A recently published book by Gregg Stern, Philosophy and Rabbinic Culture: Jewish Interpretation and Controversy in Medieval Languedoc. From the publisher, Philosophy and Rabbinic Culture is a study of the great, and curiously underappreciated, engagement of a Medieval European Jewish community with the philosophic tradition. This lucid description of the Languedocian Jewish community’s multigenerational cultivation [...]
I am always hearing great praise for Charles Taylor’s new book A Secular Age. Being that the book is over 800 pages, it is doubtful that I will ever get to read it. Andrew Koppelman has linked to a review by him of the book which summarizes many of Taylor’s important points. It will save [...]
This post is written with prayers for the health of עזיזה בת חווייכא who was born in Djerba. Marc Shapiro in his recent post Thoughts on Confrontation & Sundry Matters Part I mentions R. Moses Sitrug of Djerba. Hazan’s testimony about Jews who would go to the Church to listen the music, even if they [...]
After reading this article, maybe it would be better if IDF rabbis went back “to [distributing] wine and challah for Shabbat to the troops.” Also see here.
The University at Albany (a.k.a. SUNY Albany) library has a helpful listing of Guide to Resources in Rabbinic Literature. The page links to a short introduction to Rabbinic literature by Jacob Lauterbach that I was previously unaware of, An Introduction to the Talmud.
Lifehacker discusses the task whose name shall not be mentioned. If you find yourself with more books than you have time to read, it may be time to cut down your collection. Here are a few strategies for crafting a more manageable library. Menachem Butler recently blogged about an article that discusses Morton Smith. See [...]
Aryeh Cohen has a nice article about the meaning of the shabbut eruv and a story illustrating its meaning. The brilliance of the Rabbinic Shabbat as an urban phenomenon is that it allows Jews to mentally map exclusively Jewish geography while simultaneously sharing that geography with all manner of non-Jews. The eruv, further, allows Jews [...]
Coming tomorrow night to a CBS station near you, “Loving Leah,” a story in which the institution of Yibbum/Levirate Marriage makes it to Prime Time TV. “And Mercedes Ruehl.” The words strike fear in my heart, especially when they appear in the opening credits of a CBS Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. As a rule, [...]
Being that the new White House website has a section devoted to energy and the environment and that these are going to be important issues for both the government and society in the future, it’s worth reading this post, “Is Renewable Power Actually Sustainable?” In addition, it is worthwhile to note the newest bedfellows of [...]
Religion Clause has some comments on the references to God and religion from today inauguration. Also see this post by John Hobbins on the Inaugural Prayer Service.
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