In the absence of a visionary or even steadfastly progressive leadership, the Jewish community has become stuck in a vicious cycle of recriminations, while slowly shifting to the political right.
Articles
Bridging the Abrahamic Traditions
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In a world where violence seems to prevail, it can be hard to believe in a God of love. Starr’s beautifully crafted book offers and enter into a space where divine love is illuminated as a central teaching and core ethic within the heart of these three monotheistic traditions.
Jewish Wisdom
Rav Kook on Loving Humanity as well as Jews
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Rav Kook on Relating Israel and Humankind – 2
With translation by Rabbi Itzhaq Marmorstein and some comments by Dr. Yitzhaq Hayut-Man, we bring here two passages from the Rav’s notebooks. Rav Kook was the inspired religious leader of Palestine in the early part of the 20th century. I – 8 notebooks, book 7 entry 166
The compassion of Avraham includes all humankind, and the compassion of Aaron is concentrated in Israel. Whoever is cleaving to the quality of true compassion, in (or to) the light of Torah, needs to join together the two ‘clouds of glory’ of Avraham and Aaron, and these two lights will radiate upon him. And then it will be said ‘Beloved is the human that was created in the image of the Divine, and beloved is Israel who were given a vessel of delight’ (Ethics of Our Ancestors, 3:14).
2012
Three Books with New Takes on the Torah
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by Avraham Burg; Jonathan Sacks; and Naftali Rothenberg
Jewish Wisdom
Rabbi Kook’s Understanding of Israel and Humankind
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Editor’s note: What’s attractive about this piece is the way it highlights the universalism in Rabbi Kook, whose teachings were twisted by his son into being a cheerleader for right-wing politics. Yet what still remains troubling is the insistence that the people of Israel have a special role, which can only make sense if we redefine Israel to include those of all nations committed to a world of peace, justice, love and generosity of spirit and action.–Rabbi Michael Lerner
Rabbi Kook’s Understanding of Israel and Humankind
Selected and translated by Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein
Comments by Dr. Yitzhaq Hayut-Man
Among the greatest admirers of Rav Kook’s teachings are, naturally, those who studied at Merkaz haRav and are the spearhead in the settlement movement. So there is a widespread impression that Rav Kook’s teachings are chauvinistic -nationalistic, seeing Israel as a nation set-apart not considering the nations. But in truth, Rav Kook has a most universal vision, yet one in which the nation of Israel has a special role in, producing a particular gift for the greatest benefit for all humankind. We shall present here just two quotes from the many in Rav Kook’s inspired writings, with a little commentary on each:
“It is proper that all humankind (Enoshiyut) would unite into one family, and then will end all the quarrels and all the bad characteristics that derive from the division of nations and their borders.
Jewish Wisdom
The Spiral of Jewish Learning
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The Spiral of Jewish Learning by Natan Margalit
Posted May 29, 2012 by nmargalit in Organic Torah. 1 Comment
As we come to the end of the school year, it is traditional to reflect on one of the central values in Judaism: learning. I want to start with a quotation from Mary Catherine Bateson, a wonderful scholar and writer in her own right and also the daughter of the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead and of one of my intellectual heroes, the anthropologist/philosopher Gregory Bateson. Ms. Bateson writes:
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Articles
Healing Our World
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For years, we danced with the idea of a bar mitzvah. Thirteen is a milestone for all Jewish children, and I was determined that our son would take part. I knew he could learn a few simple prayers and songs; he has amazing memory skills, not uncommon for children with autism. Still, we worried. What if a large crowd unnerved him?
Articles
A Novel of Jewish Upheaval, Flight, and Transition
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The Free World presents a sprawling cast of characters in limbo. Chronicling everything from pogroms to Soviet politics to 1970s Rome, Bezmozgis’s first novel depicts one family in the midst of monumental transition.
Articles
Tears I Don’t Have Anymore
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When I spent time at my grandparents’ Brighton Beach apartment, I searched for Holocaust clues. “Grandma, tell me about the camps?” I begged between slurps of chicken soup.
“Not now. Eat tatehla. Eat.” Food had two functions in Grandma’s apartment: It was a symbol of freedom from Nazi oppression and served as a tasty muzzle for my invasive curiosity.
2012
Assimilation for Muslims and Jews?
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Twenty U.S. states are considering laws that would prohibit courts from considering any “foreign law” in their deliberations. These laws raise the specter of fundamentalist Muslims turning the United States into an Islamic theocracy. There is no question that this perceived threat is absurd. And while Muslims currently bear the brunt of this fear-mongering, other groups’ religious practices may also soon fall under the scrutiny of these new laws, revealing seams in the supposedly flawless integration of Judaism and American life.
2012
Finding Manna in the Age of Monsanto
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I believe that ancient biblical wisdom can empower us to take on the high-tech and politically sophisticated iniquities of the Monsantos of the world. One story, in particular, offers a profound vision of economic and ecological justice: the famous account in Exodus 16 of God feeding the hungry, grumbling, newly liberated but still fearful Hebrews who were wandering in the desert.
2012
The Religious Counterculture
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Actor Mayim Bialik needed to find a dress that covered her elbows, knees, and collarbone, was not too tight, and, of course, was absolutely gorgeous enough for the red carpet. She called the quest, “Operation Hot and Holy.”
2012
Jesus Kept Kosher: The Jewish Christ of the Gospel of Mark
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In conventional readings of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’s relationship to the Jewish dietary laws is taken as a watershed moment in religious history. If Mark has been misread, however, and his Jesus did not abandon or abrogate such basic Jewish practices as keeping kosher, then our entire sense of where the Jesus movement stands in relation to the Judaism of its time is quite changed.
2012
The Walls of the Reform Movement’s “Big Tent”
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Why would the Union for Reform Judaism give a right-wing Jewish leader a prominent platform from which to make hurtful, dehumanizing, and simplistic comments about Palestinian “culture”? Does inviting such a speaker honor the Reform movement’s history of moral certitude against injustice and discrimination?
Articles
Embracing a Eunuch Identity
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In addition to being Jewish, I am a member of a definable gender minority that has been conspicuous throughout history. I am a eunuch. Angels in the Torah are the Lord’s trusted messengers; the word angel comes from the Greek word angelos (messenger). In a similar way, eunuchs of biblical times were the emperors’ messengers and guardians. In gender-segregated cultures, our in-betweenness allows us to be able to transgress both worlds.