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When “Peace at any cost” becomes a prelude to mayhem

Aaron’s construction of the Golden Calf has always perplexed me. It seems as though Aaron gets away with a free pass, while everyone else who actually worships the calf is punished. Surely tradition teaches וְלִפְנֵי עִוֵּר לֹא תִתֵּן מִכְשֹׁל “do not place a stumbling block in front of a blind person” (Lev. 19:14). What greater stumbling block could one put, than to cause another to worship idols? Yet, Aaron gets off with hardly a reprimand. Asked in another way: How ...

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Categories: American Jewish Issues, Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, Current Events, ethics, good and evil, Holocaust Related Issues, Israel, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, Political Commentaries, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

“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

The Divine Indwelling of the Shekhinah

As I prepare myself for Shabbat, I enjoy using the time to commune with God. Usually, I imagine myself as a being surrounded by God’s light, the mystical light called, “Shekhinah,” “The Indwelling One.” Prayer is all about transparency; it is about being honest with one’s own soul and with God. Prayer is not so much about “speaking to God,” it is more about listening to God. In the silence of our being-the Shekhinah dwells and speaks. I often like ...

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Categories: biblical theology, ethics, good and evil, Hassidic Theology, Heart-Centered Judaism, Jewish symbolism, Judaism and Feminism, The Future of Judaism, Theology and Philosophy

The Haman Archetype Lives On

The joke is as old as the hills.

A Chinese man and his Jewish friend were walking along one day when the Jewish man whirled and slugged the Chinese man and knocked him down. “What was that for?” the Chinese man asked. “That was for Pearl Harbor!” the Jewish man said. “Pearl Harbor? That was the Japanese. I’m Chinese.” “Chinese, Japanese, you are all the same!” “Oh!” They continued walking and after a while the Chinese man whirled and knocked the ...

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Categories: Anti-Semitism, Bible, biblical history, biblical theology, Contrarian wisdom, Current Events, ethics, good and evil, Holidays, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Jewish and Jungian ideas, Jewish customs, Jewish History, Jewish symbolism, Political Commentaries, The Future of Judaism

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

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