Any Anglo Jew from the 1960s will be familiar with the “Jacobs Affair” that divided the Jewish community more than any other religious debate in its history. There were other conflicts, between Sephardi and Ashkenazi, Reform and Traditional. But none as bitter or as lasting as this. I was a teenager when it all began, but it had a profound…
General Topics
Hard-hearted
My last blog was intentionally controversial. The aim was to point out that people rarely seem capable of hearing, let alone absorbing another point of view. Some of my readers only read or misread what confirmed their previous standpoint. We seem conditioned to listen to what we want to hear. I get accused by the right of being left and by…
The Cuckoo Coup
What a year America has had. To add to the scourge of Covid19, we have seen the self-destruction of a President and we are witnessing a serious degradation in the values of American society. There is no humility, no grace, no dignity, and no sense of humanity. It is an era of lies, distortion, avatars, selfies, selfishness, fake identities and…
Modesty
Democracy is the best form of government we have because it tries to resolve issues through respectful debate and dialogue, not through violence or coercion. Which of course applies equally to the Left and to the Right. I have watched more television this past year than I should have and I have been struck by the incessant diet of sex,…
Twelfth Night
As a child, I liked to feel how fortunate I was to have eight days of Chanukah, whereas the non-Jews only had one day. But then I learned that was not quite correct, they had twelve. In theory at least. One of Shakespeare’s most loved comedies is “Twelfth Night.” What is the Twelfth Night? There’s no clue in the play…
Hasmonean Women
I realize what a patriarchal society we, like the rest of the world, have been until very recently. Sadly, many still are. But there are three heroines connected to the Chanukah festival I’d like to celebrate even if the festival itself is over for this year. The Hasmonean dynasty after its glory period, soon descended, into a pretty nasty collection…