Posted on Mar 8th, 2010 by Adam God is One (but so what?)

You may have noticed that Judaism is constantly going on about the Oneness of God.  Fine, I get it, we’re monotheistic.  But once you know that, what’s the need for constant emphasis?  There are six mitzvot that are binding 24/7.  The second one is knowing that God is one.  Hmmmm, why are we commanded to [...]

Posted on Mar 5th, 2010 by Henry Weekly Spark: Torah a Go-Go

“Go, go down,” says G-d to Moshe, as He informs him of the Golden Calf debacle.  According to the Medrash, the superfluous “go down”  means Moshe is demoted from his great heights of Torah after 40 days/nights on Mt. Sinai.  All his Torah is taken back.
The Jewish people blow it and he loses all his [...]

Posted on Mar 5th, 2010 by Adam We’re all Avatars

So I saw the film recently.  I really enjoyed it though I agree with those critics who said the plot was a tad superficial-sort of like a “Dances with Wolves” in space.
Anyway, the aspect that really appealed to me was the idea that one’s consciousness could be transferred from one body to another (in Avatar’s [...]

Posted on Mar 1st, 2010 by Adam The Narcissistic Groupie

2 questions on this week’s Torah portion (Ki Tisa):
#1. Why are the 2 narratives about the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) interrupted by the incident of the Golden Calf considering that it was chronologically out of order.
#2. If the Almighty had such a problem with a little statue of a calf, then why would He allow [...]