Halakha, theology, practice, and the inner life of Jewish observance.
89 comments, mostly indignant at the suggestion that there aren’t any good arguments for categorically prohibiting electricity on Shabbath, but this one tickled me: “Only thing gnarly here is your lack of knowledge and feeling that you have such a greater and clearer understanding about the subject” Let’s get one thing straight here, bucko: I … Read more
Really enjoying this preliminary research situating the Arizal within the emergence of modern #Zionism and reading Lurianic kabbala as a Zionist project. Immigration, political organization, autarky, ecology – just a few of the relevant elements promoted in the Arizal’s teachings and activities.
As I wind down from preparing for #Passover, I want to share a politically incorrect musing on a recent development in the American culture war. Based on my understanding of gender (which I believe is a social performance, unlike biological sex, which I believe is a non-binary chromosomal fact), I don’t personally subscribe to either … Read more
“Emancipate yourself from mental slaveryNone but ourselves can free our minds” The Creator intervened in biohistory and through the imposition of a higher order, brought the regional empire to its knees and delivered a caste of foreign slaves to liberty. Every norm was challenged, every supposition overturned, every “rule” broken. The idols crumbled, the privileged … Read more
What’s on your seder plate? Five traditional options for the “bitters”: Ḥazzereth – cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa) (all identifications follow Rambam’s commentary on Mishnah Pesachim 2:6). An annual vegetable that develops a dense rosette of edible leaves. At first, its leaves are small and bitter. ʻOlashin – cultivated chicory (Cichorium intybus). A perennial garden plant … Read more
I don’t want to be an alarmist or pretend that I can predict the future. I hope that my concerns will be proven to be unfounded. But I want my family, friends, and neighbors to be prepared for what may be coming. If you’re going to read this – and fair warning, you might not … Read more
On Shabbath even the souls trapped in the hell they made get respite from their suffering. I pray for my soul, for my wife, for my daughters, for the other families across Israel and Iran and Lebanon. I pray because missiles and bombs, raving lunatics and angry crowds, would rather I didn’t. Would rather I … Read more
Life is crazy. The world has gone mad. Technology overwhelms, wars crush, society fractures, people are alienated from each other and themselves. What’s truly nuts is that sentence could have been written at any time in the past 5000 years. The surface of things change and move around but structures remain the same. Jewish people … Read more
Life is full of miracles. The improbable and fortuitous concatenation of events, despite conflicting agendas, beliefs, and environmental factors. Oftentimes, those miracles are easily mistaken for natural events or human achievements – as if a work of art can be reduced to paint on canvas. But the medium of a miracle is just a vessel … Read more
Biblical rules for living a kosher life:– Eat obligate herbivores– Shun predators, scavengers, and bottom feeders– Make death painless– Respect that which gives life 🐄🐑🐐🐓🐟