Observation ·
The Biblical Return to Zion, Part I: The Revelation of Mordecai
By Ethan Dor-ShavA true-crime mystery in the Persian court.
Subject
Religion & Holidays
Latest Mosaic Content for Religion & Holidays
Observation ·
The Maccabean Menorah: Spiritual Lights in the Smoke of War
By Ido HevroniArchaeological evidence suggests that the original Hanukkah menorah was made from the spear tips of the Maccabees.
Response ·
To Make the Academic Desert Bloom, Look to Religion
By Ari BermanWhile the American university loses sight of its purpose, the future looks bright for faith-based schools.
Response ·
There Are 70 Faces to the Torah. But Not All Interpretations Are Created Equal
By Ethan Dor-ShavThe Hebrew Bible's singular truth can be viewed through many angles.
Observation ·
Podcast: Judge Matthew Solomson on Orthodox Judaism and American Public Service
By Tikvah Podcast at MosaicA conversation with one of the highest-ranking observant Jews in the federal judiciary.
Response ·
The Question Isn’t What Genesis Means, but What We Should Do
By Jeremy EnglandJudaism is uninterested in the inner nature of what is, but how people ought to conduct themselves as they seek a proper relationship with God.
Response ·
The Theological Implications of Reading Genesis as an Allegory for Evolution
By Zohar AtkinsUnderstanding Dor-Shav through the lens of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Shneur Zalman of Liadi.
Response ·
Uncovering the Darwinian Genesis
By Dru JohnsonAny analysis of the Hebrew Bible must take into account its intended audience.
Monthly Essay ·
How Evolutionary Biology Unlocks Genesis’s Theory of Man
By Ethan Dor-ShavThe Bible shows our humanity while taking us back to the solitary, deep-water worm of our primordial origins.
Observation ·
Which Sea Did the Israelites Cross?
By PhilologosExodus's Sea of Reeds wasn't the Red Sea. But was it the Gulf of Suez? Lake Balah? Somewhere else?
Observation ·
Did God Give Moses Ten Sayings, Ten Commandments, or Just Ten Things?
By PhilologosNeither Jewish nor Christian traditions call the Decalogue by its biblical name, but the phrases they choose reveal something about their different approaches to divine law.
Observation ·
How “Kratsmakh” Became the Yiddish Word for Christmas
By PhilologosBy way of an ancient Roman holiday and two very similar Hebrew letters.
Observation ·
Where Did the Idea of Three “Abrahamic Faiths” Come From?
By PhilologosThe incompatible narratives of Judaism and Islam, and what the Bible has to say about them.
Observation ·
The Jewish Roots of the Christian Phrase “Turn the Other Cheek”
By PhilologosThe contrast between New Testament forbearance and Hebraic hard-heartedness is an idea that won't die.
Observation ·
A Year On, Israelis Still Haven’t Found a Name for the Current War
By PhilologosEven as it becomes clear who will emerge victorious.
Response ·
Watch or Read Meir Soloveichik and Joseph Dweck Discuss the Worlds and Moods of Ashkenaz and Sepharad
By Joseph Dweck, Jonathan SilverA recording and transcript of our subscriber-only conversation between two leading rabbis about two of the animating spirits of the Jewish world.
Observation ·
Who Is the “Little Sister” of a Medieval Rosh Hashanah Prayer?
By PhilologosShe comes from the Song of Songs. But what is she doing there?
Observation ·
Marilynne Robinson Promises Her Reading of Genesis Is Faithful to the Text. Is It?
By Jon D. LevensonOr does the highly lauded American author's new book revive some old prejudices?
Monthly Essay ·
Fear and Joy in Sepharad and Ashkenaz
By Rabbi Meir SoloveichikWhat happens when an Ashkenazi rabbi leads a Sephardi synagogue during the Days of Awe? A profound encounter with new moods in Jewish life.
Observation ·
Do Jews Have Martyrs?
By Aton HolzerThe idea of martyrdom is an uncomfortable one for Jews. Yet respect for religious self-sacrifice finds its very origins among them, as I saw on Mount Herzl this summer.
Observation ·
When Did Jews Settle on the Seven-Day Week?
By PhilologosIt was only in the early-to-mid first millennium BCE that both the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Hebrews began dividing their lunar months into seven-day periods.
Observation ·
Did the Ancient Sage Hillel Really Invent the Sandwich?
By PhilologosThe truth of the tale of Hillel and the "Hillel sandwich."
Response ·
Keeping Kosher in the Age of AI
By Chaim SaimanAs advanced computing allows food to be created in radically new ways, standard kosher categories will become increasingly less useful. What happens then?
Observation ·
The Purim Grogger’s Name Comes from Spain
By PhilologosThe holiday noisemaker bears a suspicious resemblance to the Spanish carraca.
Observation ·
The Mystery of the Angel of Rain
By PhilologosAn ancient prayer for rain mentions an angel named Af-bri. But where did he come from?
Observation ·
What Forgiveness Shares with Forgetting
By PhilologosIn both Hebrew and English.
Observation ·
The Battle of the Seventy Translators
By PhilologosHow many rabbis first translated the Hebrew Bible, and how many different translations did they produce?
Observation ·
Did Adam Speak Hebrew?
By PhilologosThe ancient rabbis believed there was linguistic proof that the first man spoke Hebrew with God. Why?
Observation ·
The Contradictions of Kol Nidrei
By PhilologosOne renowned talmudic scholar called the now-beloved prayer a "foolish custom that is not to be followed." What did he mean and how did it survive?
Observation ·
The Not-So-Mysterious Logic of the Shiddukh System
By Eli SpitzerEveryone from Netflix to the Forward is fascinated by the ḥaredi matchmaking system because it rejects liberal norms. Here's what they're missing.
