American Jews have long been unable to pray together. Anyone who opens a Jewish prayer book must confront theological issues ranging from gender roles to the nature of God. No siddur can cross the denominational divide. Yet, from 1936 to 1981, there was one book that united Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform synagogue goers: the Hertz…
Given that it’s is one if not the most essential Jewish texts, the Talmud can be surprisingly hard to come by. But not anymore: The Jewish start-up Sefaria just released a free digital version into the public domain. The William Davidson Talmud is an edition of the Babylonian Talmud with parallel translations into English and…
Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History By Joseph Telushkin HarperWave, 640 pages, $29.99 My Rebbe By Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz Maggid, 250 pages, $24.95 At the end of time, when climate change or an asteroid or the Messiah’s arrival has rendered moot Pharrell Williams, the Affordable…
Philologos re-considers the linguistic distinctiveness of Yeshivish, with a Yeshivish translation of the Gettysburg Address as exhibit A. Michael Kaminer visits an exhibit the Royal Ontario Museum that ponders the future of “the world’s most valuable resource” in the Middle East. Jordana Horn reviews “The Gift to Stalin,” a Kazakh movie not starring Borat about…
Like Israelites wandering a desert, a good Talmudic translation apparently can’t be rushed. After more than four decades of work, Israeli Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz finally released a new Hebrew translation of the Talmud this week, a project he’s worked on since the Johnson administration. Begun in 1965, the work is intended to make the Talmud…
Can Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim create a classical music revival? Greil Marcus talks about 40 years of writing about Bob Dylan. An exhibit of Palestinian art opens in Jaffa. Israeli film ambassador Meir Fenigstein doesn’t think Israel will receive an Oscar nomination this year. Neither does The Arty Semite. Christopher Glazek rips into…
I wish I had been there for this one: Jewish mega-philanthropist and avowed atheist Michael Steinhardt faced off in New York against renowned talmudist Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (who happens to be heading up a new effort to revive the ancient Sanhedrin). Michal Lando of the Jerusalem Post gives the blow-by-blow: …[M]oderator Richard Joel, president of…
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NPR Legal Correspondent Nina Totenberg in conversation with Editor-in-Chief Jodi Rudoren. To benefit the Forward.
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