Relativism Knows No Bounds
Many readers may have missed the following news item, which, to my knowledge, appeared in the JTA Daily News Briefing but almost nowhere else: Close to 50 Reform youth leaders urged the movement to...
Gay Parade:It’s OK to offend religious Jews
6 b Ellul The Homosexual Open House in Jerusalem is trying to reschedule the Gay Parade for the week preceding Rosh Hashanah. [Meanwhile, the police nixed it, so as not to offend tourists]. In...
Reform Youth on Israel’s Actions in Lebanon
A group of young American Reform Jews recently sent a letter to Reform leader Eric Yoffie, requesting that the movement “condemn the IDF’s killing of unarmed Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, as well as its...
Now Why Didn’t I Say That?
One of our avid readers brought the following quote to my attention. It doesn’t say anything we don’t already know, but it should humble us mere mortals who would never put things so elegantly...
Media Manipulation and Blogs
In an article on Jewish World Review this morning, Caroline Glick discusses the latest possible media hoax — Israel’s “attack” on a Reuters camera crew. You can read the details there, but in brief,...
Bride vs. Power Co.
Only in Israel gives us the story of Bride vs. Power Co. The next day he called and in a happy voice conveyed his best wishes for the upcoming wedding. He asked me to...
Why Conservative Judaism is Ailing
The above is the more polite title (the one found in the title bar) of an article that appeared yesterday on Slate.com. The title as found on the page is “One Mad Rabbi: Conservative...
Elul for All
With the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul, the Shofar blasts sound at the conclusion of the morning prayers. As described by Maimonides, these blasts arouse us from the slumber and force us...
A request for readers’ help
Usually I post my thoughts, and then sit back and watch readers pick them apart — or, as is more often the case, pick one another apart over matters having only a tangential relationship...
Blogging – An Alternative Mission Statement
A few days ago, Rabbi Menken offered his reasons for blogging, and essentially his raison d’etre for Cross-Currents. I respectfully dissent. I will beg the forgiveness of readers who turn to these pages looking...