Talmud
In Judaism, even God respects the vote
What is holy and absolute if not God’s word? Well, according to the Talmud, ours.
Jewish tradition supports expanding the Supreme Court
Being exposed to a wide variety of opinions helps us to be more just. A Supreme Court with clear views is not a balanced court.
Adin Steinsaltz was essential to the revival of the Russian Jewish community
The recently deceased rabbi is best known for his Talmud - but his Jewish Center in Moscow was essential to post-Soviet Jewish life.
The personal is political on Tisha B’Av
We often think of hatred as based on religion or nationality. But it is just as damaging when it begins in individual disputes.
On July 4, a Talmud passage about Israel’s flaw, and unbroken covenant
And when the people sinned with the Golden Calf, 1,200,000 angels of destruction descended …
Are Jews white? Comfort in ambiguity is the answer
If I find myself in a hostile scenario, I can take off my kippah, switching from “Rabbi Daniel with a yarmulke” to “Dan with a baseball cap.”
Why is it so easy to fear those different from ourselves?
Human life is so sacred that Jewish tradition is famously reticent about criminal punishment in general and capital punishment in particular.
Can a single passage of Talmud help us think about Black Lives Matter?
Such an absurd demand — “Change your shoes or we’ll kill you!” — but it’s the Talmud showing how an oppressive society can crush its minorities.
Turn to the Talmud for instructions on anti-racism
The rabbis understood that living in a society permeated by a toxic ideology requires us to actively and frequently negate the dominant culture.
The Secret Jewish History of Tax Day
Turns out the idea of taxes is as old as the Torah. Seth Rogovoy traces its history from Abraham to the American Civil War.