Tuesday, January 19, 2010

New Site: Jewish Ideas Daily

I highly recommend http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/. Independent, comprehensive and provocative, the site advertises itself as "the premier aggregator and originator of Jewish ideas on the web...a one-stop source of opinion and insight, of deliberation and analysis, of reflection, discovery, stimulation, and delight: the best that has been thought and said by or about Jews."

This site gets beyond the basics, which are covered well by such portals as the Jewish Virtual Library and My Jewish Learning. Like the stimulating Tablet and more edgy Zeek, both of which have more original content, Jewish Ideas Daily combs the Internet for essays that revolve around specific themes covering the gamut of Jewish life. But unlike those other sites, this one doesn't always aim to be topical, and the source material spans the entirety of Jewish history. So a section on the popularity of Kashrut includes an article from last week's New York Times alongside a chapter of Maimonides' 12th century classic, "Guide to the Perplexed," which can also now be found online.

Interested in the history of Hava Nagila? Well search no more! It's all here, including links to Iranian, German and Texas style renditions.

Want to see a variety of contemporary sources discussing Jewish prayer? Here's a list they collected:

How We Pray Amy Scheinerman, Louis Rieser, NuViewTalmud. The Song at the Sea: litany, repetition, antiphonal chanting, or individual prayer?

The Sacks Siddur Elli Fischer, Seforim. An elegant and handsome challenge to the regnant bilingual prayer book in the Orthodox world.

The Siddur Reconfigured Andrew Sacks, Masorti Matters. A new Hebrew prayer book,
proudly introduced by a leader of the movement that sponsored it.

Taking Prayer into Their Own Hands Steve Lipman, Jewish Week. Several new siddurim are
taking shape through the Internet; is this good for the Jews?

Jewish Soul Music Basmat Hazan Arnoff, Zeek. Medieval piyyut finds surprising new audiences.

Check out this site - and sign up for their daily dose of Jewish ideas.

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