Rabbi Michael Leo SamuelChildren have an unusual ability when it comes to confronting our spiritual hypocrisy as parents and as adults; very often they get to the essence of the problem as they perceive things. Frequently, as parents we often fail to hear the questions our young people ask of us; often we overreact whenever we feel that our beliefs and values are being questioned or attacked.
Rather than listening with an inner ear, as parents, we often react with harshness and anger. Sometimes ...
Learn More ShareIn the last two centuries, we have witnessed the rise of many new theories concerning the origins of religion which continue the debate started by the ancients. There seems to be little agreement among scholars as to how or why religions first originated.
Herbert Spencer identified the origin of religion in what he perceives to be the universal practice among primitive peoples of worshiping the ghosts of their ancestors. He then goes on to trace the further evolution of religious consciousness ...
Learn More ShareThe origin of idolatry is a fascinating study in and of itself. Maimonides traced the origin of idolatry to the pre-Diluvial era of Enosh. Maimonides writes:
During the days of Enosh, humankind made a serious mistake, and the wise men of that generation gave foolish advise. Enosh himself was one of those who erred. Here is what developed: They said for as much that God created the stars and the celestial planets with which to control the world. He placed them ...
Learn More ShareThe “Jim Crow Laws” remind us of one of the most shameful chapters of American history, a time when many Southern states enacted laws designed to keep Afro-Americans from enjoying the same civil liberties and rights that blacks enjoyed in the Northern states.
Intimidation tactics were routinely carried out for several decades until the last of the Jim Crow laws were banned once and for all by 1971, In 1971, the Supreme Court, in Swann v. ...
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Guarding Our Humanity-Even In a Time of War
In his classical work on masculine spirituality, Iron John, Robert Bly notes how our contemporary society no longer provides the necessary rituals to help reintegrate warriors after a war. Unlike the ancient societies, which presented a series of complex rituals to help their soldiers make a transition to their former lives, today’s warriors have no means of making such a psychological transition to a normal life.[1]
In some cultures, a group of women would bare their breasts at the soldier to ...
Learn More ShareCategories: American Jewish Issues, Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, Current Events, ethics, good and evil, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, Political Commentaries, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy
Tags: holding on to one's soul at a time of war