Then and Now
Several years ago I wrote an article, “‘And on the Earth You Shall Sleep’”: Talmud Torah and Rabbinic Asceticism” (Journal of Religion 83 [2003]: 204-225). In that article, I compared rabbinic “asceticism” (which I broadly define as a set of … [Continue reading] about The Self and Science
Praised be You, YHVH, our god, king of the universe, who has not made me a gentile; Praised be You, YHVH, our god, king of the universe, who has not made me a slave; Praised be You, YHVH, our god, king of the universe, who has not made me a … [Continue reading] about Between Us and Them
In an essay recently posted on the NPR site , Patrick Jarenwattananon asks, “Does a Jazz Critic Have to Be a Musician, Too?” His answer: “Playing music isn't a prerequisite for that understanding, but it can only help. Duh, right?” I have recently … [Continue reading] about Religion, Jazz, and their Critics
I have just added two new syllabi to my "Teaching" page. Both are to classes that I will be teaching this fall: "Religion and Sexuality" and "Religion in the Dead Sea Scrolls." … [Continue reading] about New Syllabi
We need fanatics. By keeping true to their ideological positions – whether by threatening to bring down the modern global financial markets or by banning vegetables for consumption because they contain microscopic bugs – they remind us of … [Continue reading] about Fanatics