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“Purim Torah” or Purim Synchronicity?

Purim Torah is a remarkable genre of Jewish literature. It is rabbinic satire at its best that centers around the festivities of Purim. Those individuals writing Purim Torah display remarkable wit in weaving Talmudic logic in fabricating conclusions that border the absurd and sublime.

Earlier this week, I received a delightful section of a fabricated Talmud-replete with all the Aramaic expressions one would expect to find in a Talmudic debate. The selection contains a discussion involving President ...

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Categories: American Jewish Issues, Anti-Semitism, Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, ethics, good and evil, Holidays, Holocaust Related Issues, Israel, Jewish and Jungian ideas, Jewish customs, Jewish Folklore, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Purim Memories and Reflections

Purim is here once more. For me it is a bitter-sweet holiday.

The year was 1996. Earlier that day, I went to the hospital to wish my father a “Freilach Purim” (Happy Purim). I was reading the Megillah for my synagogue, when suddenly, somebody informed me,”Rabbi, your father just died.” Feeling stunned, I could not finish reading the Megillah.

Death is as mysterious as life; I believe we have to find meaning in the events that occur around us. Psychologist Victor Frankl ...

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Categories: American Jewish Issues, Anti-Semitism, Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, Current Events, ethics, good and evil, Heart-Centered Judaism, Holidays, Holocaust Related Issues, Israel, Jewish and Jungian ideas, Jewish Folklore, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, The Future of Judaism

From Skinhead to Haredi Jew: A Tale of Personal Transformation

In the previous posts, we touched upon the dynamics of the shadow archetype that hides the inner person that exists inside us. The key to a optimum psychological state of health requires that we get understand the hidden depths of our souls and psyches. Here is a remarkable story about coming to terms with one’s shadow, compliments of NY Times and the Failedmessiah-two excellent websites.

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From Skinhead to Orthodox Jew

Adam Lach for The New York Times

Pawel in the Warsaw ...

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Categories: Anti-Semitism, Bible, Contrarian wisdom, Conversion, Current Events, ethics, good and evil, Heart-Centered Judaism, Holocaust Related Issues, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Jewish and Jungian ideas, Jewish Folklore, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, Stories for the Searching Heart, Theology and Philosophy

Life is a Series of Rebirths

As I have written on other occasions, life is a series of rebirths. What we start out in life is often different from what we ultimately become. Let me tell you a well-known story that illustrates this point about the life of Moses. The origin of this story is unknown, but I have seen it mentioned in many books containing medieval rabbinic tales about the famous personalities of the Bible.

Here is how it begins . . .

The whole world was ...

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Categories: Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, ethics, good and evil, Hassidic Theology, Heart-Centered Judaism, Jewish and Jungian ideas, Jewish Folklore, Jewish symbolism, Stories for the Searching Heart, Talmud, Zohar, and Midrash, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

Rabbi Yitzchak Batzri-The Telegenic Exorcist Extraordinaire

Most people usually associate exorcism with the rites seen in the Catholic Church, but how many people are aware that exorcism rites exist also in Jewish tradition? Well, recently in the news once again [1], a Rabbi Yitzchak Batzri, a telegenic exorcist extraordinaire, recently attempted to exorcize a “dybbuk” – an evil or morally demented spirit that has seized possession of a person. It is also known as “spirit possession.”

According to the news, a Brazilian man claimed that a dybbuk ...

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Categories: Contrarian wisdom, Current Events, ethics, good and evil, Hassidic Theology, Humor, Israel, Jewish customs, Jewish Folklore, Jewish History, Jewish Law & Technology, The Future of Judaism

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