But we don’t as easily tune into our other ways of remembering. You see we are still riding the wake of the Shoah. We are still in the water, bobbing up and down.
Read moreBlessings and Bugs
It's funny how on a planet of 9 million species, we can so readily think of ourselves, and no other creatures, as the ones. As the Earthlings. Imagine how insulted we'd be if aliens finally landed and, calling out, "Hello Earthlings," they breezed right past us to speak with a rosebush.
Read moreThe New Year and the Doorposts of Freedom
The ways in which we are enslaved, each of us, are often invisible to us. Our narrow-mindedness about who knows what, our blindspots - whether they are political, personal, religious, familial - these are so commonplace to us that we sometimes don't see them.
Read moreVayikr(a) - Where Moses and Esther Meet
Vayikra, at the top of Leviticus, takes place during the Wandering in the Desert. It introduces us to the system of sacrifices. The Book of Esther is as different as can be. It combines hints of Scheherazade with elements of suspense thriller. These texts don't seem to speak to each other at all. But each of them has a famous quirk. And their quirks are oddly in dialogue.
Read moreTrump & Shamelessness, Muslims & Complexity, and Don't Forget Love
American Muslims are now experiencing public questions about their loyalties, verbal harassment, threats of vandalism and violence, and proposals of special legislation directed at them. If this reminds you of the situation of Jews in 1930s Germany, it should. And if so, it then becomes our job, our duty as Jews, to intervene - to do now what we wish people had done then. To give our best and our holiest gifts to this task.
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