by Carl Howard | Aug 1, 2016 | Atheism and Religion, Blogging Jewish Law, Ethics, Feminism and LGBT, Race
The behaviour of Chareidi (more commonly known as “Ultra-Orthodox”) flight passengers has hit international news a few times, mostly around them not wanting to sit next to women who have at times been asked to switch seats, something El Al is being sued over. There...
by Carl Howard | Aug 11, 2015 | Atheism and Religion, Blogging Jewish Law, Blogging the Bible, Feminism and LGBT
You may have seen the news about Yishai Schlissel: he stabbed marchers during Jerusalem’s LGBT parade in 2005, served 10 years and did it again as soon as he got out. He stabbed six people at last week’s parade including 16yo Shira Banki who died of her wounds. This...
by Carl Howard | Jul 29, 2014 | Atheism and Religion, Blog Topics, Blogging Jewish Law
I have five today. The first 2 are the “normal” kind: ones held by those who just don’t know much about Judaism. But the last 3 are a kind I find a lot more annoying. These are misconceptions commonly held by Jews (especially of liberal/Reform/feel-good persuasions)....
by Carl Howard | Jan 6, 2014 | Atheism and Religion, Blogging Jewish Law, Feminism and LGBT
A story broke a few weeks ago about some rabbis in New York using violence to obtain Jewish bills of divorce. If you haven’t seen it, here are some excerpts from this story: Orthodox women who are unable to obtain a get from their estranged husbands cannot remarry in...
by Carl Howard | Oct 16, 2012 | Atheism and Religion, Atrocities and Oppression, Blog Topics, Blogging Jewish Law
I was recently at a Jewish funeral prayer service for a friend’s grandfather. I often heard as part of my Jewish education that Judaism’s approach to mourning is very effective to help the grieving process despite (or because of) being counterintuitive. I’m not sure...
by Carl Howard | Feb 28, 2011 | Atheism and Religion, Blog Topics, Blogging Jewish Law
Final part of the series, previous parts here and here. Area: Non-observance Torah Problem: There are a large number of transgressions for which a Jew is to be excluded from the Jewish community. This could be problematic since it’s very divisive and there are so many...
