JUDAISM
BACKWARD MARCH
They want to retreat centuries to a purer time when men were closer to God. No, not Islamists seeking to return to the time of Muhammad in the seventh century. I’m talking about the haredim, Israel’s ultra-orthodox Jews. First, a bit of Torah. People have long believed in an idyllic past. Witness the Garden of…
Read MoreLOWE’S AND CHANUKAH
Lowe’s, the home improvement chain, beckons shoppers with, “Let’s build something together.” Earlier this month, Loewe’s sought to help build walls around American Muslims. This gives a whole new meaning to the ancient meaning of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. So let me unravel the mystery. The Tampa-based Florida Family Association took umbrage at…
Read MoreTHE JESUS CACHET
I was lied to as a child. As a kid in the ‘fifties, I was taught that anyone could grow up to be president. Not so. Several clear caveats existed. Then things changed. Well, some things. In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro became the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee. A woman! Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Hilary Clinton served…
Read MoreNOW GO AND STUDY
When you teach, you learn. I spoke a few words at San Francisco’s Calvary Presbyterian Church two weeks ago. I’d been asked to invite the congregation to a joint study program with my synagogue, Congregation Sherith Israel. I told a story about Rabbi Hillel. Early this week, the lesson came back to me. Some background:…
Read MorePROPHETS AMONG US
If Job couldn’t understand God’s ways, how can we? I refer to individuals who claim to speak for God and even speak to Him. God appeared to Job out of the tempest (or whirlwind) but did all the talking until the end when Job capitulated. “Indeed, I spoke without understanding / Of things beyond me,…
Read MoreFAMILY
Libyan rebels have taken the Tripoli compound of Muammar el-Qaddafi (New York Times spelling). The Libyan poet and writer Khaled Darwish wrote in a Times op-ed piece yesterday, “My son Mohammad waved our new flag of independence in one hand and held a martyr’s picture in the other as he chanted, ‘The blood of martyrs…
Read MoreDOUBLE STANDARDS
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff offered an interesting parenthetical remark on August 4: “(Whenever I write about Israel, I get accused of double standards because I don’t spill as much ink denouncing worse abuses by, say, Syria. I plead guilty. I demand more of Israel partly because my tax dollars supply arms and aid…
Read MoreCOMMON SENSE
As I write, I contemplate not receiving my Social Security next month. President Obama and congressional leaders will likely go down to the wire to solve the nation’s debt problem. At that, they may not reach an accord—or any meaningful one. Some thoughts: • Republicans anguish about “entitlements.” What a misleading word! Others aren’t entitled…
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…
Read MoreSEPHARDI EGGS AND OTHER MYSTERIES
One question some Jews undoubtedly posed at their Seders last Monday and Tuesday nights is, “Why are we here? Why, after 3,300 years, do Jews still observe Passover?” Pesach is the most observed or noted holiday on the Jewish calendar. American Jews with no other connection to religion—and perhaps a dwindling identity with Jewish culture—mark…
Read More“UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!”
A heavy stream of traffic passed my house yesterday morning. It indicated a major accident on Park Presidio Boulevard, the north-south artery leading to the Golden Gate Bridge, a block and a half away. A Department of Parking & Traffic officer told me there had been an earlier accident, but that wasn’t the problem. It…
Read MoreSORRY
Recently, I brushed shoulders with a man while I was entering a sandwich shop. He was leaving. “Sorry,” I said. “Sorry,” he answered. No harm, no foul. “Sorry” covers a multitude of awkward but harmless situations. Yet for some people, “sorry” represents a Get Out of Jail card. They believe they can do anything, say…
Read MoreTHE END IS COMING—AGAIN
Bad news. The San Francisco Giants won’t repeat their World Series triumph in 2011. Then again, no other team will take their crown. Why? The world will end on May 21. So says Harold Camping of Family Worldwide Radio, a Christian ministry based in Oakland. Camping’s sure. He made computations based on Genesis 7 and…
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