Judaism & Belief

Milk, Symbol of Sivan

May 21, 2015 By Ketzirah

Milk 2 by Andrew Magill, used by CC-A permissions

It’s traditional to eat dairy on Shavuot, which begins the first week of Sivan. Because of this, we’re going to explore dairy for the month of Sivan.

Let’s start with the separation of milk and meat in the Torah. What it actually says is “don’t boil a kid in its mother’s milk” (לֹא-תְבַשֵּׁל גְּדִי, בַּחֲלֵב אִמּוֹ). This prohibition is found tthree times in the Torah: Ex 23:19, Ex 34: 26 and Deut 14:21, which means — seriously, don’t freaking do this we’re not kidding around!!! Most likely this was a prohibition on mixing life and death; milk being the source of life and death being meat, very literally in this case the meat of the kid goat. It was also, according to the Encyclopeida of Jewish Symbols, a common ancient pagan practice to give an offering of [Read more…]

Parsha Ki Tisa – What Is Our Idol?

March 6, 2015 By Russell McAlmond

This week’s parsha of Ki Tisa is probably most known for the “Golden Calf”, the idol that the Israelites decided to worship when Moses did not show up when they expected him. We may think it is ridiculous that the Israelites of that day thought an idol should be made out of gold, but how many modern individuals worship making money? There is nothing inherently wrong with money unless an individual elevates it to the most important value in their life. Do we have our own “Golden Calf” today?

I have worked in the financial services world for over thirty years and have seen the effects of money on people and families. I have seen families torn apart by money issues and people commit terrible crimes just to obtain more of it. The worship of money, and all of things one can buy with it, is very powerful in our society. Money is good to have, but it needs to be balanced with all of our other values. There are values that are more important.

It is unfortunate when any person places money above their family, their faith or their people. If they do this, they are creating their own “Golden Calf.”

The Talmud says that when anyone reaches the World to Come, one of the first questions they will be asked is whether or not they conducted your business affairs (money) in a “fair manner.” It is not important whether one became rich or not, but how they used the money. Keeping money in perspective, but not an idol one is constantly trying to get more of, will lead to a more balanced life. There are wonderful opportunities for everyone to obtain the money they need to create a good life in our country. What we should not think, however, is that the pursuit of money alone is enough to fulfill that objective.

All the money in the world will not make you happy. Happiness is not about material wealth – it truly comes from within yourself. Invest money wisely, be responsible with it, respect it, but never think of it as the most important goal in your life.

Adar: Food as Transformation

March 3, 2015 By Ketzirah

What so many of us know about the holiday of Purim is what we can remember from the reading of the Megilah, getting to scream and yell in Synagogue, and, well, getting really…really….lit. Nothing like a Jewish holiday where we are actually supposed to get drunk and party. Yes. It’s the Jewish Mardi Gras.

All of that is amazing, fun and good.

But there is another tradition of Purim that I think we should all be talking about and more importantly DOING: Mishloach Manot (aka Shalach Manot).

Simply, this mitzvah is about the giving of two kinds of food gifts to someone. Mostly now it seems to be about giving a couple of kinds of hamentaschen to your grandmother. But there is such a clearer, deeper reason for this. Purim falls just as the winter is coming to an end. The time when in another era, in [Read more…]

Adar: Enter the Purim Shpiel

March 3, 2015 By Ketzirah

Yes — it’s time for Purim! Who doesn’t love Purim? They tried to kill us, they failed, we kicked their @$$ to the 7th generation — LET’S PARTY!!!!

Over on my own site, I waxed poetic (and ritual) about the hamantaschen. Over at , you can find some great hamantaschen recipe. Here at PunkTorah — I want to talk Purim Shpiel. Next to Passover, Purim is one of our most accessible and fun holidays and like Passover, it’s also serious. The Purim Shpiel is the tradition of doing a humorous play that mocks our enemies. Jews do love comedy, after all.

For years, I threw a killer Purim Shpiel at my house. I just called it a Purim party — but it was all the same. It’s amazing how awesome a party where everyone gets lit and acts out the bible while I read it can be. It was also always a huge opportunity for learning. I always read the JPS translation — and all the way through.

When we hit the end one year, my sister started to yell that I was making up the part where we slaughter Haman’s extended family. She didn’t remember that from Purim as a child. A HUGE debate ensued about this and whether or not they actually read the whole Megillah at our childhood synagogue and how this changed our impression of the holiday.

But seriously — when can you read the bible to people without seeming creepy? It’s awesome!

Here’s how I do it. I have some props that are for each main character and either asked friends who wanted to be whom, or in the true spirit of Purim, had them draw lots for parts. If people were unfamiliar with the characters, I would do a quick explanation. Everyone who didn’t play a part, had groggers and other noise makers — plus they got to drink.

Then I just start reading, and my friends act out any interpretation of what I’m saying they like. I can assure you, we had some fascinating interpretations going. I remember a prissy, pissy french Haman. One time it turned out the hidden story was that Haman was jealous of Vashti’s awesome gold/velvet stole. And well, Esther bowing before the King’s “golden scepter” lead to a not so family friendly interpretation of how Esther saved her people….

This year — invite your friends over and read the bible to them. Read the whole Megillah — word for word. Drink — you are obligated by Jewish law to eat, drink and be merry. Seriously — this is the only holiday where you are obligated to have fun. Take the opportunity to see what you can learn from the reveling and topsy-turvy experience of Purim.

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Ketzirah is a Kohenet, Celebrant, and Artist. She works with individuals and groups to explore, discover, and create meaningful rituals and ritual artwork to mark moments in life.

Parsha Tetzaveh – Back to the Past?

February 25, 2015 By Russell McAlmond

This week’s parsha of Tetzaveh is about temples, sacrifices and priests – oh my! Seriously, we who live in the 21st Century have a hard time understanding the reasons for all of this. Regarding kohanim, it goes against our modernity and and sense of egalitarianism that people should be given power for reasons of heredity. After all, look at what happened in North Korea. And animal sacrifices? In the day of PETA looking over our shoulders, do we really want to read about how to sacrifice bulls and rams and spread their blood on altars? Should we look to this ancient past for inspiration and help in our time?

The answer is, “Yes, we should!”

It is important to keep the Torah in modern perspective. It was written by men many years ago who were primarily concerned about how to maintain the cohesiveness of a tribe and people. It was also about how our people viewed G-d and their place in the world. It worked! Jews still identify as Jewish after thousands of years based on a shared heritage and respect for the wisdom of the Torah. But is the Torah all wisdom? No. There are things written, such as in this week’s parsha (Exodus 27:20 – 30:10), that had significance in that day and age, but simply don’t fit into the 21st Century.

Judaism evolves, as all religions and ideologies should evolve, to keep up with modernity. As human beings reach higher levels of moral maturity, we will naturally discard ancient ideas that conflict with these new realities. The wisdom of the Torah is mutable – and this is a good thing. As Jews, we need flexibility in our lives as well as our religion to adopt to new circumstances. If there is a lesson here for us in this week’s parsha it may be that we should learn how to discern true wisdom from ancient practices. Being careful not to throw out the baby with the bath water, as modern-day Jews, we still have a need to read the Torah with discernment.

Back to the past, yes, but firmly in the present as well.

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