Books to Give—and Read
These 2021 releases justify their shelf space.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Inspired by Great Women of the Past, Was a Generous Mentor of Younger Women
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was “on a Jewish journey” as she and Moment editor-in-chief Nadine Epstein worked together on the newly released book, RBG’s Brave and Brilliant Women: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone, Epstein said in an online conversation Tuesday with Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, who knew the justice and officiated at her funeral.
Opinion | The Fights That Bind
A glutton for punishment, I recently slogged my way through all 316 online comments attached to a New York Times piece in which two Howard University officials, Brandon Hogan and Jacoby Adeshei Carter, defended themselves against the accusation by Cornel West and Jeremy Tate in The Washington Post that their decision to eliminate Howard University’s classics department to save money was a “spiritual catastrophe.”
Opinion Interview | How to Get Through to an Extremist
Since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, attention has turned to the multiple strains of violent extremism flourishing at home.
Right-Wing Conspiracies Come to Life: An Interview with Sarah Posner
Sarah Posner has reported extensively on the the alt-right and QAnon. Here she discusses right-wing conspiracies come to life.
Jewish Word | Pikuach Nefesh
In Chaim Potok’s 1969 novel The Promise, sequel to the better-known The Chosen, there’s a scene that piercingly illustrates the Jewish legal emphasis on saving a life.
Ask the Rabbis | Jewish Ethics and Electronic Surveillance
Some issues dominate the news; others drift along under the radar. This is literally true of electronic surveillance, a worldwide and quickly growing force that could profoundly change our lives.
Robert Siegel on U.S. Capitol Riots: ‘It’s Like Nothing I’ve Seen Before’
Robert Siegel, former host of NPR’s All Things Considered and Moment’s special literary contributor shares his thoughts about the mob events at the U.S. Capitol and how these past few years remind him of the turmoil of 1968. He also reflects on the history of American rebellions and the challenges that lie ahead for the Biden administration. Siegel is in conversation with Moment’s opinion and book editor Amy E. Schwartz.
The Books That Got Away
When you become a book review editor, the first thing you notice is how many books get published every year, every month, every week. This...
When Spring Turned to Winter in the Middle East
Harvard law professor Noah Feldman’s book about Arab political self-determination and self-destruction is called The Arab Winter: A Tragedy. And he really means it. Grief emanates from every line of this reevaluation of the Arab Spring, which revisits the hope followed by disaster in Egypt and Syria; the utopian Islamism that produced the hellish dystopia of ISIS; and, perhaps most painful, the success in Tunisia that showed the other tragedies were not inevitable.
Ask the Rabbis | Do People Become More Jewish as They Get Older?
We asked our team of rabbis to weigh in.
Time Travel to Lost Cities
In a bare room adjoining the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, Chief Curator Massumeh Farhad places a virtual reality headset over her eyes.