בס”ד Dear Reader, Herein lies the strangely Rabbinic tale of Zhu Xi, revered commentator of the Analects of Confucius. I was teaching our introductory students about parshanut (Rabbinic commentary), which is a singularly difficult task. One spends a lot of time explaining, in rather uncertain terms, just why taking every word out of context is … More »
בס”ד While in Berlin, I heard a startling statistic: about half of Germans surveyed believe that, “Jews try to take advantage of having been victims during the Nazi era.”* When Poles were asked, the number rises to 72% This kind of sentiment reveals the end of empathy, both where it fails and why. When a … More »
בס”דWhen the shnorrer approached me, I was in between laying my arm tefillin and my head tefillin. I was standing just below one of the large caper bushes that lives in the upper reaches of the Kotel. His hand flopped in front of my face, levered straight down from the elbow. He didn’t look at … More »
בס”ד I never knew about the Avodah service – the part of Yom Kippur that describes High Priest’s atonement sacrifices while the Temple in Jerusalem still stood – not until I was a junior in college, at least. Either I was never exposed to it, or, as was my wont, simply didn’t pay enough attention … More »