A beautiful reflection on the need to continuously question why we maintain the rituals that shape our lives, focused on kashrut.
Category: Weekly Links
Weekly Links September 19th-26th 2014
A long but crucial read about the necessity of responding to climate change now.
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/one_way_or_another_everything_changes_20140917
An incredibly important reminder of the context that any conversation about Jewish chosen-ness ought to take place in
Weekly Link(s) September 12th-19th 2014
“I’m not casting a vote for godlessness at large or in my own spiritual life, which is muddled with unanswered and unanswerable questions. I’m advocating unfettered discussion, ample room for doubt and a respect for science commensurate with the fealty to any supposedly divine word.”
Weekly Link(s) August 15th-22nd 2014
An extensive and important reflection on the need for Jews – specifically Religious Zionist Jews – to consider reading the Bible critically in order to avoid catastrophic political conclusions
http://thetorah.com/why-bnei-akiva-needs-biblical-criticism/
Weekly Links July 18th-25th 2014
Because we’re all tired of the endless commentary of despair in the Middle East
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/a-poem-because-theres-too-much-prose/
An extremely important viewpoint to keep in mind as we are all bombarded with ever-more-depressing headlines from the Middle East
While it is easy to assume that political dialogue about Israel/Palestine in the Jewish community is only strained because of the current violence erupting in the region, we must remember that this is arguably the biggest problem facing the organized Jewish community.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionnow/2014/07/quashing-jewish-dissent-on-israel/
Weekly Links July 11th-18th 2014
Thought-provoking analysis of the current Torah portions being read in synagogues around the world – so relevant you would swear they were written for our own ears.
It is crucial to remember that religion implores us to much more than stand on principle on sexual matters.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/discrimination-is-un-christian-too/
Weekly Links June 27th – July 4th 2014
A raw, human account of what it is to speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the next generation: “I also don’t want to tell my 6 year old that these boys were murdered because they were Jews. I’m not ready to pass on the psychic trauma of victimhood, to shape his Jewish self-understanding in that way.”
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-will-i-tell-my-children/
A tribute to Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the founder of Renewal Judaism and a major influence on how so many of us conceive of our Judaism.
http://forward.com/articles/201398/reb-zalman-the-prophet-of-both-and/
Weekly Links June 6th-13th 2014
A needed call for a clearing out of some ghosts from our collective closets
http://jewschool.com/2014/05/28/32261/engagement-not-apologetics-on-ta-nehisi-coates-and-the-nakbah/
Where efforts at ‘inclusion’ in the Jewish community need to go next
http://m.forward.com/articles/199517/include-me-out-of-this-jewish-community/
Weekly Links May 23rd-30th 2014
A must-read on the problems with how we portray map nerd culture in light of the Elliot Roger massacre
An interesting look into how painful it is today to leave Islam
The need for multi-level inter-religious dialogue
Weekly Link(s) May 16th-23rd 2014
While there is more to be said here, Prof. Kitcher does provide a much more nuanced picture of religion than I am used to hearing from professional philosophers.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/the-case-for-soft-atheism/
WhatIBelieveIn 