Then and Now
I am now on sabbatical and have been working recently in the Judaic Studies Reading Room at the Jewish and National University Library at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The room could use some renovating and it gets a little crowded and stuffy, but … [Continue reading] about Humanists and Books
When I was a teenager I discovered the existence of Rashi, the famous medieval Jewish commentator on the Bible (among other books). Lacking the Hebrew skills necessary to read him, I acquired the only English translation I could find, an edition of … [Continue reading] about Word by Word…
The other day I travelled from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. I sp’end most of the day at Tel Aviv University meeting with colleagues, researching, and getting organized for the fall semester that I will spend as part of this intellectual community … [Continue reading] about Between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
The recent demonstrations in Tel Aviv highlighted two economic issues in Israel. The first is the increasing economic stratification. The second is the cost of living: younger Israelis are concerned that it simply costs so damn much to live in … [Continue reading] about Israel: The Cost of Groceries
Many Several years ago, I wrote an essay on ancient rabbinic understandings of masculinity. In that paper, I argued that the rabbis understood all human beings – men and women, Jews and Gentiles – to have an “evil inclination” that drove their … [Continue reading] about To Be a Man