Hypothetically speaking, if I work for one online Jewish publication, is it lame to put up back-to-back posts on said publication’s blog directing readers to the contents of a different online Jewish publication? Whatever, you’ll thank me for this.

I’ve spent a lot of time today lurking around Nextbook, as I’m currently working on a piece which will most likely grace our electronic pages next week about the discontinuing of their Seattle Public Programs series. This is really too bad because in the last five years Nextbook has brought more than 80 Jewish writers to Seattle (some of whom we have written about here, here and here) and was generally responsible for raising the level of cultural and literary discourse in our fair city.

Anyway, in the course of my lurking (a.k.a, “research”), I’ve also been perusing the magazine side of the site and renewing my appreciation for the high quality and creativity of work that they run. New today is a video called “Bound for Glory” featuring the voice of Jonathan Katz. I am amused.

Jonathan Katz in his earlier, non-biblical role

Last week, Nextbook posted a fascinating podcast on a synagogue unearthed in the basement of a historic prison in Philadelphia and a look into the lives of the prisoners who worshiped there. I realize this would have been more relevant info last week when Jewish prisoners were our topic du jour (er…du semaine), but I only just got around to listening to it this morning. Better late than never.

The synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary.

My brother, Brian, is about to start as the Assistant Rabbi at a congregation outside of Chicago.  After a year in Israel, four more in Cincinnati, and a countless trips to his student pulpit in Joplin, MO, he’s a real, live Man of G-d.

The night before the ordination ceremony, my family hosted a dinner to celebrate.  As more and more people gave their honorary toasts, a common theme began to develop: everyone was surprised that Brian had chosen this career path.  And no one was more surprised than me.

I grew up in the same house that he did, and I don’t know where his devotion to Judaism came from.  Sure, we went to synagogue on the high holidays, but honestly, I remember our most “Jewish” moment as saying the “Hamotzi” (sp?) over Domino’s Pizza on Friday night.

However it happened, I’m extremely proud of him.  He’s a genius, and I know he’ll do an outstanding job. 

And because he’s a much better writer than me, I look forward to actually staying in my seat during the sermon.

Observant readers may have noticed that our usual selection of features, arts news, politics and whatever else we usually write about have been replaced this week with three short stories.

Well, if the New Yorker can do a summer fiction issue, why can’t we?

Obviously, these pieces represent just a tiny fraction of the creative works being written by and about Seattle Jews. For example, last month saw the release of the second volume of Drash, a compilation of stories, poetry, photos and essays about the Jewish experience.

Also, every month, young Jews of the creative persuasion gather at the Ravenna Kibbutz for their open-mic style “Coffeehouse” to read poetry and fiction and perform songs about love, loss and bodily fluids.

And there are probably other places around the sound where Jews are pooling their collective literary talents. If you’re aware of any, please feel free to share.

After perusing this week’s offerings, you might also want to check out the archives of Jew-ish.com’s poetry and prose section where you’ll find tales of seaside love, an adolescent obsession with Cat Stevens, and fever induced hallucinations of biblical proportion (and much, much more).

Oh and if you personally happen to be moved by the literary spirit, by all means, send in your poetry, fiction, personal essays, one act plays, etc., etc. And maybe they’ll end up here.

USA Today (I know, I know, but I’m staying at a hotel…it was waiting for me at my door) had an article this morning on people picking and choosing their faiths.

Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat beliefs they like and often leave the veggies — like strict doctrines — behind.

It might explain the popularity of things like Rock Shabbats or, um,  Jars of Clay. But it’s more interesting than that really. Contrary to popular belief, many people in this country are actually thinking about what their beliefs are, what God (if there is a God) means to them, and what doctrines, systems and teachings they like best. The survey, incidentally, came from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, which corresponded with 35,000 Americans.

The survey finds U.S. adults believe overwhelmingly (92%) in God, and 58% say they pray at least once a day. But the study’s authors say there’s a “stunning” lack of alignment between people’s beliefs or practices and their professed faiths.

Of the statistics they listed, this one stood out to me:

• 44% want to preserve their religion’s traditional beliefs and practices. But most Catholics (67%), Jews (65%), mainline Christians (56%) and Muslims (51%) say their religion should either “adjust to new circumstances” or “adopt modern beliefs and practices.”
...
• 50% say “homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society,” but the most consistently traditional religious groups say society should discourage it — 76% of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 68% of Mormons, 61% of Muslims and 64% of evangelicals.

• 51% have a certain belief in a personal God, but 27% are less certain of this, 14% call God “an impersonal force,” and 5% reject any kind of God. “People say ‘God,’ and no one knows who they mean,” says {Barry] Kosmin, director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

And as far as the young people are concerned, the worryers in the established Jewish community (among others) about Jewish continuity, intermarriage, etc. have some reason to worry:

Adults under 30 are further from strict religious adherence than their parents. Although other studies show they cycle back to religion at key moments such as marriage or rearing children, those spirals are getting smaller and smaller, says Tom Smith, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the University of Chicago, which has measured religion and society for decades through the General Social Survey.

Finally, there’s one powerful person the article suggests is most responsible for setting this country’s religious agenda. It’s not a religious leader, not a political leader. Wanna hazard a guess? That’s right. It’s Oprah.

“The impact of Oprah is seen throughout this survey. She uses the language of Bible and Christian traditions and yet includes other traditions to create a hodgepodge personalized faith. Exclusivism (one religion has the absolute and exclusive truth) has gotten a bad name in America today,” says Rice University sociologist Michael Lindsay.

Carrots, anyone?