The answer to the first question, at least, seems obvious to most of us. But as this story by AP writer Jesse Washington demonstrates, it’s a question that won’t go away. Perhaps that’s a good thing too. Why? Because definitions matter. In a world where we are told that definitions are unimportant or that “labeling…

Efforts to keep nuclear weapons out of Iranian hands are likely to fail, according to New York Times columnist David Brooks. Speaking to a large Jewish audience at a New York synagogue, Brooks mirrored my own long-held belief that ultimately, Iran will get nuclear weapons. Short of going to war to keep that from happening,…

This week’s Newsweek features a cover story about gay marriage – the biblical case against it and the possibility of a biblical case for it. The article is essential reading for anyone who cares about either gay marriage or the place of faith in contemporary American life. The article’s author, Lisa Miller, invites us to…

Lisa Keys of the JTA writes about her quest to celebrate chanukah and her conversation with me about how to do so meaningfully and joyfully. From questioning present-giving to wondering how an “egg roll eating Jew, who rarely lights shabbat candles”, like herself, can honor the holiday without feeling hypocritical, she addressed issues which many…

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