Articles in Emor
Free Palestine?
I was walking home after services on Friday night and passed someone who raised his arm and screamed, “Free Palestine”. I said nothing in response but thought, “I hope Palestine is free, dear chap now that you’ve done your part. And I hope you sleep well, dear chap now that …
Unrest in Israel
The current unrest in Israel is not about the state of its democracy or the role of its judiciary. As many analysts have correctly surmised, the tensions are over the direction and soul of the country. The modern state of Israel was founded by secular Zionism, which established a secular …
Emor: The Shame Culture
A shame culture is one in which the individual is pressured to conform to the collective. Deviation from cultural norms is punishable by public shaming and ostracism. In a shame culture, people carefully groom their public personas—the image acceptable to the majority. A shame culture operates under the assumption that …
Emor: Are Humans Good?
The other day, I asked several youngsters which is the most important species on earth. One raised his hand and suggested that we, humans, are most important. Another objected and said, that we are the worst offenders on the planet. Humans, she insisted are a horrible species.
I was taken aback …
Emor: Long Nights
Long nights are the hallmark of winter when most of our day is spent in the dark. Most people detest these long nights and look forward to the summer’s long days, but the truth is that there is something to be cherished in these vanishing nights.
Long nights can be gloomy …
Emor: Making Space for G-d
Making space for G-d is the name of the game during the season of the Omer. There are forty-nine days between Passover and Shavuot, and we enjoy and savor them all. We count each day as if it were a precious jewel as we prepare for the festival of Shavuot. …
Emor: Effective Perspective
Perspective is the key ingredient in life. Some people take the perspective that life owes them. Others take the perspective that no one owes them anything. The former, do nothing to help themselves, the latter do all that they can to help themselves. In our generation, too many are growing …
Emor: Social Media
The Perpetual Party
Social media has turned life into one long party. We are always in public, always “on”. One mom, Alice Velásquez of Bargersville, Indiana, made a personal parenting decision in the privacy of her home. When her teenage children refused to clean up their rooms, she packed their mess …
