Forward.com

Water Is More Than Just A Liquid AssetThe opening line of Psalm 24 — “The Earth is the Lord’s, and all of its fruits” — is considered by many to express the cornerstone economic principle of Judaism. It’s a principle that our biblical ancestors learned the hard way: According to one Hasidic teaching, Jews endured centuries of slavery in Egypt in order to learn that wealth comes from God, not from the Nile River.…Read more

The Wicked Witch and the Straw ManThe world of Jewish identity is a buyer’s market. Those of us who “do Jewish” for a living or as an avocation (rabbis, writers, editors, artists, organizational pros, philanthropists) know that half our audience is only half-interested, while the rest have a fortune’s worth of Jewish resources from which to choose. We try to cajole their attention with nostalgia and humor, intellectual acuity, spiritual fervor, ethical teachings, political activism, personal charisma, free trips to Israel, nimble variations on Kabbalah.……Read more

Once-feuding Blood Relatives, United in a Marriage of IdealsMy grandmother Bessie was a Jewish communist. She read the Morning Freiheit from the day it was launched in 1922, and she held its long-time editor, Paul (Peysakh) Novick, in the kind of high regard that hasidim reserve for their rebbe. When the Freiheit folded in 1988, I offered my 94-year-old bubbe a subscription to the Forverts so she might…Read more

‘Green’ Nuclear Energy, in Black and WhiteAs the Senate debates its bipartisan energy bill, it is obvious that nuclear power is slated to make a comeback in America. The bill includes an extension to 2025 of the Price Anderson liability protection law, which caps the damages for which the nuclear industry can be held liable in the event of a catastrophe such as a core meltdown.This is the…Read more