Essays, notes, poems, and prayers
Writing
Most of this started as a Facebook post and got a second life here. Every piece carries its date in two calendars.
- 24 August 2025ל׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Reviving the National Court
When people think "Halakhic State" they usually think Haredistan or settler apartheid state. How Ever: If we had a revived National Court ("sanhedrin"), it probably would have authorized the initial...
- 21 August 2025כ״ז באב תשפ״הNote
The Covenant of Fragments
The Covenant of Fragments: Towards a Jewish Theology of Religions Introduction The religious history of humanity is marked by astonishing diversity. Across continents, cultures, and centuries, peoples have devised systems...
- 20 August 2025כ״ו באב תשפ״הNote
No Moral Default
Very happy to see how many people are sharing the Orthodox rabbinic letter on Gaza and the state of religious Zionism today. Not surprised by the knee-jerk backlash they're all...
- 17 August 2025כ״ג באב תשפ״הNote
A Declaration of Emuna
Honestly, with the world 🌍 the way it is right now - with our country 🇮🇱 the way it is right now - bringing a child into it is a...
- 13 August 2025י״ט באב תשפ״הNote
Law, Text, Science, Reason
All my posts are public these days. Someone recently left a bizarre comment on one of my posts about halakha and sexual orientation, and proceeded to try and tag a...
- 11 August 2025י״ז באב תשפ״הNote
Istanis and Orientation
After considering recent literature reviews of peer-reviewed studies, my understanding that the consensus of the best scientific findings available regarding sexual orientation is that it is a combination of attraction...
- 11 August 2025י״ז באב תשפ״הNote
30 Days
30 days. Either come up with a plan for defeating Hamas and rescuing the hostages, or end the war. Either way, let in as much food, medicine, and baby supplies...
- 9 August 2025ט״ו באב תשפ״הNote
Gay Rabbis
I'm honestly confused by the opposition to gay rabbis. To my limited knowledge as someone who is not gay, it would seem obvious that being gay - or even being...
- 9 August 2025ט״ו באב תשפ״הNote
Tradition That Calcifies
There's something about the whole polemic against liberal values and institutions in the name of "tradition" that unnerves me on a biological level. In this age of chaos and change,...
- 8 August 2025י״ד באב תשפ״הNote
Imperfect Vessels
Imperfect vessels containing overwhelming light... Alone they shatter, together they hold. How sacred are Your people, joining together below with the heavenly host above. Together, they carry the light into...
- 3 August 2025ט׳ באב תשפ״הNote
I Have a King
I don't want another king. I want the revival of the court. The rebuilding of the sanctuary. The return of prophecy. The resumption of our national mission. But I don't...
- 2 August 2025ח׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Morir Habemos
"Morir habemos" - we all have to die "Ya lo sabemos" - I know it And with that the Sabbath departs and 9 Ab begins. With the departure of our...
- 28 July 2025ג׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Ahabath Yisrael
I spoke with someone yesterday and the conversation has stayed with me. He is a Rambamist, a learned student of a great scholar who passed on to his world, and...
- 27 July 2025ב׳ באב תשפ״הNote
One National Law
There can be only one national law If every community splinters off into its own separate legal system, the nation is lost So there's gotta be a baseline, a law...
- 27 July 2025ב׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Reinterpret the Torah
"If it could be proven, I would reinterpret the Torah to resolve any contradiction with it" Bold words. Bold commitment. Even if what we know is contingent and limited -...
- 26 July 2025א׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Welcome to the Party
I would argue that far more observant Jewish people are a small step away from Neomaimonidean thought and practice than they are aware. If you're sure that there's an organic,...
- 26 July 2025א׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Two Men’s Words
On the one hand, there is this French politician who said some stuff about recognizing a state with no leadership, no funding, no borders, and probably no military. On the...
- 26 July 2025א׳ באב תשפ״הNote
Faur in the New Guide
Spent the afternoon with Rambam z"l.... Glad to see R Faur z"l getting his due in the new translation of the Guide.
- 24 July 2025כ״ח בתמוז תשפ״הNote
Pro-Israeli, Pro-Palestinian
The older I get and the deeper this country's ethos seeps into my bones, the more convinced I become of two things: - Socialism has a lot more going for...
- 24 July 2025כ״ח בתמוז תשפ״הNote
Living Under Unfair Conditions
Being Jewish in an unredeemed world means living under essentially unfair conditions stacked against you, where you are the least understood yet the most well-known in the international room. Where...