Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic in Retrospect, Part II: No Literature Created Equal
An Analysis of the Clashes Between Judaic and Secular Studies in the Jewish Day School ...
Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic in Retrospect, Part I: Introduction
An Analysis of the Clashes Between Judaic and Secular Studies in the Jewish Day School ...
Who Hates Who?
The following is a letter to the editor of an imaginary paper that would only be read by people who understand that I mean well, and who know that I write this as a humble teacher moved to teach: Dear Editor: If a friend of yours confided that she had several relationships with men all of whom abused her; you would offer that while one abusive relationship can happen by ...
Bad Karma?
Is it possible that even when you do the right thing it will bring you negative consequences? Imagine that your Aunt walks into the room, this is the first time you have seen her since she became ill. She looks gaunt and pail, but you want to cheer her up so you tell her that she looks great. She smiles and says you’re just saying that, but you can tell it pleased ...
Davening on airplanes
I haven't posted in a while, perhaps because I haven't felt particularly passionate about anything. Here's something I am passionate about, having dealt with it recently on a plane back from Israel: We all know the feeling. You're sitting on an El AL plane to Israel, the seat belt sign is on, it's some ungodly hour and everyone is sleeping as you're flying over who knows where, when suddenly tens of hat, streimel, and kippa wearing ...
Soapbox Hobo
You've probably seen him more often in TV, Movies and other visual media than you have on the street where he belongs. He's the guy with the sign that says: "The end is near!", "Kiss tomorrow goodbye!", "Earth is doomed!" and other optimistic cheerful things. Today, I dare to be the crazy guy. Hear me and hear me well. The end is a near. Forget what you thought you knew. Statistics regarding the ...
The Other Leather Bondage
I, once again, feel I may be going into territory not as family friendly as this site is intended. If your sensibilities are easily offended (or if you think I really have gone "too far"), feel free to express yourself in comments. Some teachers have one liners that live on outside the classroom. One of my favorites by Rabbi B. of TABC was representing the outside world's view of Jewish customs. "You tie on leather straps ...
Wordle Shows Visual Representations of Any Text with Cool Biblical Implacations
Today, someone sent me the link to a new web 2.0 site, Wordle. Wordle gives you a tag cloud of any text you put in. Someone already mashed up Vayikra (Leviticus), Rus (Ruth) and Tehillim (Psalms) - shown below. Other really cool examples are the Gettysburg Address and the Declaration of Independence. It's a great new tool that shows you how on target your message is, but can clearly be used in a unique visual way to illustrate the basics of any book, speach or other written material. ...
Don't Eat a Peach or Raisins and Almonds because Carrot Juice is Murder
We are on the approach to the Pentecost, also known as Shavuot. On the holiday of Shavuot there is a well known custom not to eat any meat. There is a lesser known custom of the day prior to Shavuot not to eat any meat or any milk. Both customs are of the same origin: we personally go through the process of receiving the Torah, first we are made aware that there are restrictions on what we can eat and thus we become vegans until we are told what is permissible. Next we are told which animals are Kosher (allowing milk) and only lastly we are told how to properly slaughter them. It seems rather presumptuous to believe that we only need permission to eat mammals, fowl, fish and insects. Aren't all God's creatures precious? What gives us the right to kill any living thing for any purpose, including vegetation? Deuteronomy 20:19 declares a similitude between man and tree.1 Certainly, the Torah had no confusion about plants being alive. This is clear based on the simple words used for reproduction such as "seed" and "fruit." It is worth the moment to point out that the fruit that one eats, the apple, the orange, the watermelon is the embryo of the plant; you are eating the impregnated womb: the fruit is the embryonic fluid and the seed is the zygote. ...
Torah Judaism, Homosexuality, and Gay Marriage
The Torah does not like gays. For some Jews, this is not a difficult challenge to overcome. The Torah may have been inspired by God, but it was written by men. Its intolerance toward homosexuals can be written off as the outdated bigotry of a bygone age. For others, it is not a challenge at all. The Torah is the unchanging word of God. Since it describes homosexuality as an "abomination," then that is how it should ...
