Halakha, theology, practice, and the inner life of Jewish observance.
Chabad is a diverse, complex, and trans-dimensional organization. I have personally had great experiences with Chabad rabbis and families. I greatly respect their community building and social work, and I find their Torah to be very thought-provoking, even when I disagree with specific claims they may make or conclusions they may reach. (For example, the … Read more
I am so torn between understanding the role Khameini’s regime and the IRGC, directly and via the proxy armies they fund, train, and direct, have played in not just oppressing and killing their own citizens but in repeatedly threatening my life, my wife’s life, my daughters’ lives, the lives of my friends and neighbors, Israeli … Read more
There is so much hate in the world. Yoda taught us about the roots of hate – and where it leads. I try to hold empathy for those who hate – to recognize the emotional hell they inherited, refurbished, and unwittingly choose to remain trapped in. The part of us that is a supermonkey is … Read more
May the righteous Lord of warProtect the innocentPunish the wickedRescue the strandedHeal the woundedAvenge Your imageProfaned for so long May our Father in the heavensGuide the hearts and mindsOf Your children taking aimWhisper quietly into their earsThe demand of their own soulsThe call of a higher orderThe wisdom of a wild peace May the Creator … Read more
When I think of where You placed meA garden, watered by mist and riverA stretch of sand and sky between salty depthsA small rock spinning around a small starSwirling through eons of nothingnessIn flowing rhythm with a stream of myriad starsSpread out across a forgotten galactic horizonJust one, of uncountable legions –When I think of … Read more
Fun fact: I am allergic to bullies and I detest religious bullies. I also have limited patience for those who evade accountability, especially in the name of winning the American culture war, and so an abusive, religious bully who evades accountability in the name of pwning the libs is basically gonna get the stick and … Read more
We know the names of Rambam’s father, brother, son, nephew, father-in-law, and brother-in-law (twice over). We have a letter congratulating Rambam on his marriage. We do not know the name of Rambam’s wife. (Or sister. Or mother.) Not because there was anything wrong with her or because she had no impact on Rambam or their … Read more
As a child, my parents taught me that Judaism is not a religion, it’s a way of life. Now, as an adult, I understand why the distinction is so important – and what it means for identity, culture, and covenant.
Allahu Akbar. But also: “A strong atheistic explanation has to work without invoking chosenness, providence, metaphysics, or teleology, while still accounting for the extraordinary empirical fact-pattern: a tiny, dispersed, repeatedly targeted ethnocultural group not only survives but regenerates political autonomy, cultural creativity, and demographic continuity over multiple millennia. The best explanation in secular scholarship combines … Read more
What ties together all Hasidim across time and space? Look to the root, not the branches There is one river with many streams You can research the thing in the academy if you want, but set your scope to maximum scale Otherwise you’ll spend your life in the tide pool not even knowing of the … Read more