Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Summit?

“Once upon a time,” the Biblical story reads, Jacob returned home to his parents, only to discover that his brother Eisav, who had years before sworn to kill Jacob in revenge for what he saw as the theft of his blessing, was coming with a force of 400 men. Such a large contingent suggested that the passage of time had not alleviated the resentment. Eisav’s intent must be violence. So Jacob prepared himself for war, while he prayed to G-d and sent gifts. One sentence in particular caught the attention of the Sages. “Jacob was very afraid and distressed.” (32: 8)

“Thousands of years later,” the media headlines read, Jacob’s descendant, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is returning to his…

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Abraham’s Clone (25:19)

In past generations many of the miracles associated with the Messianic redemption were undoubtedly viewed as implausible myths. But now modern science has turned legend into reality. Even the Biblical prophecy of the Resurrection of the Dead, once considered the ultimate ‘fairy-tale’ is now seriously discussed in respected medical journals.

True, today’s technology doesn’t yet allow for the type of breakthroughs where dinosaurs are brought back to life as dramatized in movies like Jurassic Park. However, similar medical miracles (remember Dolly the sheep), utilizing the process of cloning, are on the horizon. Thus when the Sages spoke of the miniscule luz spinal-bone being the source to rebuild all Jews who once lived, they were simply intimating how G-d might employ…

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Birthday Reflections

Today, the 13th day of Kislev is my birthday. True, I have now been around awhile, but not as long as birthday celebrations have been. Already in the book of Genesis there is mention of a banquet in honor of Pharaoh’s birthday back in 1534 BCE. The interesting thing is, for much of our history, birthday parties were not part of the Jewish social scene.  Compare!  The yahrzeit dates of the various Biblical and Rabbinic personalities are recorded and commemorated, whereas their dates of birth are mostly unknown. King Solomon gave voice to this attitude when he said, < em>

“Better the day of death than the day of one’s birth.”

Darwin Vs. Survival

At first, it was nothing more than a game. Board games, like chess and backgammon, which have been around for centuries, were simply for fun. Even when card and dice games lured professional gamblers, most people still played for leisure.  Then came professional sports, and games became big business. Nonetheless, it was all part of the entertainment industry. But one day the game left the living room and the baseball field and entered into the research labs of mathematicians and theoretical economists. 

“Game Theory”  had been largely unnoticed until one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, John von Neumann, realized that the mathematical models used in economics did not mirror the way decisions are made in the…

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Darwin Vs. Survival

At first, it was nothing more than a game. Board games, like chess and backgammon, which have been around for centuries, were simply for fun. Even when card and dice games lured professional gamblers, most people still played for leisure.  Then came professional sports, and games became big business. Nonetheless, it was all part of the entertainment industry. But one day the game left the living room and the baseball field and entered into the research labs of mathematicians and theoretical economists. 

“Game Theory”  had been largely unnoticed until one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, John von Neumann, realized that the mathematical models used in economics did not mirror the way decisions are made in the…

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A Brave New World

Search, Converse, Encounter

The image of Isaac, “Out into the field towards evening to meditate,” is highly appropriate for the introspective, quiet Patriarch. Biblical Isaac often appears withdrawn, inward, even passive. In his marriage, Rivkah is more often the active partner. Thus meditating in a field quite fits Isaac’s character.
The Talmud however, more concerned with halachah than psychology, draws its own inference from the verse. Isaac’s recorded ‘meditation’ refers to a prayer, while ‘towards evening’ means afternoon. Thus Mincha was born.
But as to the exact origin of our daily prayers, the Sages differ. “Rabbi Yose said, ‘The prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs.’ Rabbi Yehoshua said, ‘The prayers were instituted to replace the daily sacrifices’... in accordance with Rabbi Yose…Abraham instituted…

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Abraham's Prayers Helped Abraham

G-d’s mind was made up. He was all set to destroy Sodom. In fact, He had already ‘descended’ (a Biblical metaphor for Heavenly investigation), heard the city’s outcry, and passed judgment. Nonetheless, G-d thought to Himself that He would not hide from Abraham that the neighborhood, so to speak, was about to become an undesirable slum.

At first glance, one would imagine that Abraham, upon hearing that Divine Justice was about to be served, would rise to his feet and sing Hallelujah!  But that is not what transpired. Abraham quickly adopted the role of merciful advocate, begging for a stay of execution. After all, Abraham asks of G-d, there must be some righteous folks in the vicinity of Sodom who…

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Prayer: a Divine Dialogue

Prayer is one of the most difficult of Jewish rituals to master. I don’t mean the technical details of when to stand, when to bow, what blessings are said or omitted on a particular day. Those are specific laws that one can easily learn and become proficient in.

However, the real meaning of prayer, i.e., the realization that one cannot accomplish everything on his own but one needs a little help from Above, that is an art not easily acquired This requires more than mere knowledge, it has to be coupled with the feeling that one has been granted a private audience with the Almighty.

We all know how difficult that can be. Thus many people may be sitting in…

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A Hakhel Society

From the very outset, the people of Israel knew something unprecedented had happened at Sinai. The authenticity of a revelation supposedly experienced by one person (as in Christianity and Islam) could be questioned. One witnessed by an entire nation, young and old, saint and sinner, could not.
But more than a new religion was born that day; a unique type of nation was being formed, one that would be the antithesis of Egypt in which the few had power and the many were enslaved. At Sinai, the children of Israel ceased to be a group of individuals and became a body politic under the sovereignty of G-d whose mission was to be, “A holy nation.”
Three developments proved crucial in…

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War & Peace

Torah does not preach pacifism. Indeed, the exact opposite: we have to “wipe out” Amalek, the Canaanites, etc.! Is religion aggressive?  Does it cause war? Would world peace be around the corner without it?
Let’s be honest. Fighting comes naturally to people; it exists without religion and society has always romanticized aggression. From Sparta to the Samurai, from the knight who jousted to the cowboy with the fastest gun, the duel was proof of courage and honor. 
In contrast, Judaism never considered violence glamorous. True, new recruits in Bar Kochba’s army proved their bravery by severing one of their fingers, but the Rabbis then strongly disapproved, considering it destructive and pointless. Still, despite the Jewish distaste for violence, Judaism recognizes…

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