Archive for the 'Faith' Category

Diaspora Need Not Apply

July 16th, 2010

There is a fantastic oped in the NY Times from Alana Newhouse, the editor in chief of Tablet Magazine (which I really enjoy). There is a bill before the Israeli Knesset that may radically change Israel. That bill would give the ultra-orthodox power to say who is Jewish and who isn’t. This would destroy the […]

Who Determines Who is Jewish?

November 15th, 2009

There is a case before the Supreme Court of Britain. The question is who is a Jew? There is a real identity problem in today’s Jewry. Is being Jewish a race or a faith or both? This is an issue as the Orthodox have put themselves in charge of who is Jewish and who isn’t. […]

A Broken Heart

September 9th, 2009

I signed up for Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s 60 Day Journey to the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) email list. I get an email every day to prepare me spiritually and mentally for this Jewish New Year and the Yom Kippur. The emails have been amazing, but none better than today’s email. Here […]

William Wilberforce

December 25th, 2008

“Everyone should know Wilberforce,” Abraham Lincoln once said.
Wilberforce who? William Wilberforce.
I just put down an excellent biography by William Hague called William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner.
First off, I had no idea who William Wilberforce was before I read this book, nor did I realize how great a man he was […]

Separation

December 1st, 2008

I am reading a wonderful new biography about William Wilberforce, the great British anti-slave trade campaigner. As part of the book, the author, William Hague, describes the slave trade, how slaves were kidnapped and transported in the most brutal conditions with no regard to health or humanity.
One of the more disgusting stories describes how […]

So proud

October 29th, 2008

I’m a Georgia Bulldog. On Saturdays I bleed red and black. I cannot tell you how proud I am that Mark Richt is our head coach. I actually have had the opportunity to meet with him when I threw a charity flag football event for the Athens, GA Boys and Girls Club. And I can […]

Jewish Perfection

July 25th, 2008

Perfection is definitely not a Jewish thought or attribute. Consider the patriarchs of Judaism such as Noah who gets drunk, Jacob who steals his brother’s birthright by misleading his father Isaac, and even Moses, the greatest of all Jews, speaks with a lisp and disobeys God. And we could have a field day talking about […]

Let There Be Light

July 4th, 2008

I am currently in Jerusalem studying at a place called Pardes (Pardes link). I thought I would write an update as to why I’m here and what I’m studying. Here is one teaching I learned this week that I thought quite profound.
The Torah and Judaism is filled with contradictions and one of the best ways […]

Are You Religious?

June 14th, 2008

“Are you religious?” one Israeli asked me.
“Yes.”
He then looked for a kipah (yamaka) on my head. There wasn’t one. Then he wondered what I was doing out late on a Friday night.
I then proceeded to explain that you could be religious and spiritual without being Orthodox. He was thoroughly confused as are most Israelis to […]