Does the noun “Jew” refer to a religion or to an ethnicity? Rabbi Ethan Tucker discusses how the rise of Alexander the Great enabled the decoupling of ethnicity from religion, arguing that it was this historical moment that plunged the Jewish community into a centuries-long identity crisis. Tracing attitudes about Judaism as a religion and an ethnicity from Torah though medieval Jewish thought, Rabbi Tucker provides an historical examination of Jewish identity as a religion and an ethnicity.
How often are we conscious of our group identification as Jews? How can we use it to create real unity and work toward shared goals together? David Bratslavsky answers these questioning by exploring concrete ways to cultivate unity and peoplehood, laying out examples of successes from all areas of Jewish life and detailing the benefits of bridging the gaps that divide us.
What can disruptive innovation in a technological market offer Jewish life? Using the history of digital photography as an example, Daniel Libenson explores how the disruption of technological innovation created new approaches to photography ultimately replacing older approaches that had become stagnant. Libenson suggests that encouraging and investing in disruptive innovation in the Jewish world can change the vision of leadership in our communities and create a more dynamic, vibrant Jewish life.