Soft News Musings IV

Slave Labor

Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (the most influential Jew in England) has a fantastic article on the ethics of slavery in Judaism in which he distinguishes between philosophy, which he claims deals with absolutes of right and wrong, and Judaism, which he says allows for a process of societal transformation (link).

Interesting Read About Interesting Reader

Zev Eleff interviewed non-Jewish blogger and avid online consumer of Modern Orthodox Torah--including this blog--Jeff Wild (Commentator). Congratulations on your newfound fame.

Click here to read moreMore on Rav Soloveitchik

Ethan Isenberg, the director of the documentary on Rav Soloveitchik, writes an extremely comprehensive book review of Mentor of Generations (Commentator). I found this review particularly insightful. Who would have thought that there is something interesting that has not already been written on this subject?

Undead Scroll

The Isaiah Scroll (from the Dead Sea Scrolls) is going on display for a few months for the first time in 40 years (AP).

All The News That's Fit To Not Print

A Jewish newspaper is accused of bowing to pressure from its local Federation (Forward). It's stories like these that make young people avoid Jewish communal organizations like the plague.

New Low?

I don't know if this is a new low for The Forward but in my limited reading experience I've never seen it mock religious practice so openly as it does the policy of Hamodia not to publish pictures of women (Forward). I also think that policy is a little extreme -- just make sure the women are dressed modestly! -- but I don't think mocking religious practices is the stuff of good journalism or a particularly valuable contribution to communal dialogue. I call shame on the Forward.