"Shylocks"
There is a diary on the recommended list right now that, I'm told, has been on the rec list for most of the day. I've been through the diary and I can see why -- it's a good diary. But it has one...
View ArticleD'var Torah: B'midbar
Parashat B'midbar Numbers 1:1-4:20This week's Torah portion, the first in Sefer B'midbar, the Book of Numbers, focuses on two topics: a census of male Israelites (excluding Levites) between the ages of...
View ArticleD'var Torah: Chukat
Parashat Chukat Numbers 19:1-22:1All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being...
View ArticleD'var Torah: Mas'ei
Parashat Mas'ei Numbers 33:1-36:13This is the final Torah portion in the Book of Numbers. Numbers is essentially a chronicle of the Israelites' 40 years of wandering in the desert between the Exodus...
View ArticleD'var Torah: Va'Etchanan
Parashat Va'Etchanan Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11With apologies, I didn't realize until this afternoon that no one had signed up to write this week's d'var Torah. This week's portion is very complicated so...
View ArticleRemembering
I don't know what it is about our culture that requires that everything be sensationalized. I intend to spend the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks avoiding the media as much as possible. Any of us...
View ArticleJewish Holidays: Calling for Volunteers
It occurs to me that with so many folks boycotting the site this week (fight the good fight, my friends!), I'd better get this out tonight. The Jewish holiday season begins in just a couple of weeks...
View ArticleThis was cold-blooded murder
A little over four years ago, I posted this diary:Q: What do you call it when a person kills another person, with full intent and premeditation? A: Murder.Q: What do you call it when the government...
View ArticleD'var Torah: VaYeshev
Parashat VaYeshev Genesis 37:1-40:23✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡I'm traveling for work this week and haven't had time to write anything...
View ArticleIt only took 1,500 years
The internet is still relatively young, not even 50 years even if you count precursors, but the concept of hypertext is much older. One of the earliest written examples of hypertext is the Talmud, the...
View ArticleD'var Torah: VaYigash
Parashat VaYigash Genesis 44:18-47:27With apologies if anyone else was planning on posting something; the schedule didn't show anyone for this week. I also haven't had time to write anything new, so...
View ArticleMy grandparents didn't want to be converted
My friend Mets102 has posted a couple of diaries recently about Mormons converting dead Jews to their faith, including Daniel Pearl, who was murdered for no reason other than that he was a Jew, and...
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