Jews in Bukhara

Alanna E. Cooper, an anthropologist and a Jewish cultural historian, began her research on an old Central Asian Jewish community because of a small and curious dictionary:  I don’t remember the name of the man who sold the dictionary to me. He was one of the many people I met in the 1990s who was […]

Circumcision and Human Rights

For both Jews and Muslims, circumcision is a religious and cultural practice. Within the last few weeks, Germany outlawed the practice of male circumcision for any but the strictest medical reasons. An atypical alliance of Jews and Muslims successfully challenged the German court's ruling and Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised to make religious circumcision practices […]

Images and video clips from the religious ritual at MetLife Stadium

Kieran Kesner, a photographer, attended the Jewish ritual at the MetLife Stadium. You can view his beautiful images and video clips at AMAGANSETT. I had never heard of Siyum HaShas. After a 6 hour drive on the morning of from Boston to NJ, I found myself immersed in the collective gathering of nearly 100,000 Jews. […]

Solidarity and Redemption at MetLife Stadium

Dr. David J. Landes is an anthropologist studying Orthodox Jewish culture. Last Wednesday David joined 90,000 orthodox Jews in a spectacular religious ritual at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. He shared his fascinating field notes with The Talmud Blog: Over the past several decades a new ritual has taken hold within the Orthodox community, […]