The Great Mistake
Did the Almighty know what He was doing when He designed the human knee?
The Grass is Always Greener After the Apocalypse
Confronting the moral quandary of man against nature.
Darwin at 200
Historian Paul Johnson offers some compelling thoughts about Darwin and the new Darwinism.
What is Faith?
As another tornado season flattens much of Oklahoma, here are some reflections on the interrelationship of man, G-d, and nature.
You only hurt the one you love
“Man Bites Dog” would be a welcome relief from the sometimes-terminal stupidity that seems to be making its way into the news, like this report from last month.
We’ve come to expect full intellelectual shut-down here in America, where Senator John Edwards failed to anticipate that a $400 haircut might undermine his position as a man of the people, and where the CEOs of the Big Three auto makers flew to Washington, D.C., each in his own private jet, to ask congress for money to bail out their failing businesses. But there’s something astonishingly disturbing about an adult who fails to recognize the difference between a giant Panda Bear and a puppy … or a Beany Baby.
“Yang Yang was so cute and I just wanted to cuddle him. I didn’t expect he would attack,” the 20-year-old student, surnamed Liu, said in a local hospital, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
As I’ve already written, the sages predict that the generation before the messianic era will be characterized by hesik haDa’as — the failure of reason. Perhaps the militant activism for same-sex marriage and the search for affection from a brightly-colored omnivore are symptoms of the same affliction: a profound, irrational confusion over the nature of love and intimacy.
There was a time, not so long ago, when sexual perversion may have existed but was kept securely locked in the closet. Social pressure forced abherrent sexual behavior underground. It existed, but it wasn’t fashionable. Consequently, it wasn’t terribly attractive.
As the line of acceptibility shifts, we can expect more stories like this one, and further demands from the radical fringe.
The 12 Days of Global Warming
Just for the record, I despise SUVs, I believe in recycling, and I lament that the government didn’t start serious alternative energy R & D back in the 70s when we got our first wake-up call.
Having said that, this spoof on Al Gore’s global warming scare is too cute to pass up. If you have four minutes to spare, it’ll put a smile on your face.
Our Strange Universe Keeps Getting Stranger
Here’s yet another look at weird phenomena that scientists can’t explain. They’ll believe in anything, from aliens space-seeding to interdimensional wormholes. Just don’t mention the G-word!
The Song of the Sea
For years now, marine biologists have observed the “songs” of whales — seemingly musical compositions thought to communicate positions for migration or to attract mates. Now, however, researchers have discovered that sperm whales sing simply for the pleasure of singing.
It’s difficult to hear such reports without thinking of Perek Shira, the ode dating back, perhaps, as far as the great kings David and Solomon, that describes how the myriad creatures and creations that fill the universe sing the praises of the Almighty, each with its own unique voice.
Typically, we understand the “songs” of Perek Shira to mean that the variety and complexity of creation testifies to the handiwork of the Creator. But perhaps we are meant to understand a more literal meaning as well.
The sea giants say: Praise HaShem from the earth; sea giants and all [denizens of] the watery depths (Tehillim 148:7).
Growing to dimensions far beyond any inhabitants of the land, surviving depths that would crush human beings in an instant, these magnificent creatures awe and inspire us. But now we know that they do something more than that:
They sing.
Friday Flashback
Apparently, the legendary “rogue waves” of sailor lore are more than a just a myth, and can reach heights of 80 feet on the open sea. On October 28, one such wave swept over Boothbay Harbor, Maine. The 12 foot high wall of water would have caused catastophic damage, experts said, had it not struck at low tide.
But water, the source of all life and all blessing, has become increasingly a source of destruction. Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Gustav, not so long after the Pacific Rim Tsunami, suggest it’s time for another look at these reflections on our relationship with the world we live in.
If they can do it …
Live Science reports new findings that amoebas, the most fundamental form of micro-organisms, respond to environmental crises in a revolutionary way: cooperation and self-sacrifice:
Called Dictyostelium discoideum, this amoeba species generally keeps to itself when living in a healthy environment with [adequate sustanence].
But when food supplies run low, the free-living organisms clump together into a community of individuals. The result is a multi-cellular organism. Each amoeba takes on one of two roles in this organism: They either become spores, which can survive and reproduce, or they die and the dead cells form stalks that lift the spores above the ground to increase the chances the spores will disperse to more favorable environments.
It doesn’t reflect well upon human beings that we can’t take this simple lesson a step further than the most simple single-celled bacteria, or that sometimes we can’t even get as far as they do. With the economy plummetting, we hear to little “ask not what my country can do for me” and way too much “where’s mine?”
Jewish history provides endless examples. The world was destroyed in the Great Flood because a culture of greed and violence had spread over th face of the earth, and the Second Temple was destroyed because of the twin transgressions of senseless hatred and refusing to go beyond the letter of the law.
When research reveals that germs have more cooperative spirit and a greater predisposition toward self-sacrifice than we do, the echoes of history should warn us that even more troubles may be waiting around the corner.
Unless, or course, we take a sharp turn around a different corner.
Perspectives
Dawn to Destiny:
Exploring Jewish History and its Hidden Wisdom
By Rabbi Yonason Goldson
A comprehensive overview of Jewish History from Creation through the redaction of the Talmud, illuminating the intricacies and complexities of Torah tradition and philosophy according to the sages and classical commentaries, spanning the length and breadth of Jewish experience to resolve many of history’s most perplexing episodes, offering profound insights and showing their relevance to life in the modern world.
How did the sin of Adam transform mankind and the world? How were the prophecies of Noah fulfilled through the rise of the Greek Empire? Why did lifespans shrink so dramatically after the Flood? How did the builders of the Tower of Babel believe they could wage war against G-d? Why did the Torah have to be given in both written and oral form? What was King David’s transgression regarding his involvement with BasSheva? Why did some Jews oppose the construction of the Second Temple? How can we trust the transmission of Torah if our scholars engaged in such fierce disagreements? These and many other questions are answered in this unique volume.
An invaluable resource for scholars and laymen. A priceless tool for education and outreach. With approbations from HaRav Dovid Cohen and HaRav Zev Leff.
FOR EXCERPTS CLICK HERE.
FOR ORDERING INFORMATION CLICK HERE.
Mission Statement for the Jewish People — from the extraordinary wisdom of Rav Shraga Feivel Mendelovitz, founder of Torah education in America.
Why Jews are Liberals — the origins of ideological confusion, and a follow-up piece exploring the practical applications.
The End of the Age of Reason — the sages’ vision of a future that is at our doorstep, and a follow-up piece in response to, and including, some colorful comments.
Israel: History, Politics, and Ideology — Answers to the attacks of apologists and antagonists.
Defining “Objective” History — How can we determine the accuracy of historical records? How do we resolve contradictions in history?
Evolution Forum — Is it possible to have a civil debate on the subject?
The Language of Confusion — 60 years after 1984, Orwell’s prophetic dystopia remains more relevant than ever.
The Final Battlefield – The current economic crisis foretold a thousand years ago and the climax of the ultimate ideological war. Also, variations on a theme inspired by Pink Floyd and this recipe for the only truly secure investment.
The Fallacy of Moral Relativism — How I taught a class of cynical teenagers the illogic of unrestricted personal freedom.
Hurricane Season– With meteorologists predicting more hurricanes on the scale of Gustav, Ike, and Katrina, these thoughts on the Pacific Rim Tsunami are worth another look.
Talking the to the Wall Department — My efforts to engage an ideologue in civil discourse. Draw your own conclusions, and feel free to weigh in … respectfully.
Insights into the weeky Torah Portion
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Contact me at torahideals [at] att.net.
