Judaism for the Thinking Person

The Biblical Meaning of "Holiness" - That Isn't Yours!

I have watched ridiculous ways of explaining why things are right and wrong to small kids --which indicates that most adults have no clue themselves. I've watch the "rational consequences" approach, giving kids long multiple-choice decisions while teasing out each's consequences --while kids stare blankly. I have watched the Golden Role approach -- really?  How about the new trend of Empathy and Restorative Justice? It sounds wonderful, except that it backfires: most kids aren't naturally empathetic, and restorative justice usually just revictimizes the victim. How about we go to the core meaning of "holy" in the Holiness Code of Leviticus: "That doesn't exist for your benefit." (That toy wasn't yours to consider playing with! That yard wasn't yours to go in! That turn wasn't yours to take! etc.)

DO NOT Forget on Passover! In Praise of Biur Chametz

This year's traditional teaching on a Law of Passover (per the tradition of Shabbat Hagadol). For a download of the text I'm referring to: https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/jewish-law/holidays/pesah/b-dikat-hameitz.pdf [https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/jewish-law/holidays/pesah/b-dikat-hameitz.pdf]

Israel and Iran: Malachi, Xerses, and Liza Minnelli

The Iran War began at Purim (about Persia, now Iran) and now we're at Passover with Persia yet again as we are required to read Malachi. The Bible actually ends in the Persian period with the triumvirate of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Malachi. I share some history, some Bible, and some modern absurd framing that exemplifies the idiotic antisemitism rampant in our popular media as this war rages on.

Why Jurgen Habermas Died Between Exodus and Leviticus

There is a loss that takes place between the end of Exodus, with the people donating materials and building the tabernacle in small groups excitedly, and the beginning of Leviticus with the routinization of altar offerings and a professional class to facilitate essential social functions. This loss is precisely the one the great thinkers Max Weber and Jurgen Habermas described in their most important works. It's not accident Habermas died with the scroll rolled to the space in between the two Torah books.

The Visual Language of Norms in Judaism -- And We are the Poorer for Losing It

This is a Drash on Parashat Tetzaveh, an Exodus portion about the priestly clothing that usually elicits shallow reflections on clothes. Instead, I try to bring to life the amazing living language of garments in Jewish history -- a language of norms embedded in visual cues. It's a language modern culture has thrown away, and the values that go with it, and we are the poorer for it.