Judaism has long had an uncomfortable relationship with rationality. On the one hand, our talmudic sages, classically influenced philosophers, and secular scientists and doctors have all taken rational reasoning to great, sometimes dizzying heights. Ours is a tradition of law, education and logic. Yet on the other hand, many aspects of Judaism – like most…
Someone should have told Alicia Silverstone that once your claim to fame is a movie called “Clueless,” it’s probably a good idea to avoid spouting real-life clueless rhetoric. In her her new book, “The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning,” the…
The human rights officer of the Council of Europe criticized members of his own organization who called ritual circumcision of boys a violation of children’s rights. Philippe Boillat, director general of human rights and legal affairs of the Council of Europe — an intergovernmental organization with no executive powers, leveled the criticism Monday during a…
New York City has denied a second attempt by the Jewish Daily Forward to obtain information about consent forms gathered under a regulation that warns parents about metzitzah b’peh, a controversial circumcision rite. The city also refuses to say whether such forms even exist. A regulation that came into force at the beginning of 2013…
Hey, Mr. Mayor! When you were the public advocate of the City of New York — an office with little more than a megaphone — you criticized city agencies for failing to respond to Freedom of Information Law requests. Government, you said, must be held accountable! Now, Mr. de Blasio, you’re the mayor, and it’s…
It’s been more than one year since New York City announced a new regulation to protect infants from contracting herpes during metzitzah b’peh, a controversial circumcision rite that many ultra-Orthodox mohels employ. Since then, two babies in the city that were subjected to MBP, as the rite is known, have been infected with the herpes…
Zac Efron is Jewish. Really. He can prove it. In fact, he did. In a new video for Comedy Central’s “Workaholics,” Efron and Seth Rogen (his co-star in “Neighbors”) interview for a job with Adam (Adam DeVine), Blake (Blake Anderson) and Ders (Anders Holm). “I think if you add a Jewish person, you’d probably be…
Resisting calls to ban the non-medical circumcision of boys, the governments of Norway and Denmark have taken steps to preserve the practice’s legal status. Norway’s health ministry has submitted a bill that proposes placing some limitations and fees on ritual circumcision but not banning it outright, while Denmark’s health board issued guidelines stating that the…
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