Corn, Wine and Oil

Beshalach: The Song of the Sea

2012-01-31T16:28:00.000-05:00

This week's Torah portion starts the Exodus in earnest. Moses leads the Children of Israel to the Sea of Reeds (יַם-סוּף), rather than by the Philistine Highway, which would have been the quicker route. Taking the highway would have been shorter, but it also would have allowed the Egyptians to catch up with them more quickly. As we shall see, God hardened Pharaoh's heart one more time, and made

New Job Again

2012-01-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

The company I was working for went out of business last Thursday. I got word that Monday that it was my last week, without giving the reason why. I started looking that evening. On Thursday, the CEO called us all into a conference room and told us that that day would be our last day; that the company was shutting down. I was able to find a contract-to-permanent job in the same building with

Bo: The First Passover

2012-01-27T15:23:00.001-05:00

This week's Torah portion consists of the final three plagues and the first Passover. There is a plague of locusts and a plague of darkness, which the Torah describes as tangible, which is intriguing. In each case, Pharaoh concedes to Moses and Aaron, only to have God harden his heart, and take back his offer. God lets Moses and Aaron know that he is doing this so that future generations will

Va'eira: the plagues begin

2012-01-20T15:56:00.002-05:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that the Egyptian plagues make me very uncomfortable. What does it mean that God hardens the heart of Pharaoh, and then punishes him for having a hardened heart? God instructs Moses to inform the Israelites about the Covenant, and the upcoming Exodus, but because of the troubles they have had with the Egyptians because of Moses, they do not care

Shemot: a Voice from the Burning Bush

2012-01-08T12:35:00.000-05:00

The Book of Exodus begins with a telling of the names (shemot in Hebrew) of Joseph's brothers who followed him into Egypt. It recounts the dynastic changes in Egypt that led to the new dynasty having a very different relationship with the Hebrews than the dynasty in Joseph's day. The Egyptians were enemies with the Hyskos, a Semitic tribe in the region, and the new dynasty regarded the Hebrews

Vayechi: Bring my remains back to Israel

2012-01-02T22:12:00.003-05:00

In this week's Torah portion, the last in the book of Genesis, the story of Joseph ends, and the story of Moses is set up. In last week's Torah portion, Jacob and his descendants settle in Goshen, in Egypt, to escape the famine that is ravaging the land of Canaan. His son, Joseph, has become the vizier to the Pharaoh, and has invited them to live with him in plenty. Jacob has told his sons upon

Vayigash: What the tears reveal

2011-12-30T11:12:00.001-05:00

In last week's Torah portion, we saw Joseph hiding his tears from his brothers and his Egyptian colleagues. In this week's Torah portion, the tears flow too deeply to hide. As you will recall, the last portion ends with Joseph's goblet being found in Benjamin's pack. None of the brothers are aware that Joseph ordered his servants to put it there. Upon being accused of theft, but before the "theft

Mikeitz: Hiding his tears

2011-12-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

In this week's Torah portion, Joseph spends two more years in prison before he is released. As you will recall from last week, the Pharaoh's wine steward forgot about him when he was released, after Joseph interpreted his dream. Two years later, Pharaoh himself has prophetic dreams. He dreams that he sees seven handsome cows grazing by the Nile, set upon by seven lean and scraggly cows, which

The Meaning of Hanukkah

2011-12-20T11:41:00.001-05:00

Tonight is Erev Hanukkah (Hanukkah Eve). Raised as a Secular Jew, I never really took Hanukkah very seriously. Hanukkah holds a strange place in the cycle of Jewish festivals in that the source material for its inception was written in texts that were de-canonized by the rabbis who redacted the Jewish Bible, the TaNaKh (TaNaKh is an acronym. Tav stands for Torah, Nun stands for Nevi'im, or books

Vayeishev: Joseph and the meaning of dreams

2011-12-16T09:18:00.002-05:00

One fourth of the Book of Genesis is dedicated to the story of Joseph. Fascinating, since he was not considered one of the Patriarchs. Indeed, there is no tribe of Joseph as there are for each of his brothers. The tribe of Levi form the Levites who, because of their priestly duties, were not given a portion of the Land of Israel, and thus do not form a territorial tribe. The final two tribes,

Installed in the East

2011-12-15T09:58:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was installed as Worshipful Master of Samuel Crocker Lawrence Lodge in Medford, MA. Two weeks ago, I attended a Lodge of Qualification, and took the Chair Degree. This degree is very old: there are records of it being performed going back to the 1730s. It stands in a grey area in Freemasonry in that Blue Lodge Freemasonry comprises three degrees, and this is not one of the

Vayishlach: Wrestling with an angel

2011-12-09T15:38:00.001-05:00

In this week's Torah portion, Jacob returns to his family in Canaan after twenty years of servitude to his uncle Laban. His brother, Esau, from whom he hed fled for his life after cheating him out of his father's dying blessing, now dominates the region of his family, and Jacob is terrified that Esau still wants to kill him. Jacob has been blessed by God with wealth and a large family, and they

Vayeitzei: Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.

