Why don’t we talk about God? We talk about politics. We gruffly pontificate about the state of affairs in the Middle East – the merit of the settlements, the Palestinian unrest, the most recent outrage from the haredi community. There is never a dearth of commentary on Obama’s performance – or the synagogue rabbi’s performance [...]
When English majors received the course listing for the upcoming fall semester, there were several conspicuous absences. Three full time professors were gone from the list: Dr. Linda Shires, Dr. Lee Manion, and Dr. Abigail Manzella. Only five full time professors were left. Of the literature courses being offered (aside from mandatory classes), most of [...]
In the 2013 Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Rob Ashford, Scarlett Johansson’s performance as the frustrated, cat-like Maggie lent a bold, confident new dimension to the role. While Johansson’s deliberate and neatly tailored performance effectively delivered the vivid, restless life force of the complex [...]
I’m about ready to un-friend Facebook. Think about it: if you had a friend who prattled on relentlessly about other people and their lives – every gory, finicky detail – wouldn’t you get sick of it too? Yes, we’ve all heard Facebook trashed and blamed for the downfall of mankind before. Social networking sites have [...]
I personally detest the word ‘frum.’ There are few words within the Jewish world more shamelessly and flagrantly misused and abused than this evocative little adjective. Attempting to define the term is as inevitably offensive as complimenting your great aunt’s cooking. Why? Because it is necessarily, essentially exclusive. Stereotyping and snubbing en masse, the word [...]
This article is a response to the widely circulated article, Pants, Pants Revolution, recently published in Tablet Magazine. When you’re served a kosher meal on Air Berlin, openly identifying as Jewish takes on whole new meaning. I travelled last summer with a group of Jewish students to Germany. The program, sponsored in large part by [...]
Feeling intimidated is exclusive to neither the timorous nor the insecure. It is a feeling experienced by both the bold and shy alike. A reference to the ‘I was once intimated by you’ conversation evokes a knowing nod from most. The unique feeling, nesting somewhere between jealously and reverence, does not discriminate based on gender, [...]
December 5th–President Richard Joel, administrators, faculty, and students gathered in Yagoda Commons for the first Beren Town Hall Meeting of the year. President Joel opened the meeting by congratulating the student body on its “spectacular comportment” during the tumult wrought by Hurricane Sandy and spotlighted the “extraordinarily heroic actions on the part of YU personnel” [...]
Humbly stated, I believe myself to have written many an interesting article. Vegans, texting, seminary, Halloween—a diverse host of topics have sparked my journalistic fancy. Bemusing, I therefore find it, that the one article to generate more buzz, grace more Facebook likes (up of 400), and herald more high fives and hearty congratulations in the [...]
Aliyah: A Sacrifice Too Big?
Date question: so — feelings about aliyah? For some, the question is a deal breaker. For most, it’s a discussion. Within the Modern Orthodox community, the question is rarely one of loving Israel. Our allegiance is assumed, our reverence expected. Israeli flags in dorm rooms and teary eyes during the recital of Ha’Tikvah serve as mere [...]