Gil Read from the Torah in public today for the first time in well over fifteen years. Was nervous as hell but made it through ok. I’m going to have to do it a lot more frequently if I want to be a rabbi. #facts Here’s to taking baby steps out of the comfort zone!
A Jewish person is employed as a linecook in a restaurant and cooks an omelette on Shabbath for a customer. Can any leftovers from the omelette (let’s say they made a double portion accidentally) be eaten by other people after Shabbath? Is any food that cook makes afterwards categorically prohibited? Even when the cook is … Read more
Coda: And if you think that I – a pro-annexation, settlement-loving, (formerly) Gaza war-supporting, religious Zionist advocate for a halakhic state and critic of Islamic imperialism in Israel – am a Leftist, then you clearly don’t understand the concept of complexity. In a world of dichotomous fundamentalism, be complex.
Evening Musing: My haters among the fans of a certain student of R José Faur, z”l, amuse me. Strangers personally insulting me on the internet will always amuse me. A sense of irony is a benefit of perspective, gained from experience. A sense of humor is a sign of a well-adjusted personality. There is irony … Read more
Morning Musing: Rambam in his introduction to his comprehensive compendium of Jewish law declares that Jewish law is based on the rulings found in the classical sources up until the closing of the Talmud. After that, all opinions are equal and we go with the most reasonable opinion; all new enactments are local and we … Read more
Can you hold a broken creation in your embrace and love it until it heals? By my life, this is the Way
The moon calls Hanging heavy above amber city lights Shadow over crescent A stroke of Jerusalem stone Shining warmly through the frigid air We all point to the moon Towers rising and reaching up but never Touching We dance together Earth shadow and moon light We spin together Across the stars Your face turning up, … Read more
Since the politicians in the governing coalition are so concerned with reform, I think the rest of the Kenesset should propose a Religious Reform Bill (including common-sense updates to the Draft Law!) : 1) Cease bureaucratically empowering the Rabbanut in the areas of Jewish identity, family life, and diet; legally recognize Israeli citizens’ freedom of … Read more
The animalistic side of us – the homo sapiens, greatest of the primates, apex predator beyond match – gives us packs, herds, tribes. The angelic side of us – the rational mind, free to assent, a fractal image of the infinite mind of the Creator – gives us the species. In wedding angel to animal, … Read more
As I stood this morning, looking at the posters of hostages taped to the bus stop over a year into this miserable war with no rescue or exit in sight, I got so fed up with this criminally incompetent government of self-serving career politicians playing October 6th political games as usual while the country staggers … Read more