Meesh Hammer-Kossoy

By Meesh Hammer-Kossoy

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  Community

  Spiritual hunger persists even in the face of physical hunger

  Amos dedicated the bulk of his prophecy to railing against the well-heeled, calling them “cows of Bashan”: “They drink [straight] from the wine bowls, And anoint themselves with the choicest oils— But they are not concerned about the food/ruin (shever) of Joseph” (Amos 6:6). And yet, in Amos’s climactic prophecy, he shifts his focus to…

  By Meesh Hammer-Kossoy Jul 16, 2020 | 3 min read
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  Community

  Why is it so easy to fear those different from ourselves?

  Human life is so sacred that Jewish tradition is famously reticent about criminal punishment in general and capital punishment in particular. Thus, Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva said, “If we would have been on the Sanhedrin, no one would ever have been executed” (Mishnah Makkot 1:17). To be tried criminally, Jewish law requires that a…

  By Meesh Hammer-Kossoy Jun 15, 2020 | 4 min read