Posts Tagged: judaism
The Significance and Shame(?) of Jewish Names
We Jews are hyper-sensitive. Recently, several people have told me how embarrassed they are that Jewish names are so prominent in the current spate of...
My Problem with Religion
Marx was right. Religion is the opiate of the masses. And Freud was right too that religion is wish-fulfillment and satisfies the need for a...
Jewish Stoicism and Our Faith in God
One of the most remarkable of all Roman emperors was the philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius. His full name was Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus, which led the polymath...
Know Your Worth as a Jew
I was born in Israel to Jewish parents, Rachel and Mordecai Paldiel, and never knew my maternal grandfather, because he was killed in Israel’s 1948...
Three Jewish Stories and the Essence of Life
Three short Jewish stories sum up the essence of life -- and suggest the essential elements for a life of satisfaction and meaning. The first story...
Jewish Survival: Making Music With What Remains
The great Jewish historian Salo Baron objected to the "lachrymose" version of Jewish history -- the overemphasis on Jewish suffering. Instead, Jewish history should be...
Silence on the Left: Isn’t Security a Jewish Value?
JNS.org - About 10 hours after the horrible murder of 17-year-old Rina Shnerb in a terror attack last Friday, I was curious to see the...
The People of the Journey
JNS.org - “To be a Jew is to be on a journey,” writes Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his commentary on the upcoming weekly Torah portion...
Within Judaism: On Being Versus Becoming
JNS.org - It’s hard to thrive, or even function, if you don’t feel safe. Emotionally, if there is no love in your life, an inner...
Admiring Judaism Through the Eyes of a Christian
Devout, practicing Christian friends have told me over the years that they respect much about the Jewish faith. I decided recently to ask them what,...
My Controversy With the Mainstream Orthodox Community
When I was about 14 years old, I was drawn to Judaism for reasons I have discussed earlier. We lived in a small town called...
Jewish Political Theory
It is often said that neither the Bible nor Judaism has a theory of politics or, indeed, of political systems. This is untrue. For 2,000 years,...
Charity Is in Your Heart, Not Your Wallet
Some years ago, I came across an article that began with this rather startling statement: “If you raise money for charity, you're probably oppressing someone.” The...
Jewish Unity: My Wish for ‘E Pluribus Junum’
In 1776, three American founding fathers were tasked with choosing a national symbol. John Adams chose Hercules. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson preferred variations on...
