The Shofar Blasts as a Metaphor for Life
If, as the Talmud tells us, the blasts of the shofar are meant to remind us of crying, (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 33A – specifically of Sisera’s mother – but that is another subject!), then I would offer the following.
Congregational Life: Why I Joined, Why I Stayed
I was recently asked by someone I very much respect to address "the" question. So I started to write the answer in a post... about five times without any luck. The "Why does a 20-something join a Reform Congregation" question.
Galilee Diary: Peace talk II: Jewish and democratic
As I suggested in my last entry, in thinking about what it will take for Jews and Arabs to live together in peace in Israel, there are (at least) four different dimensions to consider: the political, the historical, the cultural, and the personal.
Galilee Diary: Peace talk III - Living with history
by Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Galilee Diary)
Galilee Diary: Peace talk V - Living with the other
by Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Galilee Diary and Ten Minutes of Torah)
Galilee Diary: Peace talk VI: Listening
by Marc Rosenstein
(Originally published in Galilee Diary and Ten Minutes of Torah)
Galilee Diary: You are what you eat
Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts. You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an offering by fire to the Lord.
Galilee Diary: Native tongue
...the whole landscape sang in ancient Sephardi Hebrew, which seemed to have been preserved here in its purity.
Galilee Diary: Fade to Black
The Lord, the Lord is gracious and compassionate, patient, and abounding in kindness and faithfulness, assuring love for a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and granting pardon. -Exodus 34:6-7
Galilee Diary: Power
Picturesque Arabs sat upon the ground... Here was a grand Oriental picture which I had worshiped a thousand times in soft, rich steel engravings! But in the engraving there was no desolation; no dirt; no rags; no fleas; ...no sore eyes; no feasting flies; ...