God did not lead us by the nearer way when Pharaoh let the people go at last, but round-about, by way of the wilderness— pillars of fire and cloud marking night and day— to the edge of the flood-tide—uncrossable and vast. If God had led us by the nearer way, we cried, we would not …
Read MoreWhen I wash myself with water I shudder, thinking: “This is the sweat of millions of laborers.” Street-walkers are my bastard sisters, and sinister criminals – souls perhaps transmigrated from me. Concerning those murdered, I think that I encouraged the assassin. Perhaps I insulted the disgraced people in my town. Something …
Read MoreI’ve been wearing two green plastic bracelets for months. Modeled after Lance Armstrong’s yellow “Livestrong” bracelets,[1] my wristbands are supposed to call attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur. But how well do they accomplish that goal? Bracelet enthusiasts argue that the bracelets raise awareness about the genocide.[2] Cynics point to the superficial nature of …
Read MoreAt the Passover seder, we narrate the story of our slavery as a real-time autobiography, as if we are, at that moment, experiencing the Exodus from Egypt. Eating bitter herbs and crunching matzah, we identify with our Israelite ancestors, a nation of slaves on the other side of freedom. Contemporary liberation movements also find inspiration …
Read More“In Egypt, before the years of famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, bore to him.”[1] The Talmud reads these words as a pointed reference to Joseph’s sons being conceived and born before the great famine begins. This close reading turns into law: during a …
Read MoreParshat Chayei Sarah begins with Sarah’s death and ends with a surprise wedding announcement: at 140 years of age, Abraham remarries and fathers six more sons. Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah.[1] A successor to Sarah, a stepmother to Isaac, another kinship line descending directly from Abraham? This is big news, and yet …
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