Opinion What Do Secular Israelis Believe In?
Against the background of the growing religionization of Israel, the occupation with secular identity shows that it’s a flimsy ideology that doesn’t truly exist in its own right
Judaism
Spiritual Guidance for Secular Youth: NYU's Jewish Chaplain Tackles the Culture Wars
Rabbi Yehuda Sarna has his hands full helping students who feel they're being assailed by either the left or the right. Good thing he has his Muslim colleague to pitch in
Opinion Israel's Rabbis Think Genetic Testing Can 'Prove' Jewishness. They're Wrong
The Israeli rabbinate, pushing DNA tests, has fallen into the trap of 19th century racial science: Jewishness is an identity, not a genetic construct – and it can't be measured in a lab
LISTEN: During Passover, Israel Takes a Pass on Religious Freedom
The state's draconian handling of religious observance in public spaces has angered secular Israelis for years. PLUS: What's going on with Netanyahu's coalition? LISTEN FREE
How This City Became Israel’s Model of Jewish Religious Tolerance
Haaretz uncovers Modi’in's secret
Israel's Rabbinate Backs Compromise to Let People Eat Chametz on Hospital Grounds During Passover
Religious authority agrees to allow areas where food that isn't kosher for Passover can be eaten during holiday, but only outside hospital buildings and if guard is present
How the New Israeli Judaism Was Born
A new identity is sweeping Israel – simultaneously traditionalist, nationalist and liberal
Kosher Boots on the Ground: The Rabbi Serving in an Elite U.S. Army Unit
Beards, push-ups and patriotism – a glimpse into the life of Rabbi Captain Michael Harari, chaplain of a U.S. Army attack reconnaissance battalion
Israeli Researcher Proposes New Explanation to Why Dome of Rock Was Built on Temple Mount
It has dominated the Jerusalem skyline for 1,300 years, but there is no single accepted explanation for why it was built
Opinion How Jews Fell in Love With Love – Long After Christians Invented It
On Valentine's Day, it's worth remembering that romantic love between a man and a woman is a relatively late invention, made possible thanks to the Christian Bible
How a Literature Professor Found Himself Translating the Entire Bible From Scratch
‘I kind of fell into it,’ says Robert Alter of his decades-long project of retranslating the Bible, ensuing from a request to write ‘about Genesis or Kafka’
Bible Blast-off: Netanyahu's Order for Israel's Lunar Mission
Netanyahu asked the science minister to make sure the spacecraft will carry a Hebrew bible. Little does the prime minister know, the ship already contains one – on a flash drive
To Understand Israel, Look at Its Veneration of the Dead
One of the greatest paradoxes of Israeli national identity is that it draws strength from the lives that are lost in its name. This process has grown particularly twisted among radical settlers, who use death to generate meaning
Chief Rabbinate Withdraws From Plan to Allow Chametz in Hospitals During Passover
In response to a court challenge to an overall ban on leavened foods at hospitals during the holiday, a compromise would have designated areas of hospitals where such food that is not kosher for Passover could be consumed
'To Find Out if Someone's Jewish, Just Ask Them About Bagels'
This week at the Tel Aviv airport: An Atlanta rabbi who resorts to creative methods to preserve his community's Jewish identity, and an L.A. baseball player-turned-firefighter who decided he's Jewish on a Birthright trip
In the Bigynnyng: A Brief History of the English Bible
In the beginning there was a 4th-century Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible, but over the millennia a myriad English translations 'moved vpon the water'
I Hope for an Israel Abiding by Jewish Religious Law, Says Member of New Right-wing Party
Shuli Moalem-Refaeli's Hayamin Hehadash party bills itself as a joint religious-secular slate ■ Naftali Bennnet, said the party opposes religious coercion and is proud of a diversity of opinions
A Surprising Number of Latin Americans Have Jewish Roots, Study Finds
Even the researchers could hardly believe the findings: 23% of Latin America's urban population could be descendants of Conversos – Spanish Jews forced to convert to Christianity
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Resumes Work From Hospital Following Cancer Surgery
Despite frequent health issues, the 85-year-old, esteemed jurist has vowed to stick out Donald Trump's first term
The Israeli Charity 'Helping' Jewish Women in 'Arab Captivity'
The Yad L’Achim organization is rescuing women in distress – but only if 'distress' means being in a relationship with a non-Jew
From Bar Refaeli's Torah Lessons to Paparazzi Shots of Rabbis: The ultra-Orthodox Love Affair With Gossip
As ultra-Orthodox internet and smartphone use becomes more widespread, gossip columns are growing more popular - but some topics remain taboo
Jews Thrived on Insulting Each Other. Now Toxic Discourse Is Tearing Them Apart, Tablet Editor Says
U.S. Jews have a leadership problem, Alana Newhouse, editor of Tablet Magazine says, and warns: We can't afford to boycott everyone we disagree with
Opinion Zionism Is About Letting Jews Live (And Die) Without Humiliation
The Jews' right to nationhood in their ancient homeland is actually anchored on two facts based in modernity
Opinion From Rabid Zionism to Egalitarian Zionism
The prevailing approach of Zionism makes the Palestinians hostages in the intra-Jewish debate over the country’s borders. It also makes Israel a criminal state. But there’s a way to justify the Jews’ settlement in Israel, based on political morality rather than history
What Do Jews Really Do in Yeshiva? Reverse-engineer the Will of God
Ultra-orthodox yeshiva study isn't about parsing the bible or even studying Oral Law, but an attempt to peer into God's mind
Opinion What's the Only Country in the World Where Men Claim They're More Religious Than Women?
It's long been conventional wisdom that women identify as more religious than men. But our surveys show Israeli Jewish men turn that assumption upside down. Why do Jewish men in Israel seem more observant than Jewish women?
God Is Not a Fact: The Secular Parents Standing Against Jewish Cultural Education in Israel
'The secular option is virtually nonexistent,' says one parent who is letting his son skip 'heritage' classes promoted by the Education Ministry
Israeli City Divided Over Religion Makes History With First Woman Mayor
With the counting of the final 1,300 ballots – from soldiers, the disabled and of a few dozen prisoners – Aliza Bloch is confirmed as mayor, ousting incumbent Moshe Abutbul
Opinion How Jewish Identity Turned From Liability to Asset
Why people who were considered white in every respect are poking around in the family cellars to find elements that might connect them to an oppressed group
Opinion Preferring the Evangelicals Over World Jewry
The new nation-state law might mean the prevention of immigration by anyone not Jewish based on Jewish law – something that reflects the influence of evangelical Christianity