Learning from the “Other”

By ahowie February 21, 2011

The Talmud refers to Elisha ben Abuyah as acher, “other.” He is a public violator of Shabbat, obviously not condoned by the Talmudic Rabbis. Yet Rabbi Meir, a central Talmudic figure, is said to have gone to great lengths to “learn Torah from [ben Abuyah’s] mouth.” The rejection by most Orthodox Jews today of interactions…

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Moved by Our Hearts, Not Our Tastebuds

By akinman December 22, 2010

While Christmas tree lots empty and malls turn into theme parks, this holiday season has seemed to keep everybody on a festive high. While most kids around the world will be anticipating presents and cookies, I’m waiting in anticipation myself. No, not in hopes of getting goodies in a stocking or a thick slice of…

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Tradition

By bbarer November 5, 2010

What value does tradition have? What is added to an action, ritual, or practice from it being something that has been done for 500 years as opposed to 50 years or five years, or compared to starting a new ‘tradition’ altogether? As anyone who has watched Fiddler on the Roof knows – and judging by…

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eTorah

By akinman September 22, 2010

Compiled of 304,805 letters, 42 lines on each page, and parchment sewn together, a Torah is born (Chabad). But what if that Torah could be created and shipped to you in a matter of minutes. Enter the Kindle. With four weeks into school, I’ve seen JanSport backpacks look lighter, and paperbacks become obsolete. Inevitably, Amazon’s…

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