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Monthly Archives: September 2015
International Bystander (Syria)
This in the Guardian. As Russia begins intentionally to bomb non-ISIS targets in Syria, I am ashamed to be an American. It’s not for me to provide definite answers. I’m just a concerned U.S. citizen who happens to spend a … Continue reading
Decadent Religion in the Digital Age (Shulem Deen)
Happy to have gotten around to All Who Go Do Not Return, Shulem Deen’s memoir about leaving the Skever Hasidic community for the great big world. The importance of this memoir has many aspects, starting with the obvious human interest of … Continue reading
New Jewish Life (Washington Heights)
Interesting article in the Forward, which you can read here, about new Jewish life in the Washington Heights and Inwood neighborhoods in upper Manhattan. Part of what works are: old synagogue infrastructure, neighborhood gentrification, young people, urban style, population-demographic diversity, … Continue reading
That’s Why We Have Nuclear Weapons
Charlie Rose: But you are in part a major power because of the nuclear weapons you have. You are a force to be reckoned with. President Putin: I hope so. I definitely hope so. Otherwise why do we have nuclear … Continue reading
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“The Violence of Poverty” (Aryeh Cohen)
A Talmud piece, “The Violence of Poverty” by Aryeh Cohen in Leonard J. Greenspoon (ed), Wealth and Poverty in Jewish Tradition. You can read it here. The idea expressed here that poverty is what Bruno Latour called an “actant” jibes … Continue reading
Religious Not Political (Pope Francis at the U.S. Capitol)
Ungracious, the one thing George Will probably gets right in his critique of Pope Francis’ very moving speech to Congress is that, yes, it’s probably true that the Pope does not know how to alleviate poverty. Regarding Will’s article, it’s … Continue reading
Religion & State (Pope Francis At the U.S. Congress)
Note the chiaroscuro effect, the figure dressed in white surrounded by a sea of black and grey suits. In a slow and halting English, the Pope spoke about politics as a vocation. Open to the world, he touched upon human … Continue reading
