How can an omnipotent and loving God permit so much suffering in the world? And, What are the Jewish views of the afterlife? Since beginning rabbinical school, those are the two questions people most frequently ask me. The latter question is fairly straightforward to answer (Which millennium and which Jews?) but the former is a [...]
Archive for the ‘Jewish’ Category
Parshat Veira: What does it mean to begin the Exodus in a world without Torah authority?
Posted in Jewish, Parshat Veira, tagged Exodus story, Israeli poet, Parshat veira, Revelation at sinai, Rivka miriam on January 4, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Today I noticed an interesting synchronicity. The Torah portion we read during the first week of the new year (Veira) is the portion that begins the three-part chronicle of the Exodus. In it, God instructs Moses to demand that Pharaoh let the people go, and the first of the 10 plagues are reined down on [...]
Was Rome really the foundation of “traditional” Judaism?
Posted in Jewish, tagged Evolution of judaism, Rabbinic judaism, Rome invasion, Second temple, Talmud on January 3, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Imagine if what we had been taught in religious school is that many of the fundamental elements we consider “Jewish” are actually attributable to the Romans. How would that affect what we call “traditional Judaism”? How would that shape our thinking of what defines Reform Judaism versus Orthodox or “traditional” Judaism? What elements am I [...]
Parshat Vayera: Tethered to an inept husband, Lot’s wife showed courage by looking back
Posted in Jewish, Parshat vayera, tagged Lot's wife, Parshat vayera, Pillar of salt on October 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying, ‘Up, take your wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the iniquity of the city.’ Still he delayed. So the angels seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two daughters – in God’s mercy – and [...]
Israel’s Masada: Scholars untease the myth from the history
Posted in Jewish, tagged Masada history on July 18, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The topic of “Israel” tends to be a standard part of supplementary Hebrew school programs in the 3rd or 4th grade. I taught this topic a good six or seven years in Denver, and tended to approach the subject from a mishmash of angles: some history, some geography, some contemporary life, some politics. Most of [...]
Remembering Yiddish poet Kadya Molodowsky, author of ‘God of Mercy’
Posted in Jewish, writers, tagged Kadya molodowsky, Yiddish literature, Yiddish poetry on June 13, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Her writings reflect a deep awareness and compassion for the poverty she witnessed among immigrant Jews in New York.
Rabbinic vs. Early Christian views on God: Was God really so grumpy?
Posted in Jewish, tagged Christian scholarship, Christian views on god, Jewish scholarship, Jewish views on god on April 26, 2010 | 2 Comments »
Jews and early Christians, living in the shadow of the lost Temple, both began to develop a conception of a more compassionate, caring, slow-to-anger God than the texts of their inherited tradition. The idea that God maybe wasn’t so angry after all was not an evolution unique to Christianity. It was a fundamental idea of rabbinic Judaism too, which we are an outgrowth of today.
How could the Bible command pilgrims to bring an Omer of barley to the Temple, if barley is one of the 5 forbidden grains on Pesach?
Posted in Jewish, tagged Historical passover, Passover dietary laws, Passover in the bible on April 13, 2010 | 3 Comments »
The command to bring an Omer of barley to the Temple on Pesach doesn’t violate Pesach rules because the Torah never defines barley as a forbidden Pesach grain!
The Scroll of Esther and Hag Purim: Disturbing history or dramatic literature?
Posted in Jewish, tagged History of purim, Scroll of esther on February 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
More than a few passages in the scroll of Esther are morally troubling — but the good news is, the story is more fiction than fact.
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About the Author
I am a writer, editor, rabbinical student, mother and scuba diver (not necessarily in that order). My latest project is a narrative nonfiction book called Chasing Cupid: Tales of Dating Disaster in Jewish Suburbia, about my 15+ years of dating.
