Farfetched, it isn’t. In fact, it’s quite tempting. The more I think about it, the more I am drawn to construct a course entitled Judaism is Dangerous. As such, I am indebted to Reverend Shelton Gibbs, III; Pulpit minister of Greenville Church of Christ in nearby Richardson, who recently advertised an upcoming course on “Dangerous Isms,” where Judaism appeared alongside […]
Yesterday, the Supreme Court met to hear the case of plaintiffs David Mullins and Charlie Craig and defendant Jack Phillips. Jack Phillips is proprietor of Masterpiece Cake Shop in Colorado. He refused to bake/create an elaborate wedding cake for Mr. Mullins and Mr. Craig, citing his religious beliefs that find same sex marriage to be at best, unacceptable. The “Jewish […]
Not that it’s a contest, but when it comes to fireworks, the outside world doesn’t hold a candle – Roman or otherwise, to us. As Jews, we are the world champion of fireworks. Realize, if you will, that 70 candles are lit annually in Jewish households where festivals and holidays are observed. That’s in addition to yahrzeit candles, Havdalah candles, […]
I very much doubt that many, if any, rabbis have ever used Yom Kippur to speak about capital punishment. With the exception of the fifth and final prayer of the day – Neilah – mention is made in every Yom Kippur service of four different types of capital punishment administered by the (human) court: stoning, burning, beheading and strangulation. Given […]
Every so often, a new prayer book or High Holiday Machzor makes a debut. As leader of a congregation who replaced a tried and true High Machzor a few years ago, far be it from me to speak out against new texts. What I do take issue with however, is the reason for the change. Reform, Conservative and Orthodox movements […]
