Orthodox Jews of Lakewood, New Jersey, are worried about supporting the rights of gays and lesbians to marry because it might reflect badly on the community. Rabbi Justus N. Baird offers a corrective.

Can a genetically altered hot dog be kosher? Can a vegetarian eat a tomato that has animal DNA in it? Is modified corn just another instance of colonialism? These and other questions are broached in a new anthology, sure to make excellent Thanksgiving dinner conversation.