What is it about Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur that gets hundreds of thousands of Jews who seem to care nothing about their religion all year long, suddenly to feel little twinges of obligation? Is it this the Jewish angst or guilt Philip Roth writes about? There is a joke that a Christian expects that if he is found guilty…
General Topics
The Ethics of Kosher
There have been in recent years, a series of scandals in the USA over kashrut. The most public have been those that involve the largest provider of kosher meat, Agriprocessors, based in Postville, Iowa, and owned by the Rubashkin family. An undercover video revealed practices that shocked even the most hardened of kashrut experts and raised issues of how animals…
Shofar
“It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth,” said George Bernard Shaw, “without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.” Such is the significance of accent and vocabulary in English. If you ask me what is good, or what I believe, I will immediately respond by asking what you mean by the word “good” or “believe”. That…
Iran & Jews
Esther’s Children edited by Houman Sarshar is a collection of fascinating essays and photographs about Iranian Jewry. The title alludes to the fact that Queen Esther was frightened to reveal her people. The author suggests that most Iranians he knew were brought up to hide their true identity in public. The one abiding impression the book left on me is…
Cantonists
The story of the Cantonists is one of the most reprehensible examples of how Jews behaved to other Jews. The rich, the powerful, the religious authorities all took unforgivable advantage of their positions to get themselves off the hook at the expense of the poor. Russia included the majority of the Jews in the world in the nineteenth century. Czar…
Tikun Olam
The sociologist Percy Cohen, in his book, Jewish Radicals and Radical Jews, argues that as Jews abandon Jewish religious life there is a tendency to shift towards radical social attitudes to compensate. One sees this throughout the Jewish world. But there is a new variant.Tikun Olam, to change the world (for better), has become the new cliche for large numbers…