JUDAISM
THE FOLLY OF FRATRICIDE
THE FOLLY OF FRATRICIDE There’s an old saying: “Two Jews, three opinions.” Yes, it’s a stereotype, but Jews laugh at this one. We know it’s true. A multiplicity of opinions leads to lively discussions, new ideas and even consensus. Respect is the key. Without it, opposite views can lead to crippling disunity. That’s the case…
Read MoreMANDELA AND JEWISH WISDOM
Nelson Mandela’s funeral is several weeks behind us. As it happens, now is a good time to consider how Mandela’s philosophy of looking forward finds antecedents in the Talmud and the Book of Proverbs. Mandela’s greatness was in thinking that while great wrongs had been done to black South Africans, hatred and recrimination serve no…
Read MoreCHANUKAH, CHRISTMAS AND SANITY
The holiday is over. The Holidays are in full swing. Yesterday marked the eighth and last day of Chanukah (the last candle-lighting was Wednesday night). The vast majority of Americans didn’t notice. They’re focused on Christmas. I feel for them. I’m not much of a Chanukah gift giver. While Chanukah comes around the time of…
Read MoreLAUGHING AT THE ANGEL OF DEATH
Death appears frequently in this week’s Torah portion, Va’yishlach (Genesis 32:4–36:43). It’s only fitting. I’ve been thinking about death lately. Also humor. They go hand in hand. As it says on the back cover of my upcoming novel The Boy Walker (available around the first of the year; I’ll keep you posted): death is nothing—and…
Read MoreBILLIONS AND BILLIONS
Those of us who saw the late Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan on TV remember the glee with which he emphasized that the universe contains stars numbering “billions and billions.” If only a small percentage host habitable planets like Earth, Sagan proclaimed, life must exist elsewhere. Now, more refined numbers are coming in. In Tuesday’s San…
Read MoreTRUE BELIEF IN TEHRAN
In 1951, Eric Hoffer’s book The True Believer presented a chilling subject. Political and religious mass movements form when leaders promise ultimate truth. Those leaders remain in power by defining truth, no matter how much they have to lie. See: Iran, Islamic Republic of. In the September/October issue of FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Akbar Ganji profiles Iran’s…
Read MoreTOUCHING BASE
I generally see the glass as half filled. Some friends find this amusing. In a world filled by deceit and violence, it’s a real challenge to retain a sense of optimism. Still, I do—particularly during the High Holy Days. On Rosh Hashanah—this past Wednesday night and yesterday morning—congregants and guests filled the sanctuary at Congregation…
Read MoreTHE MINIMUM STANDARD
Last Monday, NPR’s “All Things Considered” broadcast an interesting feature about prejudice. Reporter Shankar Vedantam spoke of a professor discovering that people treat members of their own racial, religious, social or professional communities better than those outside them. This takes a Ph.D.? And what does it really mean? According to Vedantam, a Yale professor suffered…
Read MoreMARATHON IN 9.58
How fast do news stories change? Last night, I had a draft of this post ready to go. It included comments about the Boston Marathon bombings. This morning, I had to start over. I had written: “You can imagine a number of likely suspects, foreign and domestic, in general terms, but the investigation demands time…
Read MoreTHE “C” WORD
Words can offend. One starts with “C.” But we need to talk more about it because given the nature of the world we live in it’s more relevant than ever. Compromise gets some people riled up. The word suggests a lack of integrity and morality. These folks believe they’re always right and opposing views are…
Read MoreWHY THIS NIGHT?
The first night of Passover (Pesach) arrives tonight, March 25. (I write this post now because I was in Phoenix over the weekend.) Of great note, with the exception of Chanukah (the Christmas influence) more Jews attend some sort of Seder than observe any other holiday, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur included. Why? Why indeed.…
Read MoreWHAT’S NEW?
Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), written according to tradition by Solomon, exclaims, “There is nothing new beneath the sun” (1:9). True that. Ultimately, what goes around comes around—as it did this past week. Yes, technology races forward. Solomon could not have dreamed of the printing press and steam engine let alone the high-energy particle telescope, smart phone, Internet…
Read MoreE PLURIBUS ECHAD
At President Obama’s public inauguration last Monday, Richard Blanco read his poem, “One Today.” Blanco’s theme of unity really resonated. “One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores.” We are a single people joined together. “My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors.” Each inauguration prompts good feelings roused by America’s…
Read MoreTOUR DE EGYPT
Pharaoh never gets it. Even hail, locusts and darkness fail to move him to let the Israelites leave Egypt. It takes a tenth plague, the death of the firstborn males—his own son included—to prompt Pharaoh to recognize his wrongdoing. Which brings me to Lance Armstrong. How interesting that Armstrong’s long-awaited “confession” to Oprah Winfrey regarding…
Read MoreHUMILITY
San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey just won the National League’s Most Valuable Player award. (The Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera won the AL MVP.) I hope neither tells the world, “I’m humbled.” Baseball players often say that, given the game’s roots in small-town America where seemingly no one can be humble enough. But I’m rankled by…
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