If you want to know
just how far out of touch, measured by years, modern Rabbis are from the Jewish
people, then look no further than the concept of Gd, always, always, always
compared to a king. Of course it’s in
the liturgy, of course it is in the whispered response to the Shema. And if you believe, as I do, that this
liturgy is divinely inspired, then there is one obvious reason that the divine
inspired this metaphor—because people could relate to it. There was certainly a time in human history
where those who ruled other people were thought to possess intelligence and
some kind of supernatural favor that allowed them to command armies and wealth
almost, but not completely, beyond the conception of regular folks. And for this reason kings inspired and
natural respect and even awe. And all of
this ended in 1215 C.E. at the signing of the Magna Carta. From that moment on, kings and rulers,Continue reading...

A friend commented on my last post, asking me to explore the
relationship between religion and hate, and this seemed like a good idea.  The problem is, of course, that the
conversation has been hashed and rehashed over and over, again and again, until
it resembles some little bit of verse that sneaks into the collective mind—such
as Candy is dandy but liquor is quicker. 
So let’s change the dialogue just a little bit, and start with something
objective, as if we were discussing and comparing a still life by Rembrandt and
Van Gogh.  Let’s put a basket of fruit in
the middle of the table and use that as a reference point—something concrete
that we can both see and point to, an anchor dropped in the sea of words and
ideas. 

So how about we begin with a quote from noted biochemist
Candace Pert, something she said while being interviewed by Bill Moyers.  In the process...

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Like any problem or any idea, you can choose to look at it
from a perspective that will solve it or improve it, or you can look at it in a
way that keeps it around longer or makes it worse. You can see this throughout history—a very
simple example is Lavoisier’s little experiment in which he ‘discovered’
oxygen, as if before this experiment people didn’t know that they were
breathing, or that if they called stuff they were inhaling ‘air’ they were less
intelligent. I remember reading his
scientific paper, and as he compiled his data, he had a choice. We aren’t taught this choice, that helps the
myth of science continue, that the data interprets itself, but there was a
choice. He could have taken this data
and tinkered with the old theory to make the data fit within it, or he could start a
whole new theory. He chose the latter,
and began an era where humans began to create the...

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Purim late than never, right? I consider Purim to be a two-day affair, the
first day fasting, making sure the
tzeddekah gets into the right hands, in my case giving it to a rabbi of a
large orthodox congregation, and buying what I need to make some shaloch manot. I never expect to actually see the rabbi,
when I do it is always by accident, running into him at the store or I walk
into the main office as he pops out of his private office, and so our talks are
two minutes at the most. As is turns

Position open for scientist, Biologist or Chemist
preferable. Base salary, with winnings
from Nobel Award, quite substantial.

I’ve said it before, and quite a few others have said it
before me, that in some key respects, Western science is lagging behind many
ancient cultures in some important observations and discoveries. We who live in the West need someone to step
up and help us to catch up to the rest of the world, ironically the ancient
world.