Alexander Davis
By Alexander Davis
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Community This Tisha B’Av, the Hagia Sophia teaches us about reclaiming sacred spaces
When the Roman Emperor, Justinian I, dedicated Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia as a cathedral, he is said to have proclaimed, “Solomon, I have surpassed thee.” Indeed, the church-turned mosque-turned museum is an architectural wonder of the world, a gem that inspires devotion. Understandably, therefore, faithful Muslims were distraught when in 1934 Ataturk secularized the mosque. How…
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Community Bringing Torah into the streets means fighting for justice
It was Shabbat afternoon and I was in the backyard playing frisbee with my son when a member of my congregation’s security team showed up unexpectedly. “We just received word that all synagogues in the Twin Cities should secure their Torah scrolls,” he said. I was taken aback. “Really?” I asked. I had seen shops…
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Life I’ve been leading virtual davening for years. Here are some tips for how to make it meaningful.
We have entered a new phase of Jewish history in which cyberspace has become the place to nurture our spiritual lives. Previous generations lived through the Black Plague, cholera and more. Ours is the first to face a pandemic with technology that allows us to create vital, connected, online communities. This is a moment of…
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Opinion Why Disrupting Israeli Law Professor’s Speech Was So Wrong
Why did the disruption of Moshe Halbertal’s recent lecture at the University of Minnesota Law School garner such widespread attention? Halbertal, a noted Israeli philosopher and professor, was invited to the law school to deliver the John Dewey Lecture in the Philosophy of Law. But the lecture was delayed 40 minutes by shouts and chants…
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