Hanukkah
A Jewish democracy activist joins us to talk about the oppression of the Uighurs in western China, and whether the Jewish experience has any survival strategies to offer.
What the Maccabees called their enemies reveals much about how both cultures saw themselves and what the conflict between them meant for the world.
The final, often-skipped stanza of the popular Hanukkah candle-lighting song Ma’oz Tsur presented the late rabbi with an unusual challenge.
The rabbi joins us to talk about the deeper theological meaning of the holiday through the lens of a fascinating essay by the Modern Orthodox thinker Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
The problem was not that the stars of the Hanukkah story were too heroic, but that they confused their military heroism for the capacity of communal leadership.
“It was one of the decisive events in human history. Never before had men been convinced, as they were then, that an idea was something to fight for and to die for.”
The miracle of the Jews and the existence of Jew-hatred go hand in hand.
Some back-of-the-envelope sociology of American Jewry.
Hoping for Latkes, an Amateur Photojournalist Found Himself in the Maelstrom of Romania’s Revolution
Hanukkah during the downfall of Ceausescu.
The Greeks, like their anti-Zionist heirs, sought to strike at the heart of Jewish difference.
English is a language notorious for its strange spellings, and its speakers are more willing to tolerate aberrations than are speakers of other languages.
Some end-of-year remarks on the path of life, spoken in honor of those who do end-of-life work.
At times of war, especially, it was always a patriotic holiday.