Posts Tagged: Orthodox Judaism
The Retreat of Creative Thinking From Judaism
Most of our yeshivot have retreated from creative thinking. We encourage the narrowest specialization rather than push for daring ideas. We are producing a generation...
Jewish Religious Extremists
With Jewish observance and spiritual values at unprecedentedly high levels in Israeli society, it's ironic that the established religious leadership there has sunk to its...
Calling for Religious Unity Only Leads to Division
In our day, the word “tolerance” has become very popular, as have words such as “pluralism,” “democracy” and “unity.” These terms are used so often...
Rigid Orthodoxy Is Destroying Religion
I've always thought it was important to read opinions that conflict with mine, either to confirm my position or perhaps force me to reconsider it. A...
Thoughts About God, Me and Us
Let’s get some things straight about God and me as they relate to the tension and hatred among Jews in Israel and abroad. I do...
We Must Embrace the Idea of the Messiah
As a mother, I learned that just because you don't get paid doesn't mean you don't work hard. I also learned that even without pay, you...
Petty Orthodoxy
Thetorah.com is a website that analyzes the weekly reading of the Torah for people who do not take every word in the Torah literally. In addition to valuing...
What’s With the Wig?
A friend once asked me whether a certain activity was permitted on Shabbat. She’d heard that it wasn't -- because she enjoyed it. How did...
Conversion Confusion
We know well enough by now that the status of conversions to Judaism is an unholy, inconsistent, politicized and often corrupt mess. As a people...
The Gift of Jewish Chaos
The Fractured Republic is a book by Yuval Levin, subtitled “Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism.” He regrets the tendency to think...
Defending Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
I met Rabbi Haskel Lookstein in 1981, about a week before my wedding. I had made aliyah four years earlier and had brought my Israeli fiancé...
For Many Jews, Being Gay Means Learning to Love Yourself
Imagine this. When you were four, you realized that there was something different about you. On Thursdays, your kindergarten held pretend Shabbats, where the children...
A Commencement Message and a Call to Judaism
Your birth was your defining moment -- yet you didn't ask to be born at all, much less to the family you were born into. You didn't...
A Journey to Judaism and a First Passover
It wasn't just what we learned -- it was also what we saw and felt at a Chabad Shabbaton in May 1987 that convinced my husband Zev...
