It seems that as of late almost everyone, including the Hillary Clinton, has been talking about women in Israel. Whether it is women in the army, on advertisements, or the gym at the Technion. While there are definitely misogynistic Israelis and much that could be improved, I think that many people have an over simplified [...]
During the past week or so there have been a number of demonstrations in Israel. They have mostly focused on the difficulty in finding affordable housing in Tel Aviv or its suburbs. For an interesting account of a visit to one of the demonstrations see this post (Hebrew) by Zeev Galili.
Tonight at 10:00 p.m. on Channel 10 in Israel, the documentary “Ovadiah Yosef” will be broadcast. A preview can be viewed here. Some people were upset that the advertisement just said “Ovadiah Yosef” and not “Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef.” The preview includes the connection between the Yosef family and the Irgun/Etzel. Apparently, most of his family [...]
For anyone looking for a nice present, Rabbinic Texts and the History of Late-Roman Palestine, edited by Martin Goodman and Philip Alexander, looks very nice. Table of Contents Introduction , Martin Goodman Part I: The Issues 1. Using Rabbinic Literature as a source for the History of Late-Roman Palestine: Problems and Issues, Philip Alexander 2. [...]
For those who are interested in some interesting articles on the first chapter of B Avodah Zarah. See this chapter by Alyssa Gray and this article by Yehuda Brandes. For numerous others see this good resource. I also want to add that two very good books have been written about Massechet Avodah Zarah during the [...]
Shaul Magid reviews Jeremy Stolow’s Orthodox by Design: Judaism, Print Politics, and the ArtScroll Revolution at Zeek. (hat tip) Orthodox by Design is not about the accuracy of Artscroll’s translations or even about its ideological program. It is not even about “Artscroll Orthodoxy” per se. Jeremy Stolow is a scholar of media studies. He is [...]
From the Jewish Star (via JTA): An unprecedented effort is under way in the Five Towns, in Riverdale, N.Y., and in Brookline, Mass., to find bone marrow matches for four young people fighting leukemia. In Woodmere, Zach Englander, a 20- year-old Yeshiva University student, was diagnosed six weeks ago with the form of cancer that [...]
Vos iz Neias brings an AP report about a newly restored MS of the Mishneh Torah which will be displayed at the Israel Museum. Experts at Israel’s national museum have completed the restoration of a 15th-century Hebrew manuscript with exquisite illustrations made by master Italian artisans, officials said Thursday. … The museum has half of [...]
Member of Knesset Rabbi Chaim Amsalem of Shas has apparently written another halakhic work on a controversial topic. See here for a short discussion about his book on conversion. According to Kikar ha-Shabbat, (hat tip), Rabbi Amsalem has written about the current controversy, scandal might be a better description, over the building of a fortified [...]
In Hillel Halkin’s review to which I linked here, he repeats one claim which I have never seen a source for, and would love for someone to substantiate or for people to stop repeating it. Were Jews always as scrupulous about preserving the purity of their bloodlines as was the nineteenth-century Polish or Moroccan Jew [...]
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