Talmud

Sparing the Rod?

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
04/22/2011
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Special to the Jewish Week

 Q - I was shocked to read recently that corporal punishment is still legal in 20 states. I also know the famous quote from Proverbs, “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” But on Passover we are taught to answer a child’s questions with patience. Is it ever acceptable for a parent or teacher to hit a child?
A - It is never appropriate to hit a child, at school or at home. Period.

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How Women’s Talmud Study Is Unique

04/12/2011
Michal Tukochinsky
Special to the Jewish Week

A quiet revolution is taking place in the second generation of women's Torah study. Originally women's Talmud learning was modeled after the male yeshiva: students were detached from the surrounding world and were expected to confine themselves to the Beit Midrash in order to achieve a total absorption into the world of Torah. There was also methodological aping: analyses that required a thumb stirring the air and intellectual hair splitting of the Talmudic topics dominated.

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Journal Watch

Jerome A. Chanes
04/05/2011

Of all the arcana of Jewish life, that most universal instrument, the Jewish calendar, is one of the more enigmatic. Solar? Lunar? Length of month? Two days of a holiday, or one? What about the “leap month”? And whence derives our calendar? Ancient Judaea/Palestine? Babylonia? The Tanakh? The Talmud?

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Judaism For The Star-Struck

Can the zodiac be integrated into the Jewish tradition?

Angela Himsel
04/05/2011
Zodiac painting from the ceiling of the Bialystoker Synagogue, New York. PHOTO BY MICHAEL DATIKASH

When my great-nephew Owen arrived in the world in January, there was a collective spate of “Your constellation is good!” OK, we shortened the sentiment to “mazal tov!” but the meaning was the same. We were congratulating the new parents on their mazal (from Akkadian, “location of a star”), luck that’s credited to the stars and has nothing to do with merit. Which begs the question: Is there mazal for Jews?

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Should Christians Read the Bible More Like Jews?

Submitted by Eric Herschthal on Thu, 02/24/2011 - 16:47

In his usually precise and incisive way, critic Adam Kirsch tackles a thorny issue: should Christians read their Bible like Jews read theirs?  The occasion is a new book--"The Rise and Fall of the Bible: The Unexpected History of an Accidental Book"--by Case Western religion professor Timothy Beal, who is also the child of evangelical parents. 

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Is Jeter a Cheater?

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
02/18/2011
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman
Special to the Jewish Week

Q - With baseball’s spring training underway, I’m reminded of an incident from last season. Derek Jeter, one of the few superstars from the past decade not implicated in baseball’s steroid sample, was caught on video pretending to be hit by a pitch.

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What Do Digital Books Mean for the People of the Book?

Submitted by Eric Herschthal on Wed, 02/16/2011 - 19:27

This week I wrote an essay about how Jewish culture will change in light of the coming e-book revoluion.  I talked to at least a dozen Jewish book experts, from scholars and publishers, to readers and rabbis, and there was clearly no consensus about what might happen--only unanimous agreement that something important will.

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Gabby Giffords And Other "Illegal Alien" Jews

Submitted by Julie Wiener on Thu, 01/27/2011 - 12:20

I apologize for being such a delinquent blogger this past week. Part of it was being distracted by my reporting responsibilities (see my recent article on new Hebrew charter schools if you don’t believe me!)

But also I’ve been struck with something of a blogger’s block trying to decide whether and how to respond to my colleague Jonathan Mark’s “No, Not Everyone is Jewish Enough” post.

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A Feeling that Never Grows Old

Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik
01/07/2011
Rabbi Gerald C. Skolnik
Special to the Jewish Week

There is an expression still used in modern Hebrew that is actually obsolete. I suspect that people still use it because it’s so wonderfully expressive. It is what Israelis say when someone finally “gets it,” when he/she actually understands what’s going on, and gets the point. The expression is “nafal ha’asimon:” the phone token has fallen.

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Folksbiene Connects To Tradition

Marion and Elie Wiesel were honored by the Folksbiene at a cabaret dinner. Photo by Tim Boxer
12/29/2010
Tim Boxer
Special to the Jewish Week

The National Yiddish Theater/Folksbiene has come a long way in its 96th season. In fact, the highlight of its annual cabaret dinner on Dec. 8 at the Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side, were two African American actors who brought the house down with their versions of classical Yiddish medleys.

Elmore James, a veteran of five Broadway shows and the Metropolitan Opera, dazzled with “Es Brent” and “Ot Azoy.” Tony Perry, featured in the film “Mickey,” thrilled the audience with his rendition of “Vos Iz Gevorn.”

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