Jewish History Matters

In my last post, I recalled the Yale Kosher Kitchen of the early 90s with some fondness. One of the things I remember most fondly was that those of us who studied Jewish history were able to startle, annoy, and occasionally enlighten Orthodox students, usually professional students who had been undergraduates at more kosher institutions (specifically one in Washington Heights with the same initials as Yale U), by showing them that Orthodox Judaism in the United States in the late 20th century was not simply and eternally synonomous with Judaism. Lots of Orthodox Jews (the ones who study Jewish history) know this, of course. But it's still useful to bring a little haskalah to the yeshiva as Gil Perl is doing.

The Jewish Blogosphere

I've been reading a lot of the Jewish blogs out there from across the religious and humor spectrum. Sitting down and reading through a bunch of them at once makes me nostalgic: the Jewish blogosphere reminds of nothing as much as it reminds as conversations over lunch or dinner at the Yale Kosher Kitchen in the early 1990s.
I used to say back then that Hillel houses were the only places where Jews of all types would meet and talk to each other without an agenda. Another interesting case where the Internet creates a virtual version of something that exists in real life as well?

I Love To Be at Home

I imagine that if this blog had any readers, by now they would have asked about the song alluded to in the title. So, imaginary readers, here you are:

Home
A Home Loving Man
by Arik Einstein
(Translated by Shai Gluskin)
There are people who climb mountains;
There are people who parachute from great heights;
There are people who ride on horses;
And there are those that swallow-up great distances.
But me, I love to be at home
With tea and lemon and the old books.
I love to be at home
with the same lover and the same habits.
There are people who hunt leopards;
There are people who dive for pearls;
There are people who build towers;
And there are those who fast for months.
But me, I love to be at home
With tea and lemon and the old books.
I love to be at home
with the same lover and the same habits.
There are people who are always searching;
There are people who are always uncovering;
There are people who go after what is big;
They never give up on anything, wanting it all.
But me, I love to be at home
With tea and lemon and the old books.
I love to be at home
with the same lover and the same habits.

This is from the website of Rabbi Shai Gluskin, where you can see the Hebrew, and read his comments on the song.

Novelists Making Things Up

I was tempted to comment on Wendy Shalit's essay in last Sunday's NYT Book Review by pointing out that novels about Orthodox Jewish life are filed under fiction for a reason. Tova Mirvis says it better in today's Forward. Miriam (Bloghead) also has an interesting response at People of the Book.