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
Daily Life, Videos, Wisdom Warehouse |
January 06, 2014
Video: Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Important
From Odyssey Network’s Faith on the Record series: Brad Hirschfield on Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Important.? “Every year most of us make them, and most of us break them, but it’s not success that matters as much as the statement of intent.” Odyssey Networks tells the stories of faith in action changing the world for the better.? Their stories explore a wide range of issues including peace, tolerance, social justice and the environment.? Visit Odyssey Networks at www.odysseynetworks.org....
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Here’s one of the wisest books I’ve read in a very long time: Like Dreamers – The Story of the Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation by Yossi Klein Halevi. Wise because it combines sharp analysis of Israelis’ continual wrestling with one another over what the nation is all about with a deep compassion for all of the players in the region’s ongoing conflict. Notably that includes those who have differing opinions – particularly, on the Israeli side, those who are ardently anti-Zionist. If you care about Israel, Palestine or......
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What is great education all about? I don’t simply mean how do we get kids to achieve better grades. I mean, how do we get our children, or anyone else we’d like to have a positive influence on for that matter, to seriously engage in what we deem to be important? How do we effectively transmit our values, our traditions, our sense of what life is all about – you know, the stuff about which we care most – to our children? In fact, even if you don’t have kids or grandkids,......
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Drum roll! What is Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2013?? SELFIE! The term describes photos that people take of themselves to post on social media sites or similar platforms. The use of the word has gone up a staggering 17,000% in the past year. Not only have we had expected celebrity selfies from the likes of Beyonce, Justin Bieber, and Kim Kardashian but, also we had an ill-advised political selfie of President Obama with the PM’s from Great Britain and Denmark that made big news. And our first Papal selfie.......
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Spirituality & Faith, Wisdom Warehouse |
December 30, 2013
Crossing Borders: Jews and Christmas in America 2013
Over the past few days there has been a series of social media threads around the question what “we” make of the number of Jews and Jewish professionals who posted photos of themselves / their families on Facebook in front of a Christmas tree or who wrote posts on personal and public platforms about the wisdom of Christmas. I was one of those who posted – Christmas and Our Children. The tone of the threads were uniformly of “concern” “worry” “anxiety” “annoyance” and even “anger” about the blurring of boundaries and the......
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While no list can capture a full year, these are my top 3. ?Each reminds us that faith is more alive than ever, even as it comes in new and surprising ways — some good, some less so. Number 3 has got to be the complicated struggle for religious freedom, from violent conflicts in Syria and Egypt, to the cultural struggles here at home. ?What all share is the fact that the struggle for religious freedom is only healthy, when those struggling do so not only for their own religious freedom, but......
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How would you begin the story of you? Where or when does it begin? Imagine that you are about to tell your story. You know, “Once upon a time there was this person, and her story begins…”? What comes next? All stories have beginnings, and all people have stories. All families and nations have them too. In fact, not only do we all have them, they may be the essence of who we are. So how would you choose to begin yours? Once you have an answer (and feel free to have......
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About fifteen years ago, I had an experience that transformed Christmas for me.? My wife and I were sitting with a couple – he was well into his 60’s and Jewish and she a good twenty years younger and from a traditional Christian home. This was his second marriage and they had two young children.? We were guests at their ski home for a few days during winter break. Sitting after dinner at the dining room table, with their kids and our kids playing in the den, we wound up having a......
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The title may appear glib or snarky to some, but that is not how it is intended.? It simply reflects the desire to see us all open our hearts and minds not only to an ever wider understanding of wisdom, but also to seeing the deep inter-relatedness of various wisdom systems and teachers. According to tradition, both Jesus and Isaac Newton were born on December 25th, something I find quite interesting and even inspiring.? For me, each are world-transforming teachers who shaped the world for the better, no matter what faith we......
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Did you know that folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land Is Your Land” in 1940 as a reaction to Irving Berlin’s classic anthem “God Bless America” (originally written in 1918)? It’s one of the many fascinating facts about the beloved tunes found in John Shaw’s book This Land That I Love. Guthrie reportedly found “God Bless America” jingoistic and uncritical; using a melody borrowed from the old Baptist hymn “Oh My Lovin’ Brother” he wrote a six-verse protest song. The final three verses of “This Land Is Your Land” (which are......
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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.
