Jewish Word | Shmita: A Sabbath for the Land—and Ourselves
Flapping proudly in fallow fields, large green and yellow banners in rural Israel proclaim: Kan Shomrim Shmita (“Here We Keep Shmita”).
19
Jan
23
Nov
Jewish Word | The Hairsplitting Complexity of ‘Talmudic’
More often than not, the word “Talmudic” isn’t about the Talmud.
28
Oct
Jewish Word // Dybbuk
A Ghost from Our Past
by Sala Levin
Fans of the film-making, Minnesota-bred brothers Joel and Ethan Coen were transported back to t...
21
Sep
Jewish Word | The Joyful Power of Hallelujah
In American culture, the word “hallelujah” is so associated with Christian prayer and music—and overall rejoicing and jubilation—that people often forget it is originally Hebrew.
08
Mar
Jewish Word | What Is Cancel Culture—and What Does Judaism Say About It?
Comedian Kevin Hart was bumped from hosting the 2019 Oscars for years-old homophobic tweets.
12
Jan
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.
05
Jan
Can I Get An Amen?
In Numbers 5:22, a priest orders a woman who is accused of adultery to drink water that is mixed with dust from a tabernacle floor. The...
30
Nov
Jewish Word | The Mourner’s Kaddish
The Mourner’s Kaddish, a prayer with ancient roots that a person says upon the loss of a parent, sibling or spouse, is one of the most instantly recognizable Jewish prayers of all time.
30
Sep
Jewish Word | Jews of Color
While “Jews of color” is not an exclusively American term, it was born of this country’s complex interrelationship between race and identity.
16
Jun
Jewish Word | When the Past Is Present and the Present Is Past
We Jews are obsessed with history. From ancient to modern times, from the Flood to the Exodus to the destruction of the Temples and the exiles, from the Middle Ages to the Inquisition and the pogroms to the Holocaust to the establishment of the State of Israel, we recall and retell our history.