Say what you will about the principle of tikkun olam, but you can’t confuse it for something else. This central tenet of liberal Judaism means only one thing: Fix the world as it is, and you will be serving God. Feed the hungry. Heal the sick. Mend a broken heart. End war. Stop injustice. These…
When Poland’s new Sejm, or Parliament, was seated recently, the nationally televised event showed something never before seen in this conservative nation: a transsexual woman and an openly gay man being solemnly sworn in along with other parliamentarians. The seminal event was a consequence of the emergence of Palikot, a new, explicitly anti-clerical, libertarian-oriented party…
The recent controversy over Roman Catholic Cardinal Kurt Koch?s statements at a meeting at Seton Hall University in October with scholars and clergy offers Jews an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of wading into disputes with other religious groups. Koch, the Vatican?s emissary to the Jews, responding briefly to a question about the push…
The Washington Post has a useful news analysis that looks at the New York State gay marriage decision and what it says about the state of liberalism. The headline says it all: “The rise of zombie liberalism: Half-dead, half-alive. “ The basic premise isn’t terribly new, but it’s too often forgotten: the liberalism of “Expanding…
Being Jewish is good for your health. So says the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a newly released survey that asked more than half a million Americans about their physical and emotional health, workplace satisfaction and health-related behavior. Jews scored the highest of any religious group, achieving an overall score of 69.8, placing them above the atheists…
In celebration of Jewish Book Month, The Arty Semite is partnering with the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and the Jewish Book Council to present “30 Days, 30 Texts,” a series of reflections by community leaders on the books that influenced their Jewish journeys. Today, Dan Friedman writes about the poetry of Gerard…
It’s about time the Catholic Church shared the limelight when it comes to controversial behavior by Christian leaders. This incident, which manages to include anti-feminism sentiment and hyperbolic analogies to Nazi Germany, revolves around the oh-so fractious debate over the role of women in the Church of England. According to Britain’s The Daily Telegraph, the…
You may not be smarter than a fifth grader, but do you know more about religion than the average American? The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life recently published results from a survey on Americans’ religious knowledge, which found that Jews are among the smartest religious group. (We knew we were smart,…
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