Monthly Archives: September 2012

Don’t Pick Your Nose In Public

I find it disconcerting how many of the elementary courtesies are ignored by many in Orthodox Judaism. For instance, picking your nose in public. It’s widespread among my Orthodox friends. Historian Marc B. Shapiro writes: …R. Eliezer Melamed – who … Continue reading

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The Tree Of Life (2011)

I don’t know whether to love or to hate this 2011 movie. Because it kept my attention for every frame, I guess I have to side with love.

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More Fragile Than I Expected

Everybody I meet, everybody I get to know, is more fragile than I expected. More moody. More sensitive. More vulnerable. More crushed by life (with few exceptions). I remember meeting Joe Montana in the summer of 1985 when the San … Continue reading

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How many plooks till you’re out?

I would never have a rabbi who’s once committed adultery, once slipped with a congregant, once molested a child. Once and you’re out. You should go sell insurance. But Orthodox Judaism tends to be forgiving. Molest kids, get arrested for … Continue reading

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How Many Orthodox Jews Are Happy About Being Jewish?

I am shocked at the high percentage of Orthodox Jews I meet who tell me that if they had a choice, they would not be Jewish. It’s too hard. Too much of a burden. But they feel obligated by tradition … Continue reading

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