It was a Thursday evening in the winter, and the sun was sinking as I waited at a bus stop in Givat Shaul, practicing to chant my Torah reading from photocopied sheets of paper. Moses was late in coming down the mountain, and the bus was late in coming to our part of Jerusalem, so…
I am responding in this series to frequently asked questions about some gender-bending translations of Torah texts I have proposed in a few articles since 2008, and in an Op-Ed in The New York Times, “Is God Transgender?” (August 12, 2016). So far, we have looked at Eve as “he”, Noah repairing to “her” tent,…
I’m acquainted with at least three people who voted for Donald Trump. I’m thinking of these three because of the way I came to know them – as fellow volunteers at a homeless shelter. I met the first many years ago, when we were serving food to homeless children at a Manhattan synagogue. The kids…
Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — to a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll. In this week’s parsha, Vayera, three angels appear to Abraham and inform him that at 100 years old he will father a son. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are turned into rubble because…
Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — to a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll. In this week’s parsha, Lech Lecha, Avram is told to go up to the land of Canaan and settle in the land which will belong to his offspring. Due to a famine, Avram temporarily…
Photo by Jim Summaria, via Wiki Commons Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — with a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll. In this week’s parsha, Ki Tavo, the Israelites are commanded to bring their first fruits to the Temple and present them along with a recitation (which is…
Vincent Van Gogh, detail from ‘Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background,’ 1889. Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — with a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll. This week’s parsha, Ki Tetzey, begins with rules about how to treat a female captive from war, and goes on…
Charles Foster, ‘The City of Refuge.’ Each week The Arty Semite connects the Torah reading — however tenuously — with a classic work of rock ‘n’ roll. This week’s parsha, Shoftim, deals with the setting up of a legal system, a monarchy (which is optional) and the role of a prophet. Then the laws dealing…
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