This week’s Torah portion is all about the importance of independent journalism
The 12 men sent to scout the promised land brought back facts. But the community heard them with biased ears.
Torah
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Culture The hardest Bible quiz in the world is not for the casual Jew
When I answered 10 qualifying questions for the world’s biggest Hebrew Bible test, I got exactly one right. But, despite the fact that this is statistically worse than guessing, I was eager to attend the U.S. finals of that same quiz. Chidon HaTanach, an annual competition that tests scholars on their Tanakh knowledge, hosts contestants…
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Opinion I reversed the genders of every person in the Torah — and it finally feels complete
Five years ago, I started rewriting the Torah by reversing the genders of all characters. All of the men became women and all of the women became men. Divine influence was now moving through a mother-daughter lineage. Why would I do such a massive act of chutzpah? I’m an Israeli-American artist. In my art practice,…
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Opinion WATCH: Abby Stein shares three Jewish texts that show more than two genders in Judaism
Abby Stein is a proud Jewish woman. But growing up, she didn’t feel that Judaism had a space for people like her. Abby was raised in an ultra-Orthodox hasidic Jewish community, and as she puts it, “growing up, we had a very strong focus on studying, researching, questioning and finding answers in texts.” The Torah…
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Community What the pandemic taught me to love about Torah
Every year in the dead of the winter, when the Torah cycle entered Vayikra, or Leviticus, I used to release a huge sigh of frustration. One of my synagogue’s ritual directors used to call this book “the barbeque section of the Torah” because it is largely concerned with the why’s and how’s of animal sacrifice,…
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News Meet the rabbinic breakout star on the Clubhouse app
In the pre-pandemic era, rabbis would worry about finding a matching tie or an appropriate outfit before rushing out of the door to the next class they were teaching. These preparations were shelved during the pandemic as Zoom calls took the place of in-person gatherings and interactions, but they came with new logistical headaches: proper…
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Community An open letter to my non-observant son
My beautiful boy, I received your note today about our upcoming visit this weekend with surprise, and with sadness. Of course I have known for a long time that you do not observe the religious aspects of Judaism, so it was not a surprise that you said you’d be leaving our house to return home…
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Fast Forward Jake Tapper is tweeting about Torah with … Lenny Dykstra?
In what may be one of Jake Tapper’s Jewiest tweets ever, CNN host Jake Tapper and former Mets and Phillies player Lenny Dykstra got into a discussion of the weekly Torah portion on the social media network. Just the common occurrence of a former star member of the @Phillies telling me that this week’s parsha…
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