2011-11-26T16:37:00.001-05:00

Fearing for his life from his brother Esau, Jacob flees from his parents' home in Beer-sheba, hoping for sanctuary (and a possible future bride (or two)) from his maternal uncle Laban. Jacob has been fighting his brother since they were in their mother's womb; indeed, although Esau was born first, Jacob was born clinging to his brother's ankle. This archetype of feuding twin brothers exists in

Toldot: Usurpation of primogeniture

2011-11-22T11:00:00.001-05:00

The Book of Genesis has two great themes that run throughout. The first is the usurpation of primogeniture, or the second-born son stealing the birthright of the first-born son. The second is a man, fearing for his life in a strange land, pretending that his wife is his sister, and the consequences of that deception. In this week's Torah portion, we see both themes played out. Cain is the

Chayei Sarah: Walking After the Lord

2011-11-18T09:56:00.001-05:00

In the Talmud, Rabbi Hama, son of Rabbi Haninah was asked about Deuteronomy 13:5 (13:4 in the Christian Bible) says, "Ye shall walk after the Lord your God". How are we supposed to walk after the Lord when Deuteronomy 4:24 says, "For the Lord thy God is a devouring fire"? Rabbi Hama's answer is central to Judaism, essential to how to act and how to live considering that we are created in the

Vayeirah: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

2011-11-10T14:26:00.000-05:00

At the end of the last Parashah, Abraham and all the men in his extended family, their servants and employees all get circumcised. Recuperating, the Lord in the image of three angels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, visit him. This is where the Jewish mitzvah of visiting the sick comes from. Interestingly the angels in the Torah are referred to as "men" or "strangers", but very rarely as angels.

Truth and Fact

2011-11-07T11:41:00.000-05:00

I wrote to Andrew Sullivan, and he used what I wrote in a blog post. This was in my original email: As my friend, Dr. James Tresner says, there is a difference between truth and fact, and fundamentalism and fanaticism stems from a confusion between the two. Evolution is a fact. The story of the Fall is true. Interestingly, the Fall is treated very differently by Muslims, Jews, and Christians,

Lech Lecha: Mechizedek and Initiation

2011-11-02T21:21:00.000-04:00

This week's torah portion, Lech L'cha, gives us the start of the story of Abraham, back when he was young, when his name was Abram. I wrote about this back in May. Bereshit Rabbah tells the story that Abram's father, Terach, made pagan idols for a living. One day, Terach went away and left Abram to mind the idol store. A woman came to the shop with a plate of flour as a sacrifice for the idols.

Noach: Horror or Cute Animals?

2011-10-31T12:47:00.001-04:00

My synagogue celebrates the week that we read the part of the Torah, Parashat Noach, where the story of Noah and the Ark is told, by having a special Children's Sabbath. There are always adorable pictures of the elephant trunks and giraffe necks sticking out of the Ark. Kids are encouraged to name all the animals collected on the Ark. I find myself suffering a cognitive disconnect when I see the

Freemasonry is not a team

2011-10-28T10:45:00.000-04:00

I'm fairly active on Facebook, and at last count, over 300 of my Facebook friends are active Freemasons, from all over the USA and all over the world. For a while, my operating procedure was to accept the friend invitation of anyone with the square and compasses on their identifying picture, or who had 50+ shared friends with me, all of whom were Masons. No longer. The truth is that when men

From William Preston's lectures for the Entered Apprentice Degree (Section III, Clause 7), 1772.

2011-10-25T20:35:00.002-04:00

The injunctions that are laid upon every Mason after his initiation are three in number. First, that he shall regularly attend the duties of the order. Second, that he shall pay homage and respect to the rulers of the Lodge. Third, that he shall diligently apply to his work in Masonry. What these injunctions exemplify is this, three important points of distinguished excellence.

10 Things Done in 18th Century I Wish Were Done in 21st Century Freemasonry

2011-10-24T14:23:00.000-04:00

Speaking as an individual mason, subject to the usual caveats that this does not represent the official stance of any lodge, Grand Lodge, Concordant nor Appendant body of Freemasonry, I'd like to see these ten things return. I understand that some of the things on this list are simply not done in regular Freemasonry today in the United States, and I would not enact any of the unconstitutional

Bereisheet: Cain and Abel

2011-10-23T23:20:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday was Simchat Torah, the day that Jews celebrate having finished the yearly cycle of Torah readings. We read the final lines of Deuteronomy, and the first lines of Genesis, thus starting the cycle over again. The first Sabbath after Simchat Torah, we study the first Torah portion, which is called Bereisheet (Hebrew for "in the beginning), covers the first six chapters of Genesis, up

Great William Preston Quote from 1772

2011-10-18T11:30:00.000-04:00

"If the privileges of masonry are so valuable, as to intitle their possessors to respect and esteem, by promoting virtue and rewarding merit; why are not their good effects more conspicuous, and why are they not publicly exposed for the general advantage of mankind?—If our privileges were common, and indiscriminately bestowed, the design of the

Preparing for the East

2011-10-10T10:55:00.001-04:00

This is my first post in four months. A lot has happened. I'm working at a software-as-a-service medical IT company that makes a diagnostic tool for clinical oncologists. The job involves computer programming, data integration, and project management. It's been fascinating thus far. I stepped out of the officer's line at my mother lodge in order to finish my term as Senior Warden in another