I keep thinking about a conversation I had with my Rabbi earlier today, about what it means to be openly and visibly Jewish in this world. The question sounds simple at first, but » Continue Reading
i'm probably going to neaten this up for my more "academic" blog later, but i wanted to get my initial thoughts out first. as such, this is mostly unedited and probably very messy. i keep being told to "be reasonable" about the state of the world. to breathe, to moderate my tone. to make the issues palatable for funders, ministers, teachers, journalists, even my fellow students. i'm told to find t... » Continue Reading
the phrase old testament is widely used in christian contexts to refer to what jews call the tanakh . however, this terminology carries theological implications that do not align with jewish belief. in christianity, the old testament is called "old" because it's seen as being fulfilled or replaced by the new testament . the idea is that there was an "old covenant" between G-d and israel, and th... » Continue Reading
there’s a google doc on my laptop called “the morgue”. it’s where all my favourite sentences go to die. i visit it like a cemetery – tenderly, a little dramatically, sometimes to resurrect a phrase for a better life elsewhere. people think “kill your darlings” is macho advice, the writer as executioner. i think it’s the opposite. it’s the softest thing i do for my work, and for the person who will... » Continue Reading