Posts Tagged: rabbi akiva
Idol Worship and the Trouble with ‘Normal’
JNS.org - Are you into the TV show “American Idols?” Do you enjoy watching all that talent on television? What about other “idols?” In this week’s...
The Flint Water Crisis and The Flow of Torah
The Talmud has a fascinating origin story for Rabbi Akiva, one of its greatest sages. His formative years were not spent in the study halls,...
Lag B’Omer Amid COVID-19: An Invitation to Civility
Some 2,000 years ago, according to the Talmud, “Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from Gevat...
Lag B’Omer: Top 10 Ways to Celebrate
JNS.org - Lag B’Omer isn’t one of the best-known Jewish holidays, though some may notice that the men whose faces have grown fairly fuzzy following Passover are...
Being a ‘Good Person’ Is Not the Be All and End All
There has always been an inclination among Jews to present contemporary political views as being in line with Judaism and Jewish teachings. Perhaps the most...
Lag B’Omer: The Forgotten Zionist Holiday
Ask someone which Jewish holiday occurs this week, and many people will draw a blank. While Pesach, Chanukah, and Purim are essential for so many religious...
Jewish Unity Is the Answer to Israel’s Troubles
I live in Israel, and most everyone I know there is busy trying to make sense of an insane situation. It’s not that anyone is...
Rabbi Akiva and the IRS
As the IRS scandal unfolds, it is worth recalling that , according to the medieval rabbis, the practice of reciting kaddish, the Jewish prayer...
Lag B’Omer: Rethinking the Rabbi Akiva Narrative
As is the case for many holidays in the Jewish calendar cycle, Lag B'Omer (April 28 this year) carries within it not one, but multiple...
Faith as a Journey
In its account of the festivals of the Jewish year, this week's parshah contains the following statement: You shall dwell in thatched huts for seven...
Don’t Celebrate Ignorance
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance. -- Saul Bellow Light travels faster than sound. That's why most people seem bright until...
