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Kingdom of Priests

I’ve been mulling the fact that some of the leading figures in the New Atheist movement are born-Jews, at least according to their own accounts. Christopher Hitchens is Jewish through his mother’s mother (and proud of it, which I find charming). So too Sam Harris. Jerry Coyne is ethnically Jewish. Ditto Steven Weinberg. Neither Richard Dawkins nor…

Some commenters on an earlier post have expressed doubt that believers in Darwinism seek to intimidate dissenters. Give me a break! Of course that’s exactly what Darwinists try to do whether in academic life or in the humbler context of a comments thread on this blog. And the strategy works — not with me but…

I was waiting in line at a drive-thru Starbucks here in Redmond just now, as the third car in line. The occupants of a black pickup at the head of the line seemed to be taking an incredibly long time to get their drink. Then from the truck’s passenger side, I saw a giant fast-food…

That’s Deal, New Jersey, I refer to, the scene of the arrest of some rabbis associated with the Syrian Sephardic community. The Syrian Jewish community there and in Brooklyn is often referred to as an “enclave.” Being an enclave generally isn’t a healthy thing. This blog is not the kind of place where we dwell…

“Poor-mouthing” means talking about yourself as if you were poor, or poorer than you are, in order to engage other people’s sympathy. I won’t hide from you that our family continuously and increasingly faces issues of insolvency — yet the daily reading (fifth day of the week) from the week’s Torah portion, Devarim (Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22),…

It’s been so illuminating to me, dealing with Darwinists all the time on this blog — cleaning up after them (unpublishing their rude comments, personal insults, etc.). Their purpose is intimidation. Normal people don’t enjoy dealing with rudeness, so they are understandably reluctant to enter into the comment thread discourse. Do you not find this…

When I complained a couple of days ago about people who misrepresent Maimonides as a proto-Darwinist, then cited a newish biography by Joel Kraemer on the subject as solid evidence that Maimonides would be an intelligent-design advocate and that the issue was for him the most important of philosophical and scientific questions, reader Anderson complained…

Can the case be made in purely secular terms that Israel’s continuing existence should urgently matter to the United States? Because if not, Israel is in serious trouble. The Jewish state can’t rely exclusively on Evangelical Christians and, secondarily, Jews to ensure America’s continuing friendship.  George Gilder’s fantastic book, The Israel Test, is out today…

Regarding Elie Wiesel’s new biography Rashi, on the great medieval French commentator on the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, and the Talmud, I mentioned that he’s important not just for Jews but for Christians. His name is an acronym for Rabbi Shlomo son of Yitzhak. Writes Wiesel about Nicholas of Lyra (13th century):

Today is the Yahrtzeit (death anniversary) of Rashi, whose massive commentary on most of the Hebrew Bible and Talmud defines much of the meaning of those documents not only for Jews but for Christians too. I’ve been reading Elie Wiesel’s sweet new little biography of him for the Jewish Encounters series (published by Nextbook and Schocken). Rashi…
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