Monthly Archives: September 2015

International Bystander (Syria)

Posted on September 30, 2015 by zjb

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 →

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Decadent Religion in the Digital Age (Shulem Deen)

Posted on September 30, 2015 by zjb

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 →

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New Jewish Life (Washington Heights)

Posted on September 29, 2015 by zjb

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 →

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That’s Why We Have Nuclear Weapons

Posted on September 29, 2015 by zjb

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)

Posted on September 25, 2015 by zjb

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 →

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Religious Not Political (Pope Francis at the U.S. Capitol)

Posted on September 25, 2015 by zjb

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 →

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Religion & State (Pope Francis At the U.S. Congress)

Posted on September 24, 2015 by zjb

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 →

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This Year Not a Word About Israel (High Holidays 2015)

Posted on September 23, 2015 by zjb

Not a word –I didn’t hear a word about Israel from the pulpit this year for the High Holidays.  How about any of you? My guess is that this year it’s just too exhausting.

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גמר חתימה טובה (Orange Yom Kippur)

Posted on September 22, 2015 by zjb

(thank you, Alan Verskin)

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The Dead Hold Up the Synagogue (Ansche Chesed)

Posted on September 21, 2015 by zjb

Old fashioned and handsome, these large memorial boards that run along the back and back side walls of the main sanctuary at Ansche Chesed do very little to call attention to themselves. But they are an integral part to a certain … Continue reading →

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