Check out my latest book!
Why I wrote the book (3 mins)
Death & compassion (4 mins)
Three Kraters Podcast (2 hrs)
Category Archives: Judaism
Job and Culture
In yesterday’s blog post, I referred to “automatic pilot.” And as often happens when I write, I wondered if I needed to explain what it was. Any readers who didn’t understand “automatic pilot” would have missed my point. Suppose that … Continue reading
Posted in Human Relations, Judaism, Political Science, Society
Tagged Book of Job, Communication, Community, Cooperation, Culture, Diversity, Heritage, Social Conflict, Trust
1 Comment
Get Help from Your Automatic Pilot
We spend a lot of our lives on automatic pilot. We act out of habit, without thinking about what we’re doing. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If we had to think our way through everything we did, we couldn’t … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Christianity, Human Relations, Judaism, Psychology, Society
Tagged Bible Study, Habit, Learning, Observance, Practice, Prayer, Religion, Skill, Virtue
Leave a comment
Everyone’s Welfare Counts
We should try to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It sounds like a pretty good idea. And it is. But it’s not the whole answer. The problem is that like lower animals, humans distinguish between … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology
Tagged Choice, Ethics, Group behavior, Group membership, Human Dignity, Moral Choice, Nozick, Side constraints, Utilitarianism
Leave a comment
What a Difference a Year Makes
What a difference a year makes. Continue reading
Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism
Tagged Conceptual Idealism, Days of Awe, High Holidays, Justice, New Year, Repentance, Rosh Hashanah, Teshuva, Tikkun Olam, Time
Leave a comment
Are People Basically Good?
“People are neither basically good nor basically bad. They are basically free.” Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Judaism, Philosophy
Tagged Conscience, Dennis Prager, Empathy, Ernest Hemingway, Human Nature, Jonathan Haidt, Morality, Religion, Virtue
4 Comments
Do We Need Religion to be Good People?
“Does being religious make someone a good person?” Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Christianity, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy
Tagged Christianity, Divine Law, Faith, Halacha, Judaism, Matthew Arnold, Morality, Prayer, Religion, Social harmony
5 Comments
Truth in All Its Varieties
Is truth always the same thing, or are there different kinds of truth? Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Christianity, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy
Tagged Epistemology, Logic, Philosophy, Truth
3 Comments
Reclaiming Israel’s Reputation
I’ve started reading David Brog’s excellent new book Reclaiming Israel’s History: Roots, Rights, and the Struggle for Peace. I’ll post a full review later, but the initial paragraphs of the book describe a situation that seems eerily familiar: “There was a … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Judaism
Tagged Golda Meir, Herzl, History, Israel, Netanyahu, Palestine, Zionism
Leave a comment
Who Counts? We all do.
I normally don’t review children’s books, but this one’s a keeper. Who Counts? combines simple, direct storytelling with superb artwork and morally uplifting themes. Its authors, a rabbi and a professor of Jewish Studies, retell three of Jesus’ parables from … Continue reading
Posted in Judaism, The Jewish Journal
Tagged Amy-Jill Levine, Bible, Children's Books, Lost Sheep, Margaux Meganck, Parables, Prodigal Son, Sandy Sasso, Who Counts?
Leave a comment
The Thousand-Year View 