I miss the Jewish Observer.
Years ago, when Jewish themed magazines were in short supply, there was an appreciation for the thoughtful articles and essays that arrived in the mail monthly. Sadly, this is no more.
While some of its writers have migrated to the internet and other printed media, it just is not the same. Some have labeled the cross-currents blog as a successor, but in no way does it rival the JO of yesteryear. Reading the JO gave one a sense of hashkafic security, as all the content was pre-approved by its Rabbinic board.
You would need to wait a full month to read the follow-up letters to the editor! Something unimaginable in our electronic media age.
If I recall correctly, Agudah has stated that the cost associated with producing the magazine led to its demise. My suggestion would then be to have the magazine produced digitally, then emailed as a PDF to the subscriber base.
Oh, those long Shabbes afternoons, with a stack of JO's...that was Gan Aden.
ReplyDeletehttp://rygb.blogspot.com/2010/01/why-ive-unsubscribed-from-areivim.html
ReplyDeleteI still have JO's going back to around 1980. The content is still pertinent. Either people or problems or both haven't changed over time!
ReplyDeleteYou don't appreciate SoMeThInG until you don't have it anymore. I believe the JO started publishing in the early 1960s.
ReplyDeleteYou too? I thought I was the only one with a stack that dates back to 1979
ReplyDeleteAlthough the JO started publishing when I was all of one year old, I am lucky enough (by virtue of being in the right place at the right time to gt all of Skokie Yeshiva's Library's discarded duplicates) to have an almost complete set back to 1963. The death of the JO is an indicator of the death of Idealism. ועל דא ודאי קבכינא
ReplyDeleteYGB, It is an honor to host your comment. Comment early and often! You can spend your new free time (ex areivimite) here or reading old issues of the JO. Maybe you can convince the Agudah to renew publication.
ReplyDeletePersonal request. I am interested in looking at an article published in JO by R. Reuven Feinstein on marriage/divorce and mentioned by Rav Rakeffet in a recent shiur. Could anyone provide a cite to the article? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBetter yet, maybe the good folks at hewbrewbooks.org can upload all the issues.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if the olam felt that in recent years the JO was as relevant and timely as in earlier years?
ReplyDeleteI think the JO was always timely. In the electronic media age, it is even more important to have your message disseminated. Agudah is stuck being that they have demonized the internet. That is why I suggested having the JO continue publishing, albeit without the cost of printing and distribution, by emailing a PDF of each issue to the subscribers.
ReplyDeleteThe digital age has enabled every Tom, Dick and Harry to maintain a blog.
Certainly an organization such as Agudah should maintain one.
It is difficult to answer whether the JO was different in it's later years. Namely, because in the early years I was reading it as a teenager, while in the latter years I read it as an adult with more scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Avrumi.
ReplyDelete