When I first started to read Jewish Philosophers, I found them turgid, academic and completely uninspiring. They all seemed to base themselves on Aristotle or Plato and their Christian and Muslim theological acolytes. Then I discovered Martin Buber’s “I and Thou,” It first appeared in 1923 and was translated into English in 1937. It was a revelation. A short book,…
Ben Hecht & Yom Hashoah
The Holocaust Day, Yom HaShoah, that the Jewish world commemorates is on the 27thof Nisan which falls this year Thursday May 2nd. An appropriate time to remember Ben Hecht. Colin Schindler has an excellent piece on him in the Jewish Chronicle “America’s awakening to the Shoah.” Two weeks ago, the New York Times Book Review published an article by Mark…
Why to ask is good.
The Hagadah that we read on Pesach was a response to the tragic loss of the Temple and Jewish political autonomy some two thousand years ago. Its composers wanted to pay tribute to the past, the Temple and all it stood for. And to find new ways of going forward that focused on study, prayer and education. Its aim was…
State and Religion in Israel on Pesah
The return of a rightwing government, heavily reliant on religious parties in Israel, is a matter of some concern because of the increasing encroachment of religious compulsion in Israeli life (as much as I fear the opposite). In the interests of a free and open society where everyone should be taken into consideration, I worry about narrowminded, self-defeating religious coercion.…
The Seder
For some of us, every minute of the two Seder nights is an absolute delight. Even the preparation and the cleaning – the anticipation. There is no other occasion in the festive year quite like it. Different customs. The food. The songs. The exotica of it all. The Seder nights remind us of our childhood search for the Afikoman and…
Adapting the Law
The Bible emerged in, and out of, a world that was predominantly agricultural. A world where seasons and produce determined how societies flourished or perished. Biblical stories such as that of Cain and Abel illustrated the rivalry of shepherds and farmers. Ranchers versus cowboys. The Tower of Babel was concerned with the complexities of new urban centers. As societies turned…