Recently one of you fine people asked me this question, and I promised to respond to it today. So here is my first crack at a very good question. The richness of the rabbinic tradition is a valuable part of our heritage as Jewish people. Although some of us have been brought to believe that […]
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Aggadah, the non-halachic portion of rabbinic writings, often enshrines wisdom which is worn smooth with the passage of time, like stones in an ever-flowing stream. Between now and Shavuot we are reading one passage of Pirkei Avot each week. We started last week with Chapter One. We continue this week with Chapter Two. The passage […]
This is another of our Wildcard Wednesday postings, which in the nature of the case can deal with just about anything. Today’s contemplation is a step toward reinventing the entire paradigm of how Jewish Yeshua-believers ought to conceive of themselves and their task in sharing with other Jews the good news of Yeshua. My major point? […]
We continue with our normal Torah Tuesday series, presenting Lessons in Living from Moses our Mentor. This post roams throughout Torah and touches on the prophets as well, even quoting from Leviticus 19, from this week’s Torah reading. In this lesson Moses our Mentor challenges a sin that Jews commit toward each other, offering a prescription […]
There are some people who seem to go through life with a follow-spot on them, a bright light that makes them stand out from the crowd. Rebekah Simon-Peter is one of those people. I met her at a Hashivenu Conference to which she had been invited, and can attest to her energy, her charisma, and […]
I am finishing a book with the tentative title, Converging Destinies: Jews, Christians, and the Mission of God. I will not be addressing the Muslim world, or other world religions, as this is beyond my expertise. After examining six ways the Jewish and Christian worlds have thought of their relationship with each other, I will […]
As you should know, we have dedicated our Friday postings to Frequently Asked Questions and Questions and Answers. As a case in point, one of your number asked me this past week if I would do a posting about hell. Here it is. Let this be an incentive for others of you to ask your […]
Pirkei Avot is a small tractate of the Mishna [redacted about 220 CE] devoted to ethical principles. Although its name is usually translated, “Ethics of the Fathers,” because the word “avot” is often used in rabbinic writings to mean “fundamental principles,” the tractate might best be termed “Ethical Fundamentals” or something of the sort. The […]
In this final installment of our serialized review of The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, we examine Amy-Jill Levine’s last three chapters and Epilogue. Here she continues to demonstrate the intelligence, scholarship, wit and fairness we have admired all along. It has been a demanding and rewarding journey. Chapter […]
