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Parashat Masei: Summary
The sons of Reuben and Gad have promised Moses that they will help the other tribes settle the Promised Land before settling across the River Jordan.
The Messianic Society: A Jewish Utopia
In Jewish sources, the ideal Jewish society will be situated in Israel and ushered in by catastrophic events.
Zionist Utopias
Early Zionist thinkers envisioned, in great detail, the perfect human--and Jewish--society.
Traditional Sources on Artificial Insemination
Four texts dealing with non-traditional forms of insemination may--or may not--serve as meaningful precedents for the contemporary debate.
Freedom of Religion in Israel
Israel's legal system provides for freedom for all religious groups.
Inner Beauty, Outward Beauty, and Health
Judaism recognizes the primacy of an inner beauty, but we are nonetheless called upon to care for our bodies and not discouraged from tending to our appearance.
Rav Kook & Vegetarianism
This major 20th-century Jewish thinker saw vegetarianism as the biblical ideal to which humankind should work to return.
Single Motherhood and Artificial Insemination
Despite some legal and ethical concerns, single women should not be prohibited from becoming pregnant with donor sperm.