Posts Tagged: Jeremy Rosen
Racism and ’12 Years a Slave’
The film that won Best Picture at the Oscars this year, 12 Years a Slave, is a movie about a free black man living in New...
To Serve, Or Not to Serve
My friend Yori Yanover was recently sacked as editor of the online Jewish Press. His crime was a biting condemnation of a demonstration of protestors...
The Role of Masks in Purim
The great "Carnivales" of the Catholic world have always coincided with the period preceding Lent, when the righteous avoid pleasures of the flesh and atone....
Who’s Afraid of Putin?
As I watched the Sochi Winter Olympics, I thought of how Putin's long shadow was cast, malevolently, over the construction, the management, and the security...
The Power of Shabbat and Tradition
I have always valued the utilitarian aspect of Judaism, even though utilitarianism in itself is hardly justification for living a religious life. Circumcision may indeed...
What’s Wrong With Women Wearing Teffilin?
One of the most significant daily rituals in Judaism is laying Tefilin, strapping leather boxes containing scrolls with certain Torah verses onto one's arm (against...
How Jewish is Jewish History?
Once we asked, "Who is a Jew?" Now the big question is, "What is Jewish History?" Both questions are largely academic and typical of a...
What is and Isn’t Wrong With Prayer
The way most of us pray today is very different to the way it was originally intended. What goes on in most Jewish "houses of...
The Truth About Kosher Meat and Science
For years there have been artificial substitutes for meat, most often soy based. Some have been edible, especially when mixed with other foodstuffs. But none...
The Danger of Giving Religious Leaders Power in Iran (and Israel)
I have recently read "The Shah" by Abbas Milani, and certain significant parallels strike me as very relevant today. As a senior army officer, Reza Shah...
Judaism and Death
I have just had to try to comfort a family devastated by the loss of middle-aged siblings, barely months apart, after long debilitating illnesses and...
Not Fitting Into Judaism’s Little Boxes
I was brought up to be an outsider. My late father, Kopul Rosen, was born in London, educated primarily in Mir in Lithuania, and served...
Letters to President Clinton: Biblical Lessons on Faith and Leadership, by Menachem Genack (REVIEW)
Letters to President Clinton: Biblical Lessons on Faith and Leadership, edited by Rabbi Menachem Genack (OU Press, 2013). In the Book of Numbers, Eldad and...
Why Judaism and Superstition Don’t Mix
Dr. Narendra Dabholkar was a doughty activist against superstition and black magic. A gentle man but fiercely rational, he would travel throughout India exposing frauds,...
