Building a Boycott, Letter By Letter ...
Religious seekers are as old as religion itself. But it wasn’t until mid-20th-century America that there was a full-fledged, organized movement of Jews who moved from less observant to more observant—and a name for them. Behold, the birth of the baal teshuvah. ...
In the early 20th century, Jews continued to use “goy” when speaking among themselves, but “gentile” became the word of choice in public discourse. ...
Technology inexplicably fails us often enough to need a word for the occasion, and glitch has slipped in to fill the void. Newspaper headlines routinely illustrate the word’s versatility and popularity. When thousands of travelers find themselves stranded: “Computer glitch cancels East Coast flights.” When a much-anticipated website launch screeches ...
These days, all eyes are on what many are calling the new anti-Semitism, arising from both far-right and far-left politics, radical Islam and virulent anti-Zionist ideologies. But the old anti-Semitism isn’t forgotten—a 2013 Anti-Defamation League poll showed that 26 percent of Americans believe that “Jews were responsible for the death ...
A Full-Bodied History by Hilary Weissman, with additional reporting by Sala Levin For a quick overview of the complexities of ...
Maybe you know one. Maybe you want one. Maybe you are one. Go to JDate.com, and you’re guaranteed to find one: “Message me if you are looking for a nice Jewish boy who values family, respect and loyalty.” ...
In 2004, the stoic, cowboy-esque Clint Eastwood unexpectedly proved himself more Tevye the Dairyman than Dirty Harry. In response to a reporter’s question about the chances of his movie, Mystic River, winning the Best Picture Oscar, Eastwood cried, “Kinehora!” He explained that it was a Jewish expression used to ward ...
The term haredi comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to tremble” (hared) and a verse in Isaiah, in which God says, “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at my word.” “Haredi really means those who are in ...
How Philistine Became a Dirty Word by Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil t’s a story nearly everyone knows: The young shepherd boy uses
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The (Jewish) Sixth Sense By George E. Johnson In his autobiography, Songs My Mother Taught Me, Marlon Brando writes at length about
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Beshert: Is destiny the best way to choose a mate? ...