Then and Now
In his review in the Jewish Daily Forward of a new book on the "genetic history" of the Jews, Jon Entine writes, "'Who is a Jew?' has been a poignant question for Jews throughout our history." It is a question that has been very much in the news of … [Continue reading] about On Conversion
A couple of months ago I gave a presentation at a workshop that I organized, "Ancient Religion, Modern Technology," in which I outlined a rationale and vision for a digital project that mapped and analyzed the social network of the rabbis. … [Continue reading] about The Rabbis’ Social Network
Recovering the actual religious practices of Jewish women in antiquity – or, really, of almost all non-elite/non-rabbinic Jews – is at best a tricky business. Our main sources are rabbinic texts, which are so insular, academic, and either … [Continue reading] about “The Fear of the Husband”
For many years, we have incorporated a children's drama into our Passover Seder. During the Magid (telling of the Passover story) we send the children out of the room to prepare a drama relating to the story of the Exodus from Egypt. They return a … [Continue reading] about Israelite or Egyptian? A Personal Reflection from the Seder
In academic circles, "tradition" has long taken a beating. Scholars have correctly pointed out that "tradition" or "traditions" are often quite malleable as Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger put it in the title of their edited volume, The Invention … [Continue reading] about Tradition!