Monthly Archives: February 2019

(Bar Yochnei & Gigantic Rotten Egg) Medieval Hebrew Duck

“This is bird that’s called Bar Yochnei” BL Hebrew Project‏ @BL_HebrewMSS FollowingFollowing @BL_HebrewMSS #duckweek This duck can be seen in the North French Miscellany (Add MS 11639 f.517v, 1277-1324). Technically it is the Bar Yochnei, a mythical bird large enough to block … Continue reading

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Netanyahu & The Face of Jewish Fascism (Kahane Lives)

Deranged, bizarre, and dangerous. You can catch up on this story about Netanyahu trying to rope in the racist fringe on the Israeli political and religious spectrum into the mainstream in order to secure electoral advantage. This piece was written … Continue reading

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Rambam Machberet

Please chime in by way of a “like” in FB if you encountered the Rambam machberet in Hebrew School, growing up and in what years. If I remember correctly, my Maimonides was heavier set. Extra points for anyone who know … Continue reading

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(What Are These Things) Material Judaism & Priestly Religion (Sarah Kayla Jacobs)

Yesterday at Ansche Chesed, Sarah Kaya Jacobs gave these words about some of the most arcane material in the Hebrew Bible: matters relating to the Tabernacle cult and the vestments of the High Priest, in particular. The material appears in … Continue reading

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The Hard Jewish Anti-Zionist Left: Lousy Allies & Gas Lighting Anti-Semitism

Something incendiary I wrote for the Forward about the radical Jewish left and hard anti-Zionism, going after Jews, and gas lighting anti-Semitism helping no one, not Jews and the Jewish community, and not the intersectional Jewish left. Michelle Goldberg writes … Continue reading

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Islamic Ornament & The Spiritual in Art (Oleg Grabar)

Just finished reading Oleg Grabar’s The Mediation of Ornament for a survey class on Religion and Art. Written by one the great art historians of Islamic art, The Mediation of Ornament is more like a meditation after a career long … Continue reading

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Gentiles Must Think Jews Are Out Of Our Minds

I live in something of a Jewish bubble, so I often find myself wondering what gentile family, friends, colleagues, and students think when Jewish social media goes off the rails every so often or with great frequency concerning Israel or … Continue reading

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Velocity of Animal Flesh and the Art of Empire (Delacroix)

The big Delacroix at the Met is long gone, but I wanted to post just this bit here. On the one hand, there’s a lot that’s boring about his painting, but when you compare it with the preceding Neoclassicism of … Continue reading

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Messianic & Sacrificial Logic of Anti-Zionism (Hermann Cohen & Yoel Teitelbaum)

Anti-Zionism was once a consensus across the Jewish ideological spectrum. But so what? Consider two key examples are the classical liberal vision of Hermann Cohen as reflected in the Religion of Reason and in the Va’Yoel Moshe of Yoel Teilebaum, … Continue reading

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Netanyahu & Trump (A Different League)

a picture of political corruption  

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