A few weeks ago, I wrote about super-atheist Richard Dawkins’ assertion that the move from polytheism to monotheism shouldn’t necessarily be considered progress. I agreed that there’s nothing fundamentally more rational about monotheism, but shared Rabbi Yitz Greenberg’s thoughts about how (despite what you might think) pluralism is a natural outgrowth of monotheism.
Well, Rabbi Greenberg […]

The New York Times has released its annual list of the Top 10 books of the year, and Gary Shteyngart’s novel Absurdistan was one of five works of fiction selected. While I still favor Shteyngart’s debut — The Russian Debutante’s Handbook — Absurdistan includes both profound hilarity and profound brilliance.
Absurdistan follows Misha Vainberg, the son […]

The Jewish Press just published a poignant (and sad) letter from an Orthodox Jewish man about his struggles with homosexuality. His main point: Though he fully believes that homosexuality is prohibited, he disagrees with those who claim that gay men can be converted to heterosexuality.

Believe me I understand fully how much any frum [Orthodox] man […]

Looks like American Jews aren’t the only ones who spend the aftermath of an election counting how many Jews were voted into office. Apparently, they do the same thing Down Under.
From the Australian Jewish News:
FOR the first time in more than 75 years, at least two Jews will serve in the Victorian Government, with the […]

Is Michael Richards Jewish? That’s the question that was on too-many Jews’ minds after Seinfeld’s Kramer went on his recent racist tirade. Now we have the answer, and its almost as strange as the incident itself.
JTA reports:
Howard Rubenstein, who was hired as Richards’ publicist, told JTA that Richards has not formally converted to Judaism but […]

Good book criticism has been virtually exiled from the popular press, and the New York Times Book Review — which still has its fair share of cultural cachet — might be the most egregious transgressor. Most reviews in the Times are little more than glorified book summaries with a thumbs up, a thumbs down, or […]

This morning, I blogged about the poetry of Taha Muhammad Ali and his translator, Peter Cole. In July, I wrote a profile for the Forward about Peter, his wife Adina Hoffman, and Ibis Editions, the small press that they run. There’s something wrong with the link on the Forward’s website, so I’m posting the article […]

Thanks to Jewschool for highlighting this amazing video of poet Taha Muhammad Ali at the Dodge Poetry Festival earlier this fall. The video includes Taha’s poem “Revenge,” read in Arabic, followed by Peter Cole’s remarkable translation.
I recommend watching the version without subtitles, since you’ll hear Peter read the English version anyway, and there’s something magical […]

The Jerusalem Post reports:
Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg, one of the most respected halachic authorities of the modern era and a trailblazer in the field of Jewish medical ethics, passed away Tuesday at the age of 89.
Waldenberg, who served on the High Rabbinic Court together with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, was the […]

It’s Thanksgiving reading time. And for us at MJL, that’s got to start with David Koffman’s fascinating article about the shockingly long history of the theory that Native Americans are from the lost tribes of Israel. Bet you never heard about this historical event:
A curious incident that drew considerable attention and “proved,” at least to […]