Uncertain Jew
An Egyptian exile considers Jewish identity—and his own—in a cosmopolitan world. Excerpted from the new essay collection Alibis.
God Got Game
Video games teach us everything we need to know about the tension between destiny and free will
Bad Faith
The Republican presidential candidates’ refusal to believe in things like global warming isn’t just bad science; it’s also very poor religion
Ice and Fire
Moses, the father of a radically egalitarian legal system, would have dug the soft financial revolution taking place in Iceland
Lonesome Dove
Barack Obama isn’t to blame for the Tea Party’s surge. Liberals are. And if they want him to win re-election in 2012, they better listen to Moses and learn how to take initiative.
Another Exodus
As told in this week’s parasha, Moses couldn’t enter the Promised Land. My three brothers, the subjects of my latest documentary film, chose to leave it.
Political Class
Activists—from the youth protesting steep rents in Tel Aviv to those dejected by their failure to reform Washington—should listen to Moses, reject magical thinking, and learn how to play politics
Plain Evil
This week’s parasha is a reminder of why we must never exaggerate evil, a lesson ignored by recent pop culture hits, from TV’s Damages to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy
Ben-Gurion
Cheap Eats
An entrepreneur opened a Jewish-themed restaurant in Lviv, Ukraine. Chopped liver is on the menu, but not its price—diners get to haggle over it.
Grace Notes
Orthodox klezmer and bluegrass virtuoso Andy Statman and evangelical country star Ricky Skaggs cross genres and faiths to form a mighty duo
Goodbye to All That
For generations, the Jews of Caracas had idyllic weather, prosperity, and vibrant communal organizations. Things have changed under Hugo Chávez.
