The festival of Hanukah celebrates the triumph of Judah Maccabee. And he saw himself as the reincarnation of King David, the giant slayer. But David was a very complex and multifaceted character. He was the beloved handsome, singer of psalms, shepherd, musician, fighter, and king. A thousand years after he lived, the rabbis of the Talmud re-created him in their…
Better Angels
Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg said that “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Steven Pinker, not known for his religious faith wrote a well-received book “…
Capitalism
The popular narrative of the moment is that Capitalism has failed. Capitalism, it is argued, is not providing for the needs of a fair and just society. Instead, it is allowing a small section of the population to amass vast sums at the expense of others. And this may be true. But the question is, what’s better? Originally, “capitalism” simply…
George Eliot & Judaism
George Eliot (whose real name was Mary Ann Evans) has always been one of my favorite English novelists. She combined command of the language with a gift for a great story and an acute observation of the inequalities, and social hypocrisies of her age. Last week was the 200th anniversary of George Eliot’s birth. To celebrate it there is a…
Pompeo’s gift
Good news. Bad news. The US has declared that settlements on the West Bank are not illegal according to international law, despite nearly everyone else claiming they are. “After carefully studying all sides of the legal debate,” Mr. Pompeo told reporters, “The United States has concluded that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not, per…
Truth
“What is truth?” is the question Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea, asked two thousand years ago. Possibly the most famous question of all time! Truth is what you think to be the truth. That is the best answer modern philosophy has to offer. What does the Torah say? The Biblical word for what we call truth is Emet. It is…