Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree When Alexis de Tocqueville traveled around America in the 1830s, what most impressed him was the nation’s penchant for sociability. “Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations… religious, moral, serious, futile, general or restricted, enormous or diminutive,” he wrote bemusedly. “The Americans make associations…
If Goliath were around today, he might look something like 22-year-old Gabe Carimi. The 6-foot-7-inch, 320-pound all-American left tackle was chosen as this year’s No. 1 draft pick by the Chicago Bears. But for this football player, religion and academics seem to be just as important as athletics. He still remembers the parashah from his…
In Israel, the lobby for animal welfare is strong, and growing. It’s an issue that brings together left and right, secular and religious… up to a point. Behind the scenes in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee in recent days, there have been desperate attempts to add a clause to new animal welfare legislation…
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Will Schneider writes about “Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s…
The 29th day of Cheshvan (November 6th, this year), exactly 50 days after Yom Kippur, marks the Ethiopian Jewish holy day of Sigd, a celebration of the Ethiopian fall harvest and a day where Jews in Ethiopia historically reaffirmed their belief in the Torah and expressed their yearning to return to Israel. The holiday is…
There’s a long list of things that Jewish teenagers have to worry about in high school: zits, gym class, overbearing mothers, but now, students at Northwest Yeshiva High School on Mercer Island can add anti-Semitism to the list. On the eve of Yom Kippur, security cameras caught three teenage boys defacing the school building with…
Chicago’s first minyan gathered for Yom Kippur in 1845; before then, the 12-year-old city hadn’t been able to muster a prayer quorum of even 10 men. Yet it was only two years later that Chicago welcomed its first rabbi, the Reverend Ignatz Kunreuther, and its first synagogue. This history lesson is displayed in the first…
At the 92nd Street Y last night, Jon Stewart talked with Terry Gross about politics, the media and — of course — himself. In the meantime, he was sure to play to his core 92Y audience: the Jews. Here are some of the shout-outs he made to the tribe: “It’s a pleasure to be here…
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