Tag Archives: Reform Judaism
Battle Wounds
The post-October 8th, 2023 outbreak of Jew-hatred in academe continues to open psychic wounds. As a battle-tested veteran of many combats (for example the one pictured above), this phenomenon of psychic wounds is itself startling to me. Let me give … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Bible, Biblical Archeology, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, Desire and Authenticity, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, ethnicity, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, fatherhood, female power, femininity, feminism, filial piety, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jesus, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, Nihilism, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, power games, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, racism, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, remembrance, repairing the culture, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, science, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, sex appeal, sexuality, slave, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, Truth, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal’s A Good Look at Evil, academic antisemitism, academic combat veteran, academic expediency, academic honor, academic politics, academic power struggle, academic reprisal, academic resentment, academic survival, anti-Israel cartoon, anti-Israel vigil holders, anti-whistleblower reprisal, Athens and Israel, Athens vs Israel, emotional survival, exhibit with anti-Israel cartoon, fashionable antisemitism, God as Witness, God in history, God on the timeline, impartial truth in academe, it’s not personal, Jewish assignment in history, Jewish identity, Jewish identity battles, Jewish psychic wounds, Jewish role in history, new antisemitism, Oct 8 2023, ousting a predator, Phyllis Chesler, Plato’s academy, predator in a religion, predator in a safe space, predator in the temple, Presbyterians against Israel, Presbyterians and the rabbi, psychic wounds, psychological survival, Reform Judaism, Reform temple, restoring one’s honor, rolling with the punches, scaring Jewish shopkeepers, search for truth, survival with no hard feelings, truth in academe, union-backed grievance, universities and Oct 7, universities vs Jews, whistleblower
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How Odd, of God
It happened one time that philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe said to her friend Ludwig Wittgenstein (the philosopher whose Philosophical Investigations she later translated), “What people have had such a history as the Jews!” I think they were in Vienna at the … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, agnosticism, alienation, American politics, anthropology, anti-semitism, appreciation, art, art of living, atheism, authenticity, autonomy, bad faith, beauty, Bible, Biblical Archeology, Biblical God, bigotry, book reviews, books, bureaucracy, childhood, chivalry, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, courtship, cults, cultural politics, culture, desire, Desire and Authenticity, dialectic, eighteenth century, erotic life, eternity, ethics, ethnicity, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, fatherhood, female power, femininity, feminism, filial piety, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, Gnosticism, guilt and innocence, health, Hegel, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, hierarchy, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, immorality, immortality, institutional power, Jesus, Jews, journalism, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, martyrdom, masculinity, master, master/slave relation, medieval, memoir, memory, Messianic Age, mind control, modern women, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, Nihilism, nineteenth-century, non-violence, novels, ontology, oppression, pacifism, past and future, peace, Phenomenology of the Mind, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, politics, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, power games, presence, promissory notes, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, race, racism, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, remembrance, Renaissance, repairing the culture, roles, romance, romantic love, romanticism, science, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, seventeenth century, sex appeal, sexuality, slave, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, sociobiology, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, status of women, suffering, terror, terrorism, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, Truth, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, Utopia, victimhood, victims, violence, war, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged Abigail L. Rosenthal's "Confessions of a Young Philosopher", Anscombe on Wittgenstein: eds Berkman and Teichmann (2025), antisemitism’s deepest causes, being Jewish as an assignment, bigotry among nice people, British philosophers, Chabad, Chabad and Friday night guests, Chabad and guests, Chabad dinner conversation, Chabad Friday night, Chabad rabbi, Chabad rabbinical couple, chasidic dress code, dinner conversation, Elizabeth Anscombe, emotional safety for girls, emotional safety of chasidic girls, empathy as enabler, evil explained away, Friday night dinner, Friday night prayers in Hebrew, healthy family life, Jewish history, Jews in Vienna, lessons of antisemitism, Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations, making fun of antisemites, modernity and authenticity, modernity and personal risk, modernity and skepticism, modernity vs orthodoxy, moral realism, Orthodox families, Orthodox Jewish families, Orthodox Jewish family life, Orthodox Jewish marriage and children, Orthodox Jews and authenticity, Orthodox ritual handwashing, orthodoxy and deep certainties, orthodoxy and psychological protection, philosophical discussion, recognizing evil, Reform Judaism, specialization in spirituality, spiritual protection, the Wittgensteins in Nazi Vienna, Torah Study, Torah study and liberalism, unique Jewish history, uniqueness of Jewish suffering, well-adjusted families, Wittgenstein, Wittgenstein and Jewish history, Wittgenstein and WWII, Wittgenstein’s Jewish origin, Wittgenstein’s Viennese family
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Fording the Flood
Fording the Flood I had a dream the other night, depicting the journey I’m in the midst of at present. On a bus traveling long distance, I was a passenger. It was not a bus of recent vintage. It lacked … Continue reading
