Evergreen
Near and Far
The very structure of the normal Jewish blessing formula (Barukh Atah…) reflects the tension of recognizing and responding to God's immanence and transcendance.
Keva and Kavanah
How the balance of keva (routine) and kavanah (intention) inform Judaism and the thought of Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Words That Wound
The Rabbinic and Hasidic understandings of gossip focus on the impossibility of repairing the damage it causes.
The Service Of Song
The duty of the Levites to accompany the Tabernacle service with music and song reminds us to serve God with joy.
How The Trouble Began
The Israelites' troubles, and indeed our own troubles, begin when we turn away from God.
The Nazirite–A Sacred Volunteer
The nazirite exemplifies actively choosing a sacred status with a higher level of responsibility.
Berkovits & Cohen: The Free Will Defense
The deviant use of human freedom, not God, is the source of evil and suffering.
The Holocaust as Revelation: Fackenheim & Greenberg
According to some thinkers, the events of the Nazi era initiated changes in the nature of Judaism.
What is Ladino?
Judeo-Spanish -- also known as Ladino -- mixes 16th-century Spanish, Hebrew, Turkish and other languages.
The History of Yiddish
Yiddish originated in Germany, but was eventually spoken by Jews all over Europe.