Picture it: Limmud Weekend. Two summers ago. I’m at a retreat for Jewish adults and families. It’s like summer camp, for everyone. And at this very moment, I’m having a shouting match with a rabbi. I said, “Don’t you think, rabbi, that all the minhag and all the interpretations and Talmudic stuff detracts away [...]
This week’s torah portion is about rebellion. It’s about a guy named Korach who asks Moses the million dollar question: if everyone amongst the children of Israel is holy, a nation of priests, then why the hell are Moses and Aaron in charge of everything? In the end, Korach’s rebellion is put down by God [...]
There’s this urge when you become religious to buy every piece of Judaica possible. It’s a process that starts with simple jewelry, of course with chamsas and magen david on them. Then we move onto goofy tee shirts that say “matzah baller” or “I don’t roll on the Shabbos”. Eventually you start buying real Judaica, [...]
Buffets in general are just sleazy. Think about it: you’re eating piles and piles of cheap food while kids with sticky hands run around screaming and people with less than ideal hygiene sneeze, cough and manhandle the salad bar. That’s assuming you live in an industrialized nation where such a thing as a buffet could [...]
This week’s haftorah chronicles the birth of Samson to the childless Manoah and his wife of Tribe Dan. A visiting angel informs the mother-to-be that her son is to be a lifetime Nazirite, and as such, forbade her from taking part in food or wine [...]
