It seem like every year at this time I get stuck in a rut; I get depressed, and the only subject that comes to mind when writing is how much I hate Christmas. In the past, I’ve taken it from a practical standpoint, as well as a bit of a…
I’m starting this post with links for finding support for Jews who are hurting from this event. https://reformjudaism.org/blog/2018/10/27/jewish-resources-coping-after-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting I’m ending this post with links for where to send support for those who want to help. I don’t think I ever feel more like an outsider than when there’s been a…
Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. It closes out the High Holidays, the really important holidays for Jews (please not that Hanukkah is not in there). They begin with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. On that date tradition says that judgement on each person is written,…
Don’t worry. Part 2 is titled Chanukah: Why it’s a wonderful holiday. Chanukah is a problematic celebration. If you were to ask any gentile (and most Jews) what it was about, they’d tell you that a part of the story is the Maccabees conquering the Greeks. And yet military victories are…
Degrassi, the ridiculous high school comedy/drama/satire/after school special, is back. This is truly one of my guilty pleasures. Pop Culture Happy Hour (one of my favorite podcasts) has addressed the topic of guilty pleasure, and they make a fantastic point. Most guilty pleasures are actually shameful pleasures. Guilt comes from…
I’m going to tell the story of how I lost religion. I had given up god some time before that. The god concept went out the window with science and philosophy. But religion seemed more of a practical matter. It was community, prepackaged ethics, and in the case of some…
