Word: notionalism
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From a Jewish perspective, one of the fundamental tenets of the lighting of the Hanukkah candles is the notion of Pirsum Ha’Nes, Hebrew for “publicizing the miracle”—the miracle of the restoration of the Temple lights that is central to the story of Hanukkah. The notion of furtively lighting one’s Hanukkah candles, crouching low to stay out of view, is a direct violation of the primary spirit of these laws. Lighting Hanukkah candles in common rooms out of concern for fire safety has nothing...
...from the perspective of a Harvard student, I find the notion of keeping these holiday observances strictly out of sight to be a disappointment. Harvard College is a close-knit and diverse residential community, which welcomes and supports all sorts of students. Harvard wisely does not refrain from engaging us on spiritual and religious terms when taking over significant portions of our personal lives—we eat Harvard food, sleep in Harvard beds and worship in Harvard churches, synagogues and mosques. As a Harvard student, I expect my University, which has taken over so much of my residential life...
...based rural economy in which virtuous women spun clothes and household linens while virtuous men tilled the soil. Each object—from an Indian basket dating from 1676 to an unfinished stocking of 1837—was specially chosen for its particular ability to flesh out the romanticized notion of “the age of homespun” that Horace Bushnell coined during the centennial celebration of Litchfield, Conn. in August...
...idea of fiddling with the Posse Comitatus Act worries civil libertarians. While F-16s patrolling over New York City and Washington may reassure some, the notion of soldiers in fatigues carrying M-16s at the Mall of America may not have the same effect. Tim Edgar, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, says soldiers shouldn't be used for police work because they are not trained for it: using overwhelming force to compel compliance by an enemy is different, he says, from the kind of negotiations engaged in regularly by most law-enforcement agencies. Military traditionalists have...
...family that is modern Japan, then, the birth of a baby princess on Saturday offers, at long last, a glimmer of hope, some feel-good news to lift the collective spirit and hold out the promise of a national rejuvenation. And maybe even boost the stock market. An absurd notion, sure, but there hasn't been much of anything to cheer about in Japan for, oh, the better part of a decade. "We've only had bad and bleak news these days," says Kaoru Yoshii, 28, who hurriedly logged on to her mobile-phone Internet service to read about...