Category
July 15, 2004
Right Words
Torah Portion. \”Why do human fingers resemble pegs? So that if one hears something unseemly, one can plug one\’s fingers in one\’s ears.\” — Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 5b
The Perfect Woman
One of the greatest mysteries in my life, besides how to program my Tivo, is why it\’s taking me so long to meet my soulmate.
Mixed-Marriage Study Defies Logic
Since the National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) confirmed the continuing high rate of intermarriage, it\’s been quiet on the "outreach"vs. "in-reach" front. The Jewish In-Marriage Initiative is slowly becoming active.
Putin Targets Human Rights Workers
Twenty years ago, who could have thought that in 2004, the president of Russia would be attending a meeting of the leaders of industrialized democracies in the United States? Vladimir Putin\’s presence at the Group of Eight summit on Sea Island, Ga., in June could be seen as a sign of mind-boggling progress. Unfortunately, the rollback of democracy in Russia continues apace with more and more signs of a climate that bears some chilling similarities to that of 20 years ago.
Reflections on a Tragedy
For thousands of years, communities have wrestled with the question of how to treat accidental killers. The Book of Numbers (consistent with a shorter passage in Exodus) tells us that God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to establish six cities of refuge to which accidental killers could flee. The accidental killer was to be protected from the wrath of the victim\’s family — the \”blood avenger\” — so long as he remained within the city of refuge. Only when the high priest of the city died could the killer return home.
Over Mourning
It used to be that when I wanted to throw a party, attend a rock concert, go for a swim or even take a haircut, I stopped myself and thought: Wait. Can I do this? What month is it? Am I allowed to celebrate? Or is it a Jewish mourning period?
Grass-Roots Level Campaign Coverage
The election analysis is all the same. For days, the political press was almost totally occupied with Sen. John Kerry\’s choice for the vice presidential candidate. When Sen. John Edwards was selected, everyone I saw or read had the same take: Terrific speaker; inexperienced; shady trial lawyer; fighter for the forgotten.
It was as if the journalists were afraid to stray off the beaten track or leave the reporting pack to have an original thought. Today\’s political reporting is a compendium of conventional wisdom. The motto of the press corps is: \”On one hand…. And on the other….\”
‘Burial’ Unearths Small-Town Secrets
Toward the end of Nicholas Racz\’s quirky, quiet, noirish thriller, \”The Burial Society,\” Sheldon Kasner, the film\’s protagonist but certainly not its hero, whines: \”Why can\’t anything ever be easy for me?\” It\’s a line Woody Allen might have used in \”Take the Money and Run,\” but while Sheldon has elements of Allen\’s nebbish-turned-wannabe-thief, he is darker, more complex and far craftier. So is Racz\’s film about death and rebirth, real and metaphoric.
‘Purity’ Director Comes Clean
\”Six months after giving birth, and I\’m still impure,\” says Anat Zuria, director of the controversial Israeli documentary, \”Purity,\” as she glumly strides to the mikvah (ritual bath) on a cold, Jerusalem night.
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