Our Vision
Each month, Sh’ma creates a “
conversation-in-print” — that is, it brings together an array
of voices that cross the spectrum of Judaism:
secular and religious, communal and nonpartisan, engaged and dispassionately scholarly.
We raise relevant questions thoughtfully and
wrestle lovingly with Jewish concerns as we
attempt to navigate the intellectual, communal, and spiritual challenges of contemporary
Judaism. Our focus is on ideas — their complexity, their range, and their power. Sh’ma is
a vibrant intellectual arena that hosts intelligent and creative conversations about ideas
that reside outside of any particular institution. Our readers open Sh’ma to find what
they cannot find elsewhere — concise, accessible, informative, and intelligent discussion
of Jewish issues. Sometimes focusing on personal belief, other times on communal policy
issues, we look to Sh’ma for incisive articles
that illuminate a range of opinions.
Sh’ma — An independent “think
tank” of diverse ideas and conversations
published online and in print to incubate
issues of significance to the Jewish community conversation.
Who are Sh’ma Readers?
“They are deeply committed to Jewish tradition and Jewish continuity; spiritually curious
and at times adventurous; at home, at least to
some extent, with the world of Jewish texts
and the texture of Jewish rituals; appreciative
of the many genuine intellectual, ethical, and
political benefits of secular modernity though
not unaware of its fraught relationship with
Jewish life; people for whom their Jewish
identity is a vital component in an ongoing
process of self-creation and expression by the
light of their understanding of morals, community, and spirituality, a process they share
with other families of humanity, and with concerned individuals everywhere.”
Yehudah Mirsky, Fellow at the The Jewish
People Policy Planning Institute
Are You One of Our Readers?
Join a growing number of informed Jews —
rabbis, philanthropists, federation directors,
educators, lay leaders, students — who read
Sh’ma each month to view the world through
a Jewish lens that is inclusive, expansive, and
thought-provoking.
Subscribe online at shma.com
Coming December 2009
The Law of the Land
■ Shira Nadich Levin explains halakhah and
the law of the land
■ Michael J. Broyde on the history of dina
malchuta dina
■ Benjamin Gluck on defending Haredim
■ David Zwiebel on traducing civil norms
■ Matthias Lehmann on memory and 1492
■ Gary Rosenblatt reflects on Madoff —
a year later
■ Aryeh Cohen, Michal Govrin, & Arnold Band
on S.Y. Agnon’s “Yesterday”
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“Sh’ma has created a forum in print for the most
intellectually provocative issues before our Jewish
community. It attracts the leading thinkers both as
writers and readers.”
—Barry Shrage, President of the
Combined Jewish Philanthropies,
Boston
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