As I write this, it is May 26 and I am, it seems, still married in the State of California, a member of one of 18,000 clever, or lucky, or merely bewildered same-sex couples. This is a fascinating turn of events, in which an important civil right (marriage), once inconceivable, became conceivable, then statutorily withheld, then constitutionally interpreted into reality, then snuffed out again by vote of a simple majority.
Read moreParashat Kedoshim: The Mirror
Maybe holiness is merely an embodiment of the kindnesses and justice that these laws set in motion. And maybe that is what God is – the sum total of kindness and justice unleashed upon a world that doesn’t clearly require it for survival.
Read moreParashat Tzav: Peace Porridge
So these are the Peace - or Wholeness - Offerings. Or as a recipe, this might be called the Peace Porridge. Torah then gives ingredients. Three types of offerings that fall into the Peace offering rubric. They are: neder, nedavah, and todah.
Read moreMishpatim 5769: Saving Your Enemy’s Sorry Ass and Other Gateways to the Divine
Our Jewish relationship with law is complex. Many of the laws in our Torah are designed for a people living autonomously in ancient times and therefore have, for most of the time they’ve existed, been inapplicable or impracticable or preempted by the laws of whatever country we’re living in. And yet we still accord them an odd place of honor in our spiritual life. We walk around judging ourselves to be “bad Jews” when we don’t follow some Jewish law that we’re still somehow conversant in. What is it that makes us feel a little something extra about this body of law?
Read moreVayigash 5769 - The Lion and the Bull
The curtain rises and Judah, who has become the brothers' chief and spokesmodel, approaches Joseph and delivers an impassioned speech, worthy of any fine orator or propagandist. Our father is old. He will die if we return to him without Benjamin. Benjamin’s brother is also dead. How much sorrow can we heap on a white-haired old man?
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