If we were to go back two thousand one hundred and ninety years ago, to the time of Antiochus IV and the Maccabee Revolt, we would find a state of the world and Jewish affairs in many ways similar to today. Persia was the America of those days, where most Jews resided. Cyrus the Great was the first ruler of…
Maoz Tzur
As children at Chanukah time, as we lit the candles we would sing “ Maoz Tzur Yeshuati, the cat’s in the cupboard and she can’t see me. How many kittens has he got? Ten or Twenty I forgot.” Maoz Tzur Yeshuati translates as “The strength of my Rock ( referring to God of course) who saves me.” It is an anonymous poem…
Circumcision
The month of Kislev that we have just entered is when we celebrate Chanukah and the rebellion against Greek overlords more than 2,000 years ago. One of the crucial issues then was the rite of circumcision. Alexander the Great, like the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great, tolerated all religions, their rites, and customs, so long as their people accepted…
Educating Children
“Spare the rod and spoil the child” goes the old English saying. It is based on the book of Proverbs 13.24 “He who holds back the stick must hate his child”. The idea is that if you care about your child, you really should discipline him or her. Not to do so, is an act of selfish indulgence and cowardice.…
Unpredictable Politics
I realize someone has to run a country. I just wish there was another viable alternative to current politics. Politicians are concerned with gaining power and holding on to it. Most of their decisions are determined by what will get them re-elected or hang on to power. But where a country is divided into fundamentally different viewpoints or dogmas, on…
Anger
Wherever we turn, anger seems to be the prevailing mood. It is not just the political climate wherever you turn. It is so unproductive but is one of the most common of emotions. Together with guilt, it is probably the least constructive. Freud liked to characterize Moses and God as angry. But like any emotion, there are positive and negative aspects…