Another Way Of Looking At Things, Inspiring People, Longform, News & Politics, Relationships & Family, Spirituality & Faith, This Week In Wisdom, Uncategorized, Wisdom Daily News / 31 Mar 2023
This Passover Roundtable began in the aisles of Costco and Home Depot…
Clal’s Rabbinic Faculty share their thoughts on Passover this year.
News & Politics / 31 Mar 2023
Not in the Fire: A Reflection On The Protests In Israel
A Reflection On The Protests In Israel
Spirituality & Faith / 30 Mar 2023
Imagining My Ancestors’ Passover Helps Me To Prepare For My Own
Would our ancestors feel comfortable at our Passover seder?
Another Way Of Looking At Things, Breaking False Dichotomies, Daily Life, Hold Dualities Together, News & Politics, This Week In Wisdom, Weekly Parsha, Wisdom Daily News / 30 Mar 2023
Clawing for Legitimacy
We fight for attention. We fight for resources. But perhaps we fight most over our own sense of legitimacy – that we belong, deserve a good place in society, and are worthy of regard. This holds true both for us as individuals and for us as families, groups, communities, and even entire countries. In addition to the many presenting issues in the polarization of Israel’s society – not to mention American society and that of so many democracies around the world – legitimacy may be at the forefront. For 75 remarkable years, Israel’s Supreme Court has been the center of conferring legitimacy upon leaders, governments, and social norms. Its 15 justices serve as a unique combination of rabbinic sage, Platonic “philosopher-king,” and the High Priests of justice. Its strength did not derive from its institutional framework so much as its social framework. It is of little wonder, then, that so much furor has arisen at prospective changes to this key institution in Israel. Without getting into the details of the “judicial reforms,” “judicial coup,” or any overstatements and understatements about the present political situation in Israel, we would do well to redouble our focus on the notion of legitimacy itself – and the forces that bestow it or take it away, notably within a Jewish framework. This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Tzav (Leviticus 6:1 – 8:36), does just that. Leviticus 8, in particular, relates the “laying on of hands” and formal consecration of the Priesthood. It is among the quintessential scenes of conferring legitimacy upon representatives of the people in holy work of transcendent purpose. We read in Leviticus 8: 5-13: Moses said to the leadership, “This is what God has commanded to be done.” Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward and washed them with water. He put the tunic on him, girded him with the sash, clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod on him, girding…
Building New Identities, Business & Education, Uncategorized, Wisdom Daily News / 24 Mar 2023
Where Everything New Is Old Again
“Old” connections create new paradigms
News & Politics, Wisdom Warehouse |
January 21, 2014
What’s Good for the Duck Is Good for the Gander
The season five premiere of Duck Dynasty aired this past week and posted its first season-to-season drop in ratings: among adults 18-49, the show was down 33%. The two back-to-back episodes marked the first appearance of the Robertson family since Phil the patriarch’s less than politically correct, unfiltered, unconsciously hateful comments about gay men and blacks in GQ.? While still huge numbers for cable, the drop is “newsworthy”. But I’m interested in the visceral reaction to this negative statistic.? Are you happy? Indifferent? Perplexed? Here are a number of possibilities explaining the......
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Can “true religion” be a basis for hatred or division among people? Based on the historical record, it seems clear that the answer is, yes. Of course, that answer puts me at odds with many people, including the Prime Minister of India, who insist that “true religion” is always warm, peaceful and loving. It’s not. Or, if you prefer, the whole notion of “true religion” is a poor way to address the issues which seem to concern the PM. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked people this week to battle religious fanaticism. About......
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Relationships & Family, Wisdom Warehouse |
January 16, 2014
‘Friday Night Tykes’: How Much Should We Push Our Children?
When the NFL says a broadcast about football is difficult to watch because it is too violent, you know there is a problem. This is what the league said about Esquire Network’s Friday Night Tykes, a reality series following several teams of 8-and 9-year-olds in the Texas Youth Football Association.? The trailer shows ranting coaches and obsessive parents, who are essentially fast-tracking kids to head trauma. I kept thinking: I guess in Texas, as long as you pray, you can play to kill. This network’s portrayal of young boys engaged in grueling......
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We need outliers, and we need their ideas. We need the involvement in our lives, especially in the big projects on which we work, of those who see the world differently and think about things in ways which will surprise, if not discomfort us. For those who will quickly say that they already embrace diversity and discomfort, let them appreciate that those are their comfort zones, and they need the input of others, others who privilege uniformity and comfort. Whatever our default position is, be it political, social, spiritual or psychological, we......
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Governor Christie has committed trafficide. As fast as he rocketed to presidential hopeful, he has fallen to being “compared” to Tony Soprano. All I know is what I have read in the papers. Two of Christie’s aides have been fired for shutting down lanes of the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey and New York and is the busiest bridge in the world. For four days, thousands of commuters were terribly delayed in order to create a shutdown of the roads leading to the bridge in the town of Fort Lee?-......
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Business & Education, Wisdom Warehouse |
January 13, 2014
Hackschooling: No More Teachers, No More Books?
In the 21st century, the notion of hacking involves much more than some computer aficionados spreading viruses and breaking into official websites. Hacking is a mindset, a way of thinking. It’s really something anyone can do by challenging traditional systems. Teenager Logan Laplante isn’t home schooled, private schooled or public schooled – he is hackschooled! His education revolves around the study and practice of being happy and growing up healthy and nurturing creativity, things which Logan and his parents believe are outside the focus of traditional education. Here’s a kid who doesn’t......
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Regret can be good. At the very least, regret is a part of every life, and something that each of us will deal with at some time or another. Who among us does not look back at decisions we have made, paths we have taken, and not had the feeling that we wish we had made some other choice? I sure have. It’s part of being being human. So is how we deal with it. While we probably all have some regrets, they need not make us as miserable as they often......
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Political struggles over pregnancy, the right to terminate it, when life begins, and who gets to make those decisions, are nothing new.? A case unfolding in Texas however, brings those struggles to a new level, one which invites us to ask important questions about the politics of pregnancy, and the value of planning for as good a death as possible. Marlise Munoz was 33 years old when she died on November 26th.? She had been placed on a ventilator in the course of the emergency response to a probable blood clot in......
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You might not have read this news item unless you are a gun enthusiast but this may bode well for our gun control debate. Dick Metcalf, a pre-eminent gun journalist, was recently removed from Guns & Ammo magazine and taken off the roster of star speakers reviewing new firearms for gun companies. Why? Metcalf wrote a column for Guns and Ammo called “Let’s Talk Limits“?in which he suggested there was a difference between infringement and regulation, writing that, “way too many gun owners still believe that any regulation of the right to......
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My resolution for this year: I promise to no longer take seriously any mock public controversies, especially those involving celebrities engaged in the culture wars. When all is said and done the ten day media driven frenzy surrounding Phil Robertson?- patriarch at the heart of A&E’s smash reality hit Duck Dynasty?- who equated homosexuality to bestiality and claimed blacks were happy working in cotton fields was itself a reality show. The cast of characters played its role perfectly according to script. First, we had our left wing stars who turned some carnival......
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Latest Video
Listen To The Names Of The Victims First
A video where Brad Hirschfield lists the victims names in the recent Orlando shooting. Because first we need to internalize a tragedy before we jump to speak.
