VIOLENCE AND CHOICE 

In 1992, Rodney King, a Black man viciously beaten by Los Angeles police a year earlier, asked during violent riots, “Can’t we all get along?” Last week’s Torah portion, “Genesis,” and this week’s, “Noah,” address this sorry aspect of human nature.  Gen. 1:26 states: “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after…

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THE RABBIS AND THE CONSTITUTION 

Given the nation’s political turmoil, Rabbinic thinking can shed light on “loose construction” of the Constitution. A personal experience reinforced that concept. In 1998, I traveled to Israel with a group from New York. On the way to our hotel, we stopped at Mount Scopus for a sweeping view of Jerusalem. It struck me that…

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LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR MEANS WHAT? 

Jesus preached a version. Hillel said it before Jesus. But Hillel was picking up on the Torah. Still, after 2,000 years and more, many people don’t have a clue. Americans of all faiths are familiar with the injunction of Leviticus 19:18—”Love your neighbor [sometimes translated fellow] as yourself.” This seemingly simple verse poses complex challenges, starting…

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THE HANDWRITING ON THE WATER 

You may be familiar with the phrase “the handwriting on the wall.” It comes from the Hebrew Bible. We find a parallel in this week’s Torah portion. Both are worth looking at. The Book of Daniel (chapter 5) presents a mysterious hand writing strange words on a wall in the palace of Babylonian king Belshazzar.…

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POST-THANKSGIVING THANKS 

Not everyone stuffed themselves with Thanksgiving turkey yesterday. I ate fish. I had my reasons. Getting older, Carolyn and I sometimes celebrate holidays differently. As to yesterday, our kids wouldn’t be coming over. Another couple, Joan and Joe, faced the same situation. Neither Carolyn nor Joan wanted to cook.* So we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at…

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