Thoughts for Rosh Hashanah
A good summary and interpretation of the sources (and later folklore) surrounding Rosh Hashanah comes from from Howard Schwartz’s Tree … Continue Reading Thoughts for Rosh Hashanah
Rediscovering the Hidden Life
Years ago a good friend of mine wrote to me about the birth of his child and said, “I’d been … Continue Reading Rediscovering the Hidden Life
Thoughts for Shabbat: “I became aware of something sublime arising within”
A bit of thirteenth-century mysticism for your Friday night: Why do we utter letters and move them around? I, a … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: “I became aware of something sublime arising within”
Images: Caspar David Friedrich
Three weeks ago I’d barely heard of the painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). Awhile ago I had noted down that … Continue Reading Images: Caspar David Friedrich
The Reformation in a Nutshell
from Jacques Barzun’s Dawn to Decadence, 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life: In his Judgments on History, … Continue Reading The Reformation in a Nutshell
Thoughts for Shabbat: Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones
Ezekiel, chapter 38: 1The hand of the Lord came upon me. He took me out by the spirit of the … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones
First Person: Heloise Writes to Abelard
An amazing passage from a letter of Heloise to Abelard, those twelfth-century lovers who ended up in a nunnery and … Continue Reading First Person: Heloise Writes to Abelard
Thoughts for Shabbat: The Parable of Bread & Interpretation
from the Zohar: There was a man who lived in the mountains. He knew nothing about those who lived in … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: The Parable of Bread & Interpretation
Thoughts for Shabbat: The Voice from the Whirlwind
It is typical that the most powerful and even beautiful religious poetry should also be the most difficult to deal … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: The Voice from the Whirlwind
Thoughts for Shabbat: A Working Definition of YHWH
After rattling off the usually long list of reasons why the God of the Hebrew Bible is everything from in … Continue Reading Thoughts for Shabbat: A Working Definition of YHWH
The Religion of Ancient Egypt
A handful of passages from one of the best books on religion I’ve ever read, Erik Hornung’s Conceptions of God … Continue Reading The Religion of Ancient Egypt
Martin Luther Reinvents the German Language
When, in 1522, Martin Luther agreed to a staged kidnapping that would keep him safe from Catholic and other authorities, … Continue Reading Martin Luther Reinvents the German Language
A Working Definition of Yawheh
After rattling off the usually long list of reasons why the God of the Hebrew Bible is everything from in … Continue Reading A Working Definition of Yawheh
