Gil I am the most right-wing person I know. On some issues. I’m also the most left-wing person I know. On some issues. There are even some issues – a select few – on which I maintain a moderate or centrist position. The key isn’t just balance or thinking independently. It’s thinking past the divisions that … Read more
A prominent Palestinian activist referred to “nihilistic Jihadi ideology” and described it as “the worst motivational ethos in history.” I find that to be a bold claim. I’d like to know more about what he had in mind with that statement, but in the absence of further elaboration I’m left with its face value. What … Read more
Controversial opinion: None of the “tests” the Creator gave Abraham abinu were pass/fail. Including the last “test.” The directive given to him was phrased ambiguously, communicating only generally that he was to elevate his son as something wholly dedicated to the Creator. The purpose of the ambiguity was to allow an event to unfold that … Read more
There are very few true liberals or conservatives. There are mostly just anxious people on a poor information diet, trying to hold on to what they can in a world that is increasingly both complex and threatening. Just like most people before them.
Conserve. Remember the ancestors. Keep the customs. Follow the laws. Be grateful for what has worked so well for the past millenia. But Progress. Remember the dream of a better world. Keep the faith in unlimited human potential. Follow the pillar of fire through the barren wilderness. Evolve new ways of working for the millenia … Read more
Reminder to myself: Am I bound by the choices of any previous moment? The outcomes of my choices catch up with me and take their toll – but if I chose it yesterday, must I choose it again today? So I thought, said, and did it yesterday – who is demanding that I think, say, … Read more
Very few people know what evil looks like. They think evil comes with horns, tail, and pitchfork. Relatively few people choose evil because it is evil. Most people who choose evil, do so because they think evil is good. They also don’t know what good looks like. Lord have mercy.
My one problem Is that I am really two An enormously cunning animal bound tight by space and time A tiny reflection of the infinite mind unbound by any thing I’m sorry Did I say My problem What I meant was My gift
Assorted thoughts: 1) Abraham abinu and Sara immenu had to become immigrants before being brought into a covenant with the Creator. Moshe rabbenu had to become a foreigner in a foreign land before being sent as an emissary of the Creator. The children of Yisrael had to become (mistreated) immigrants and be given a Tora … Read more
Today’s reading from Yirmiyahu… Zion. Today’s recital from the psalms of Dawid…. Zion. Today’s selection from the Pele Yoéts… Resettling the Land. Is it just me or did none of these authors get the memo that Zionism started with Herzl in the 19th century?