Why is the festival of Shavuot called "the time of the giving of our Torah" and not the time of the receiving of our Torah? Because the giving of the Torah happened at one specified time, but the receiving of the Torah happens at every time and in every generation.
On this Presidents’ Day celebration, can we admit the gap between our professed ideals and the grimy, bloody reality with which we live? Only then, I think, does our observance of the remembrance rise to be worthy of a free and democratic people. Without that recognition of the ideals yet to be achieved, we risk elevated military might and economic wealth to nearly-idolatrous levels of veneration.
How life teaches us! We read books and attend lectures and we think we are ready for what life brings. Armed with our learning, we venture into the world only to discover that the formulas of the brain do not help bind the wounds of the heart.
As published in the Jewish Journal: https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/312306/jewish-wisdom-for-a-time-of-pandemic/
The Coronavirus is now officially a world-wide pandemic. As I write these words, there are about 130,000 confirmed cases, of whom some 5,000 have died, another 6,000 are considered serious, and about 70,000 people have recovered. 116 countries have been infected (out of a global total of 195). By the time you read these words, it is probably that the numbers will have risen...
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Let’s rethink the assumptions of religion, taking seriously what we learn about the world from science (including relativity theory, quantum, cognitive neurology, evolution) and bring that back to a biblical/rabbinic understanding of how God and world create meaning through dynamic relationship and self-determined choice.
Listen in to December's Q&A with Rabbi Artson and the students of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. This month's hot topics: the future of Conservative Judaism, December dilemma, Kaddish without a Minyan, Jewish law (halakhah) today, the power of Hanukkah, personal preference vs communal authority, issues about Israel!
Listen in to the Ziegler School monthly Q&A with Rabbi Bradley Artson, as we explore: teshuva for today, making the world more just, is Conservative Judaism dying?, can we get the old people to step aside?, what if you don't believe in God?, what about Ellen?, and french fries? and how do we navigate humility while being true to ourselves?