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The Sacrifice of Isaac: Why They Got it Wrong

So many great thinkers, painters, and artists, from Augustine to Kierkegaard, Rembrandt to Chagall, Bob Dylan to Leonard Cohen, have struggled to make sense of the “binding of Isaac” in Genesis 22 in the Old Testament. They all understand the words of God to Abraham as an absolute command that must be obeyed. As Dylan has God say to a reluctant Abraham in his song, “Highway 61,” “You can do what you want Abe, but the next time you see me coming, you better run.”

Timing Is Unfortunately Perfect

Libertary published its online edition of Roberta Kalechofsky's Vegetarian Judaism just as the nation was experiencing an outbreak of salmonella poisoning and the recall of hundreds of millions of tainted eggs from factory farms. The author warns about this sort of thing in her discussion of the horrors and health risks associated with agribusiness. Kalechofsky examines the conflict between consuming the products of factory farming and Jewish laws prohibiting animal suffering, environmental destruction, and waste.

Prohibition Chic

With its gangsters, carnage, and deco backdrops, Prohibition is an enduring popular culture theme. We've recently seen the publication of Daniel Okrent's Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, and a new HBO "epic drama," Boardwalk Empire, debuts in September. Ken Burns weighs in with a documentary, Prohibition, that will be broadcast on PBS stations in 2011.

The distance of some 90 years makes it seem like good fun.

Second Chances for Deserving Books

One of the things that Libertary has changed for me is the way I look at books on remainder tables. They used seem like the end of the line: victims of a brutal and rigged market, mistimed or otherwise unsuccessful marketing—and for the author, years of the most arduous work for little or no pay.