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 |
March 30, 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......
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When we talk about the word “soul,” we usually think about something immaterial, ethereal, and divine. But that framing is actually much more of a Greek idea, which became much more integrated into later Jewish (and even moreso Christian) thinking. Most often in the Torah, the word that’s translated as “soul” is the word nefesh, but in the context of Leviticus, nefesh actually means something physical. In 5:2, for example: Or when a person touches any impure thing (be it the carcass of an impure beast or the carcass of impure cattle......
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This Week In Wisdom, Weekly Parsha |
March 17, 2023
Building Sacred Community – Parashat Vayakhel Pekudai
Building the Mishkan as an example of building community...
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Historic Profiles, Inspiring Story, Longform, Uncategorized, Weekly Parsha |
February 28, 2023
Skill, Wisdom, and Heart
How do we gain in skill? For that matter, what is a skill? Many assume that it is an ability that comes from tireless practice. Others connect it to formal training or schooling. Still, more ascribe it to innate talent. Few attribute it to God. Whatever one might believe (or not believe) about God, it may be worth delving into what makes a skill innate – part of who we are, easier to acquire and hone, or something that gives us joy and purpose. This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20......
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Exodus 18 begins with a verse that for years has stopped me in my tracks: “Jethro, priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, God’s people, how God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt.” My stunned disbelief abounds: Moses was married to a gentile? Moses’ father-in-law was a Midianite priest? Who told Jethro about the Exodus? Did Jethro identify the Israelites as God’s people? What, where, why, how, who?! Our classical commentators also seemed surprised by the verse and equally surprised by the......
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Inspiring Story, Longform, This Week In Wisdom, Weekly Parsha |
February 02, 2023
Take the Long Way: Parashat Beshalach
In my family, we have the concept of the “Stanton shortcut.” It pertains to an unnecessarily long path that my father, my brother, or I take when going from one place to another, leading to wonderful adventures or learning opportunities – and a far longer duration of travel than any of us anticipated at the outset. We’ve taken some wonderful “shortcuts” all over the world, using many different modes of transportation, and we continue to revel in the time we wound up spending together en route. Evidently, this is far from an......
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