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Any retrospective glance at a year’s worth of stories, except this one of course ;), will always privilege the familiar over the emergent, and style over substance. And because of that, the most interesting and important stories are often missed. Nowhere is that more clear than in the response offered when members of the Religion…

Here is a letter, signed by Talmidei HaYeshiva – “Students of the Yeshiva”, in response to last week’s historic public conversation at Yeshiva University which featured four gay men, all current students or alumni of that institution. While it may anger some, I think that is actually both ironically funny and a bit sad. In…

What does it mean to live as a gay man in the Orthodox community? Four such stories were shared the night before in a forum sponsored by Yeshiva University’s “Tolerance Club” and the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. An unofficial transcript of the event can be found by clicking on the Curious Jew blog. The…

Headlines proclaiming “Jews are angry” over Pope Benedict XVI signing a decree which recognizes Pius’ “heroic virtues” and declaring him “venerable” disturb me greatly. I am Jewish and I am not angry, so let’s be careful here. Which Jews are “angry”? About what are they angry? And how much of this is journalists who still…

Former President Jimmy Carter offered the following words today in a letter addressed to the Jewish community: “We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even as we strive in a positive way to help Israel continue to improve its relations with its Arab populations, but we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize…

That is how leading yeshiva heads, rabbis and teachers representing the Hesder system, which combines service in the Israeli military with study in rabbinic seminary, are framing the debate about whether or not their students may evacuate West Bank residents from their settlement homes. According to a just released letter by these religious leaders, “Unfortunately,…

A group calling itself “Lobby for Jewish Values” is handing out fliers condemning Christmas, pushing for a ban on all public displays of Christmas trees and other “foolish” Christian symbols and asking the public to boycott restaurants and other public institutions which do so. I guess it’s really true – the abused often grow up…

Chanukah is a time of heroes, but do we really have heroes anymore? It seems as soon as a contender emerges, a story appears almost as quickly undermining his or her potential status. Even President Obama, viewed by so many, whether deservedly or not, as heroic, is watching his popularity drop in the face of…

Here is the text of President Obama’s Hanukkah message. I share it along with the opening lines of President Bush’s comments to those who gathered at the 2005 White House Hanukkah party. It makes for a fascinating comparison and also a wonderful invitation into the many things we can celebrate about the holiday. President Obama:…

Hanukkah 2009 begins Friday December 11 at sundown. What does Hanukkah, also spelled Chanukah, mean? What is the holiday all about? How can we have fun celebrating it? What’s a Menorah and how is it properly lit? What are latkes and where can a good recipe for this traditional Chanukah food be found? The answers…
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