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At West Point
West Point cadets, courtesy of West Point Public Affairs. / 20 Heshvan 5772 I spent a day at West Point last week—meeting Jewish and non-Jewish cadets, seeing the sights, talking about leadership...
View ArticleWest Point, Judaism, and the Languages of Faith
/ 5 Kislev 5772 My posting about the visit I made to West Point in early November garnered a lot of response—and two comments in particular got me thinking more about the points I had raised. The...
View ArticleThe Ministry of Immigrant Absorption Ads: Not a Misunderstanding
/10 Kislev 5772 Now that the Israeli government has wisely (but, so far, only partially) withdrawn from its website the videos meant to discourage Israelis from settling in America, marrying Americans...
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Distancing From Israel
/25 Kislev 5772 The American Jewish Committee sponsored a consultation last week on the subject, “Are Young Committed American Jews Distancing from Israel?” I was asked to present my view of the...
View ArticleIsrael in Winter
/ 13 Adar 5772 A friend wondered aloud, as we sat in a Jerusalem restaurant on a mild winter day in mid-February, why it is that books continue to be written, and reviewed in Ha’aretz, asking whether...
View ArticleThe Magic of Jewish Summer Camp
/ 25 Adar 5772 Amy Skopp Cooper, national assistant director of the National Ramah Commission of JTS, director of Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, New York, and 2011 winner of the prestigious Covenant Award,...
View ArticleConversations on American Judaism
I’m always heartened by my conversations with our JTS graduates. They are substantive and meaningful, and highlight the difference that Jewish learning makes in the world when brought to bear on...
View ArticleConservative Judaism: Observations and Expectations
As JTS graduates continue to take their place in the professional world and put Torah into action, the conversation that has been Judaism for millennia expands exponentially. Does what they see in the...
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Chancellor Arnold Eisen Says L’Chaim! to Conservative Judaism in the Jewish Week
“I’ve spent the better part of my adult life as a scholar of American Judaism, with a special focus on figures at the center of Conservative Judaism, and I’ve spent most of those years enjoying the...
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Hanukkah Miracles at the White House
Pizmon—the JTS-Columbia-Barnard a cappella group—performing at the White House. I was puzzled when I received the invitation from the President and First Lady to celebrate Hanukkah at the White House...
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