mstreiffer

How (Not) to Trash the Earth

This is disturbing! Did you know there is a garbage dump the size of Texas in the middle of the Pacific? According to an article this morning, Light bulbs, bottle caps, toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks and tiny pieces of plastic, each the size of a grain of rice, inhabit the Pacific garbage patch, an area ofContinueContinue reading “How (Not) to Trash the Earth”

New Jews… Old Idea

The “New Jews” article is making its way across cyberspace. Check out http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/28/new.and.emergent.jews/ for this story, about the new, innovative, radical ways that Jewish Gen X’ers and Millenials are connecting to Judaism – through tattoos, hip-hop, meaningful Jewish learning, and technology. I have one word in response….DUH. First, let me say that I think there’sContinueContinue reading “New Jews… Old Idea”

The Next Jew Thang…

Last week, Rabbi Niles Goldstein – author of Gonzo Judaism and The Challenge of the Soul – spoke here at Shabbat services. He spoke about the importance of “being grounded,” using Picasso and Miles Davis as examples. As he writes in The Challenge of the Soul (p. 60): Pablo Picasso learned how to draw conventionalContinueContinue reading “The Next Jew Thang…”

Whose Kotel is it Anyway?

JTA and Haaretz are reporting that as of last Thursday, Israeli citizenship ceremonies for new immigrants will no longer be held at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem. This is in keeping with a demand from the rabbi of the Wall that mixed-gender ceremonies may not be held in the vicinity of the site. TheContinueContinue reading “Whose Kotel is it Anyway?”