THAT’S THE TITLE OF A provocative but understated op-ed today on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency website, and it’s a point of view with which I find myself agreeing: that if one sees Judaism as only an excuse for right action,…
Category: Torah
The Text(s), the tribe, the learning, the being. (With a bit of random spirituality mixed in.)
Slake The Bitterness
FOR MY NEXT TRICK, I will attempt to adapt 1st-century Judaism for 21st-century Americans. Yesterday, the 17th of Tammuz, marked the 1,941st anniversary of the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls by the Romans (and the 2,597th anniversary of the same action…
“Judaism As Art”
or, There and Back Again Without Leaving (BECAUSE OF WORDPRESS, I’M REPUBLISHING this 2002 piece — it works better as a “post” than as a “page” — and although my kippa-wearing has become a bit less pronounced of late it…
5 Thoughts: How To Lead Services
0. THE FOLLOWING MAY BE PARTICULAR to Jewish worship services, which are the only sort I’ve led (not counting five weddings and various improvised blessings/moment-summonings). But I’ve tried to adapt the advice for anyone whose worship tradition includes structure and…
Torah Study: Spelling It Out In Balak And White
(I’m leading services today, but here’s the dvar Torah I’m delivering this morning (and posted yesterday).) THERE’S AN OLD SAYING: “IF you don’t look closely at every detail, you miss most of the jokes.” Although there are few obvious jokes…
Aside
OUR WEEKLY TORAH STUDY SHIFTS this week, as I am honored and privileged to lead Shabbat services tomorrow morning (Sat., 7/9/11) at Sonoma’s Congregation Shir Shalom. We will begin by looking at one of the Book of Numbers’ most action-packed portions: the tale of Bilaam the Evil Wizard. (Just typing “Evil Wizard” is a thrill; but then, I’m easily amused.) If you’re not otherwise on a vacationary road trip, we hope to see you there!
Shabbat shalom,
Neal.
I Am a Religious Man Unthreatened By Science, Secularity And Reason
I Am a Religious Man Unthreatened By Science, Secularity And Reason • 2011.06.09 • 400 words (IN FACT, THE WHOLE “REASON” I “am” “religious” in the first place is only due to a direct perception [some might say delusion] that…
Reb Nachum to SF: Keep Your Laws Off My People’s Body
THERE’S A PLACE — CHELM IS its name — where all the inhabitants are so open-minded that they tolerate any behavior whatsoever from anyone they deem open-minded as themselves. It’s a nice place to visit, but I hope never to…
Hasidic Zen Riddle
Q: WHAT’S BEYOND GOD? A: More God.
Knubel Borscht: Adapting Memory
TUCKED INTO MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER’S BIBLE is a yellowed sheet of paper containing the flavor of living tradition. In short, it’s my mom’s recipe for knubel borscht (pronounced “k’nubble”): beef simmered in beet soup and garlic. That’s it: three ingredients, plus…
Automatic Enlightenment
SET YOUR THOUGHT ON THIS: “I am not this thought.” Full disclosure: I awoke from a thundering dream last night which seemed to involve everyone I ever met and everywhere I’ve ever been, but set mostly between the Renaissance Pleasure…
Mission
THE WORLD IS FULL OF angry people. Today’s task: Do not become one of them. (And yes, it’s easier said than done. So?)