Monthly Archives: February 2013

Now that Purim has passed, I wonder what lessons we will take forward this time around.  One insidious trap in Jewish practice is to merely repeat, year-to-year, exactly what we did, said and (supposedly) learned each previous year.  While continuity … Continue reading →

Perhaps it’s so obvious that it almost disappears, but it strikes me in this year’s reading, more than any other message, is the simple reality of an entire people pooling their efforts and resources to honor the Transcendant  God.  The … Continue reading →

Yale Law Professor Amy Chua created quite a stir a couple years ago with her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”, advocating parents’ high expectations for their children.  Much of the contemporary media rose up to attack her since … Continue reading →

The parsha, Torah portion, we read this past week, Mishpatim, presents the basis for a civil society based on law. Interestingly, the word, משפט, mishpat, also means a sentence, a group of words which work together to communicate a specific … Continue reading →

This article first appeared in the JTNews, Seattle and the Pacific Northwest’s Jewish bi-weekly newspaper. Judaism has contributed a great deal to world civilization.  We introduced the concept of ethical monotheism and were among the first peoples to encourage universal … Continue reading →

Tikkun Olam is a very popular theme these days.  Although traditionally this has been a kabbalistic concept, the past several decades has seen the phrase applied more to environmental, as well as to social/political issues including climate, disease, human rights, war … Continue reading →