God’s Others
YOU’RE WELCOME
Periodically, a Muslim shares in the media a particularly wonderful bit of wisdom. So it was last week. Yet the speaker or writer always seems to remain unaware of that wisdom’s source. It’s borrowed from Judaism. Such recognition might help to eliminate the hatred that many Muslims exhibit towards Jews. The Quran (Sura 5:32) states:…
Read MoreTHE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT
From time to time, the leader of a Torah study session or Shabbat services will ask the group to come up with an Eleventh Commandment. (The Ten Commandments Moses received on Mount Sinai are well known but often misunderstood.) One of the earliest of these Eleventh Commandments was Holocaust survivor Emil Fackenheim’s instruction to survive…
Read MoreTRUTH AND FICTION
They—whoever they may be—say that truth is stranger than fiction. As a novelist and a lover of satire, I’ll go along with that. Because based on what recently transpired in Afghanistan and what I’ve recently experienced with my novel Slick! truth indeed can make us wonder, “How did that happen?” As to Afghanistan, we know…
Read MoreWILLFUL BLINDNESS
There’s an old saying: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” This week’s Torah portion, Balak, offers a timeless example. The Midianite prophet Balaam is on speaking terms with God. The Midrash (Numbers Rabbah 20:1) advises, “You find that all the distinctions conferred upon Israel were conferred upon the nations. In…
Read MoreCHOSEN FOR WHAT?
At Torah Study a few weeks ago, several people took offense at the concept of Israel as God’s chosen people. My response: yes, the Torah portrays Israel as chosen. But as I write in GOD’S OTHERS, going beyond a surface reading reveals just what Israel is chosen for. Throughout the biblical narrative, all nations remain…
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