I’ve been thinking lately about Spider-Man. Apparently, given that Spider-Man: Brand New Day has made approximately a bajillion dollars at the box office, I’m not alone. And if you haven’t seen the new movie yet, don’t worry -- no spoilers. Everything I am about to say comes from its basic premise and the earlier films. Like so many Spider-Man stories before it, the new movie asks what responsibility comes with power. It is a question Tom Holland’s Peter Parker has been wrestling with from...

I’ve been thinking all week about a line from Christopher Nolan’s new adaptation of The Odyssey. I won’t worry too much about spoilers — the story has been around for nearly three thousand years. Near the end of the film, Odysseus finally makes it home to Ithaca after twenty years away. To say that the journey has not gone according to plan would be an understatement. The Trojan War took ten years, the trip home took another ten, and by the time Odysseus reaches Ithaca, he has lost every ship...

Earlier this month, I found myself in a sharp but respectful exchange with Rabbi David Ingber, a rabbi I admire. Rabbi Ingber, the founder of Romemu in New York City, had written an essay arguing that liberal rabbis are often quick to invoke the biblical prophets when criticizing Israel, Jewish institutions, or Jewish power, yet less willing to summon that same moral clarity when confronting Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, antisemitism, or the failures of our progressive allies. I resonated with some...