On Sukkot, it’s customary to read Chapter 14 from the prophet Zechariah. Have you read it? I mean, really read…
Category: Torah
The Inner Warrior
“The true test of a warrior is not without – it is within.” – Lieutenant Commander Worf, Star Trek: The Next…
Re-discovering Cynicism
Help! I am trapped inside the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, looking out onto the world. Vanity of vanities, says Kohelet, it’s all…
Holy War: Moses v. Joshua
Joshua, Moses’ trusted assistant, has exactly three spoken lines in the Five Books of Moses, a.k.a. the Torah. After the…
Suffering: Why Does God Allow It?
This week, I happen to be teaching a course to rabbinic students called Losing God, Finding God: Jewish Responses to…
Letting Go of Literalism
A Biblical story, from parshat hashavua: The king of Moab approaches the prophet Balaam, hoping to hire Balaam to curse the…
Me, Me, Meaning
We are the “selfie generation.” Don’t let the epithet unsettle you. According to leading sociologists, we are not the first…
Magical Realism
It’s 1976. I wake up to find myself in my dorm room. The clock says it’s 11:20 am. I have…
Strength of Spirit, Disciplines of Love
Week two of the Omer count: Gevurah, i.e. strength, discipline, judgment. Reflect on two different explorations of the meaning of…