Issue Spotting is an essential legal skill. The Torah Portion Vayeitzei provides a target rich environment to employ it to address Decalogue and Decalogue-adjacent issues. The Portion offers an opportunity to unleash one’s inner barrister! For those wanting to taste the legal profession or a Bar Exam, this Post invites you into an attorney’s mindset.Continue reading “Issue Spotting: Vayeitzei’s Ten Commandments’ Moment”
Tag Archives: faith
Poetry On Odds?
Can a poem can be reduced to a statistical discourse? While not an eclectic Tom Lehrer composition, a scriptural poem’s profound imagery can be reduced to numbers. For Mr. Leher, his song –The Elements- provides Chemistry Student a tool for memorizing the Periodic Table. For the Hebrew Bible’s Psalm #1, a numerical calculus is suggestedContinue reading “Poetry On Odds?”
The Poetry of Politics?
The Book of Psalms, is a collection of 150 poems. While they are attributed to King David, historically, the Psalms were written by a variety of individuals. Further, their composition and crafting span hundreds of years. It is opined that they were compiled into final form during the Babylonian exile. Psalms are used within dailyContinue reading “The Poetry of Politics?”
The Question: “Why?” Lech Lecha’s Ten Commandments’ Moment
Make it make sense? The Torah Portion Noah’s Post-Flood Covenant should have solved all of the world’s problems. Correct? After all, the God-Human covenant assured that a world would not be subjected to another deity inflicted devastation. It was also sealed with a rainbow! Only a double rainbow could have made it better!! Genesis 8:21-22.Continue reading “The Question: “Why?” Lech Lecha’s Ten Commandments’ Moment”
Of Covenants, Noah’s Ten Commandments’ Moment
All creative work is derivative Nina Paley What is new may in fact be old. Painting with a different color scheme; playing music in a faster tempo; or re-purposing medications for a different disease. Incremental innovations can constitute newness. Slight changes may be just as impactful as radical innovation. The latter may, in fact, beContinue reading “Of Covenants, Noah’s Ten Commandments’ Moment”
Ha’ Azinu’s Ten Commandments’ Moment: God
If God didn’t exist, he would have been invented Voltaire God is perhaps the Ten Commandments’ most controversial subject. Poetry from the Torah Portion Ha’Azinu provides Prophetic insight into the divine being. Moses’ depictions provide much understanding of the Israelite Deity. Moses’ lifetime observations takes readers to the heights of Mt. Sinai to unlock theContinue reading “Ha’ Azinu’s Ten Commandments’ Moment: God”
Hitting the Goat Lottery? Yom Kippur’s Torah Portion
Can two goats and three High Holiday Torah Portions unlock atonement’s mechanics? In this instance, a Three-of-a-Kind meeting a Two Goat Lottery sheds light. Some of the Hebrew Bible’s most troubling of tales unlocks an atonement tool. Atonement The Hebrew Bible’s focus on truth, justice and righteousness fails to completely address Atonement. Atonement is arguablyContinue reading “Hitting the Goat Lottery? Yom Kippur’s Torah Portion”
Peak Justice or Cognitive Disaster? Vayelech
Ignorance of the law is no excuse While a Torah Portion Vayelech Commandment is symbolically magnificent, in modernity it presents as a pedagogical disaster. The utopian directive, on paper, delivers knowledge of the law to the entire populace. From a cognitive science perspective, however, the commandment is a failure. Can this problematic teaching methodology explainContinue reading “Peak Justice or Cognitive Disaster? Vayelech”
The Rosh Hashonah Torah Portion’s Ten Commandments’ Moment
Get up. Carry the boy and hold him in your hand, because I shall make him a big nation. Genesis 21: 23 The Rosh Hashonah Torah Portion tackles both matters of faith and covenant. Abraham, in the portion, is embroiled in a familial crisis. He must deal with competing maternal interests. Sarah, his wife, isContinue reading “The Rosh Hashonah Torah Portion’s Ten Commandments’ Moment”
Nitzavim: Of Rabbit Holes & Rashi: A Ten Commandments’ Moment
The Torah Portion Nitzavim starts with a beautiful passage advancing the Ten Commandments’ collective nature. This post explores whether the collective theme’s passage contains a hidden message. The Nitzavim passage is as follows: “You’re standing today, all of you, in front of the Lord, your God- your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers,Continue reading “Nitzavim: Of Rabbit Holes & Rashi: A Ten Commandments’ Moment”
The Ten Commandments Project 