Ahead of Pesach (Passover), David discusses how the seder ritual has been diluted by other popular causes and the need to keep it focussed on its original purpose. [Times of Israel]
David reflects on the attitudes of second generation Holocaust survivors to individual Germans and the German people [featured post on Times of Israel].
In a satirical interview, David examines the factionalism within Jewish people. [Times of Israel].
The topic of next generation Jewish engagement continues to raise its head, following the important report last year arising from the Gen08 community survey, which gave some clear indications of some of the drivers of Jewish identity and continuity. The report pointed out that “the current mix of institutions will not satisfy future needs”. Elsewhere in the world, a rising generation of young adults are reshaping old ideas and building new institutions in the Jewish…
In organizational culture, stories have a very strong influence in building or maintaining the culture, particularly as they use informal settings to convey a message. This is particularly so for religions, where symbolism features most highly as a device that frames the organization. Judaism is rich with stories that carry moral lessons. These range from biblical stories to the huge volume of aggadeta – portions of the Talmud that do not pertain to Jewish law. Slightly closer…