Miriam's Farewell/Photo of Moses' Rock #459
07/15/2016 04:24:32 PM
Wadi Musa, Jordan, July 2011
("Moses' rock," upper right)
Miriam's Farewell
It is perhaps telling of the way the Jewish narrative was assembled that Miriam dies in this week's Torah...Read more...
What Gossip Says About Us #457
07/12/2016 07:24:14 PM
There is a reason, say our Sages, why human beings are so skilled at spreading gossip. It is because we perceive our worst characteristics in the behavior of others.
The great anti-gossip rabbi, the Chofetz Chaim (1839-1933), said that our inclination to speak ill of others is often rooted in frustrations within our own lives.
If you are like most people, part...Read more...
Values Above Rules #456
07/12/2016 07:22:57 PM
Today's Torah: More values, less rules
Do you ever wonder how the history of the Jewish people, or of humanity, will unfold after we're gone?
Will we as a people survive? How will humanity resolve the clashes between its major religions? Where will the technological revolution end?
What awaits us?
Our greatest...Read more...
Ten New Jewish Commandments #455
07/12/2016 07:22:09 PM
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has entered my office and, within minutes, has declared:
Rabbi, I am a bad Jew.
I hate hearing that. It reveals how many Jews have been conditioned believe that the quality of their Judaism is determined entirely by the minutiae of our tradition. What they eat. Whether or not they read Hebrew. Whether or not they take care...Read more...
Judaism, Hunger and the Homeless #454
07/12/2016 07:21:14 PM
There is a line in the traditional "Grace After Meals" prayer which in recent years has been deleted by many Conservative and Reform congregations.
It is found in the Psalms, and it reads:
"I was once young, now I am old. I have never seen a righteous man abandoned, or his children forced to search for food." (Psalms 37:25)
It's an interesting verse. It teaches that a righteous human being will always be welcome at someone's table, and that his or her children will not go hungry in difficult times.
Read more...
Tzedakah Before We Are Asked #453
07/12/2016 07:20:05 PM
Paying Tzedakah Forward
There is a story told in our tradition of a young man whose father suddenly passed away leaving him, at the age of twenty, as the family's sole breadwinner.
His father was a mohel -- one who performs ritual circumcision -- and he had taught that skill to his son. But as with any sensitive profession, it was initially difficult for...Read more...
The Torah of Disobedience #452
07/12/2016 07:19:19 PM
Jews with Disabilities: Reassessing the Torah
Are there times when it makes sense for Jews to disobey the Torah? Many scholars throughout our tradition have concluded that there are.
Jews are often referred to as the People of the Book, but really, that label is incorrect. More accurately, we're the People of Interpretation and Change.
Unlike many of our Christian counterparts, many Jews have trouble citing specific Torah passages based on chapter and verse. We are instead a religion of debate and dialogue, using the Torah as a springboard for discussion. Read more...
The Torah in a Tweet #451
07/12/2016 07:18:26 PM
If you were to cite one Biblical passage as the most important in our entire tradition, what would it be?
Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one? (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Maybe.
It may also be "Share your food with the hungry and take the wretched poor into your home and -- when you see the naked, clothe them." (Isaiah 58:7)
Read more...
Where and What is Fort McMurray #450
07/12/2016 07:17:35 PM
About ten years ago, while visiting my parents' Orthodox synagogue in Toronto, I was asked by the rabbi to speak one Shabbat afternoon about being Jewish in the small city of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
I had just published a book about the history of this unique city, located about six hundred miles north of the Montana border.
But Rabbi Raphael Marcus had one challenge to...Read more...
The Chametz of Technology #449
07/12/2016 07:16:33 PM
There is an ad currently airing on national television, which depicts a number of subjects around a table recoiling in pain and horror.
Did these people suffer some severe physical injury? Did they experience some profound emotional loss?
In this ad, sponsored by General Motors, the cell phone of each subject is confiscated, apparently obliterated.
Read more...
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