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Virtual Talmud

To be honest, I did not read too many Jewish books published in 2006, and of those I did read I was not blown away by any of them. Still, in my spare time I did manage to look at some of the books put out by the exciting new publishing initiative Nextbook. While I…

I have always steered away from best book lists. How does one define “best” for a book? Most riveting story line? Most lyrical? Most moving? The book that made me think the most? That made me the angriest? A book that breaks new ground in one of my favorite subjects? That contributes to my understanding…

In response to Rabbi Eliyahu Stern’s blog post criticizing former President Jimmy Carter’s new book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” “God’s Politics” guest blogger Jeff Halper, an Israeli peace activist, defended Carter’s perspective on Israeli policies toward Palestinians and his use of the term “apartheid.” Virtual Talmud’s Rabbis Rabbi Joshua Waxman and Rabbi Susan Grossmananswered Halper.…

In response to Rabbi Eliyahu Stern’s blog post criticizing former President Jimmy Carter’s new book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” “God’s Politics” guest blogger Jeff Halper, an Israeli peace activist, defended Carter’s perspective on Israeli policies toward Palestinians and his use of the term “apartheid.” Read Virtual Talmud blogger Rabbi Susan Grossman’s reply to Halper: Commenting…

In response to Rabbi Eliyahu Stern’s blog post criticizing former President Jimmy Carter’s new book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” “God’s Politics” guest blogger Jeff Halper, an Israeli peace activist, defended Carter’s perspective on Israeli policies toward Palestinians and his use of the term “apartheid.” Read Virtual Talmud blogger Rabbi Joshua Waxman’s reply to Halper: Calling…

On the surface, it would be hard to find any commonality between a group of long-bearded, black-hatted, cloistered members of the Orthodox Jewish, anti-Zionist group Neturei Karta and former President Jimmy Carter, a Nobel prize-winning Anglo-Saxon Protestant. But it seems that they share a penchant for inane publicity when it comes to Israel. While Carter’s…

I want to clarify for Rabbi Stern’s benefit that I don’t mean to be the Grinch who stole Hanukkah. Gift-giving is a fun part of the holiday, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with having some fun. The point is also well taken that a thoughtful present, generously offered, can be a truly touching expression of…

While I agree with Rabbis Waxman and Stern about the dangers of focusing too much on gifts, there is a positive aspect to Hanukkah that the comes from having become the Jewish-American antidote to Christmas cheer. I also met with parents this past Sunday. Some were ambivalent about making a big to-do about Hanukkah, afraid…

A couple of weeks ago, Oprah gave each person in her audience $1,000. But as they say, nothing is free, and so the money came with some strings attached. The $1,000 had to be spent on someone other than the audience member who received the money and their family. Oprah’s gift was giving people the…

Last week a group of parents from my synagogue’s religious school gathered in my office with an important question about Hanukkah: How, they asked, can we make Hanukkah about more than just presents for our children? For many parents, this is the key question–not the true meaning of Hanukkah, not how you light the candles,…
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