Monthly Archives: September 2025

(Days of Awe) A Skull Floats On The Face of Water (Memento Mori)

Posted on September 29, 2025 by zjb

Reflecting on a human skull floating on the face of the waters, the judgment attributed to Hillel by the rabbis in Pirkei Avot is harsh to the point of cruel. Because you drowned others, they drowned you, and they who … Continue reading →

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Eric Adams Rosh Hashana

Posted on September 28, 2025 by zjb

Look no further if you want to understand why Eric Adams was winning some 40% of the Jewish vote in NYC. Before dropping out of the race for mayor, Adams for the first day of Rosh Hashana went to glad-hand … Continue reading →

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(Judgment) Rosh Hashanah (Mercy)

Posted on September 26, 2025 by zjb

Here is one way to juxta-position what is the combination of judgment, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the canny confidence with which Jewish tradition meets the new year. The relation is not one thing next to … Continue reading →

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An Indelicate Question re: Tikvah, Trump, and Jewish Studies

Posted on September 18, 2025 by zjb

The last time around, when no one was looking, blue chip Jewish Studies colleagues and elite universities provided cover to the rightwing Tikvah Fund and its network of academic programs and online platforms. The plan then was to use university … Continue reading →

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(Netanyahu) Israel Super Sparta (Jacques-Louis David)

Posted on September 16, 2025 by zjb

Jacques-Louis David, Leonidas at Thermopylae (1814) “The emphasized man in the center, presumably Leonidas, instantly draws the viewers’ eyes to him. Not only is Leonidas more bathed in light out of any of the partly shadowed figures in the painting, … Continue reading →

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(Religious War) Stickers (Jerusalem)

Posted on September 4, 2025 by zjb

Memorial stickers and flyers of dead soldiers are all over Israel. In Jerusalem, there is a predominance of religious messaging. I took these photos outside the Yitzhak Navon Train Station in early August. “Don’t touch our soldiers,” Know what we’re … Continue reading →

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