Understanding "The Pianist" & Jewish Opinion on Trump
If you’re Jewish and confused by other Jews’ response to Trump, whether the support he has from the religious and particularly the religious Israeli Jews or the powerful, loud opposition he faced from the non-religious American Jewish community, it will pay to remember The Pianist. The story: A talented Jewish pianist from Warsaw is saved from […]
Why Unity Is Impractical And You Can, Too
On The Mysteries Of King Solomon And Koheles
I write this in my Sukkah, wearing my intellectual sleeping cap and bunny slippers, as the birds chirp all around on this glorious first morning of Chol Hamoed. Why, oh why, would Jews choose to read Koheles, Ecclesiastes, most nihilistic of all twenty-four scriptures, during a festival of joy? Granted, it is not my custom; Chabad […]
Love and Fear in Elul (part 1)
Bear with me: Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush helped me understand a mind-bending discourse on love and fear.
On The Topic Of Having A Band At Slichos
With thanks to Eli Berger, who wanted me to write something about Jewish aesthetics. If live music can stir our emotions and slichos is meant to be an emotional prayer connecting us with our creator, it might seem like being against a band at slichos is pure stodgy contrarianism. But the truth is, unsurprisingly, more […]
Writing about it won’t help. I’m so angry. I’m so angry for being born and for being in this place. Not really. not authentically. Not in a way that I’d want to reverse the process of being born or being in this world. See, even that’s not real. And that’s part of why I’m angry. […]