Posted in Absolute Freedom and Terror, absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, American politics, anthropology, art, art of living, atheism, autonomy, beauty, Bible, Biblical God, books, childhood, Christianity, cities, class, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, courage, courtship, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, exploitation, faith, fashion, films, freedom, friendship, gender balance, glitterati, guilt and innocence, health, hegemony, heroes, hidden God, history, history of ideas, id, idealism, ideality, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, Judaism, law, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, male power, masculinity, memoir, memory, modernism, moral action, moral evaluation, moral psychology, morality, mortality, novels, oppression, past and future, philosophy, politics of ideas, postmodernism, power, presence, propaganda, psychology, public facade, public intellectual, radicalism, reading, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, scientism, secular, seduction, self-deception, social climbing, social construction, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual journey, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, the profane, the sacred, theism, theology, time, TV, twentieth century, twenty-first century, victimhood, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged academic life, “The Great American Novel”, bright young men, Clifton Fadiman, collegial competitiveness, Columbia University, Columbia University’s class of 1925, crossing dryshod, dream interpretation, dream journey, extreme subtlety, father-daughter relation, feeling flooded, feeling overwhelmed, figure out of his time, flood waters, Freud, genius of the class, Hasidic Master, Hebrew prophet, Henry M. Rosenthal, Henry M. Rosenthal’s Consolations of Philosophy: Hobbes’s Secret; Spinoza’s Way, Hunter College, inner journey, inner summons, intellectual pecking order, Israel, Israel’s providential role, Jeanne Hersch, life of the spirit, life problematic, Lionel Trilling, literary critic, literary parties, Marx, meaningful dreams, Modernism, Modernity, Mordecai Kaplan, Moses, opinion shapers, past life vision, past lives, philosophers, psychic vision, reconstructionism, Red Sea crossing, Reed Sea, Reform Judaism, spiritual frustration, supersessionism, sure-footedness, talking well, the best talker, the Holocaust, the Jewish spirit, the Jewish state, vintage vehicle, weather emergencies, white heat intensity
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For Rabbi Delcau, July 8th, 2016
For Rabbi Delcau, July 8th, 2016 Looking back over our four years with Rabbi Delcau, here are some sides of his presence that will always stand out for me. He has been a font of faith in this temple. If … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, academe, action, afterlife, alienation, anthropology, art of living, atheism, Bible, Biblical God, bureaucracy, conformism, contemplation, contradictions, cool, courage, cultural politics, culture, desire, dialectic, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, freedom, friendship, guilt and innocence, heroes, hidden God, idealism, ideality, identity, idolatry, Jews, legal responsibility, literature, love, martyrdom, masculinity, memory, modernism, mortality, mysticism, non-violence, past and future, peace, political, power, presence, promissory notes, psychology, public facade, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, self-deception, social conventions, social ranking, spiritual not religious, spirituality, status, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, theology, time, twentieth century, twenty-first century, work, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged advocate for Israel, argument from design, balancing books, BDS, Boycott Sanction and Divestment, burning bush, contagion of cynicism, contagion of faith, contagion of pessimism, cynicism, debating Israel, defending Israel, dialogue with God, emotional distance, emotional presence, facing facts, facing the music, Faith, fear and Jews, for such a time as this, God of Israel, God's call, God's micromanaging, gratitude, Hashem, hostile questions, hostility to Israel, insolvency, Israel as home, keeping accounts, moral accounting, Mordecai and Ester, Moses, Moses in Midian, natural faith, pessimism, Presbyterian BDS, proof of God, providence, Rabbi Mitchell Delcau, rabbinic mission, reaping what you sow, Reform Judaism, resentment, speaking to God, Synagogue finances, temple search committee, terror and Jews, The Name, Torah Study, unselfconscious religion
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Self-Acceptance
Self-Acceptance This is the season of deck-swabbing and deck-clearing, if you are Jewish. I tend to say that, at best, I am “Jewish in the head.” By that I mean: having tried a wide range of belief systems, I came … Continue reading
Posted in absurdism, alienation, anthropology, contemplation, contradictions, culture, desire, dialectic, eternity, ethics, evil, existentialism, faith, freedom, friendship, guilt and innocence, health, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, love, memoir, mysticism, non-violence, ontology, peace, power, psychology, reductionism, relationships, religion, roles, social conventions, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of men, the problematic of woman, theism, time, violence, war, Zeitgeist
Tagged absolution, acculturation, afterlife, anger, anxiety, belief systems, clearing decks, Days of Awe, divine guidance, escapism, excuses, fear of death, forgiveness, getting real, grace, grace under pressure, guilt, inner voice, Jewish New Year, judgment, judgmentalism, life review, moral facts, mortality, NDE, near death experience, pardon, Psalm 27, Psalms of David, purification, rationalizations, Reform Judaism, religious service, repentance, ritual observance, Rosh Ha Shana, Selichot, temple, transcendence and immanence, unconscious fears, validation, Year 5776
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“Tenderness”
“Tenderness” There is a southern black woman, about two generations after slavery, who figures as the heroine in a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. In the scene from which the lines below are taken, she has met a man who … Continue reading
Posted in action, alienation, art, autonomy, chivalry, contemplation, courtship, culture, desire, dialectic, erotic life, eternity, ethics, evil, faith, femininity, feminism, freedom, friendship, gender balance, guilt and innocence, history, history of ideas, identity, ideology, idolatry, institutional power, Jews, legal responsibility, life and death struggle, literature, love, male power, masculinity, master, memoir, nineteenth-century, non-violence, ontology, peace, philosophy, poetry, political, political movements, power, psychology, race, relationships, roles, seduction, sex appeal, sexuality, slave, social conventions, sociobiology, spirituality, suffering, terror, the examined life, the problematic of woman, theism, time, twentieth century, violence, war, writing, Zeitgeist
Tagged "Five Variations on the Theme of Japanese Painting", "Leo's Orphans: A Survivor's Musings on the Power of Protective Tenderness", "Their Eyes Were Watching God", 613 mitzvot, Abigail L. Rosenthal, American novel, awareness, black women, Christian clergy, Christianity, commandments, conflict resolution, conformism, evidence, Exodus, heroine, injuries, interfaith, Israelites, Japan, Jewish observance, judgementalism, Leo Bronstein, living the moment, Maimonides, marital relations, mindfulness, Nazi genocide, novel, Passover, past lives, peer pressure, Rabbi, Reform Judaism, reincarnation, Shoah, shunning, slavery, Terror, The South, unleavened bread, Yom ha Shoah, zen, Zora Neale Hurston
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