Monday Divrei Torah:
let me "bring it down" for you.

This is what Ezekiel was talking about when he described the sin of Sodom.

"A lot of people don’t know this, but the real reason Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed was because they outlawed & punished feeding the hungry"

(What was the punishment? It was #rape )

It wasn't actually about sexuality.

#TheTorahDoesNotEqualOldTestament

#TorahTeaching

#TalmudTorah

#Ezekiel

#Mitzvot

Many atheists have no problem with it, recognizing that this is simply the #HolidaySeason and that #Purim is just a #normal #American #holiday and only a #religious one if you insist on FULFILLMENT of the #mitzvot (which we, as a #PublicSchool, obviously do not).

Everyone else at our school, in fact, has no problem with it, and most families are atheist.
2/9

On those rare occasions when chronic pain sufferers have enough energy to do a few good deeds, let it be said that they are using “serving spoons.”

We all should help whoever we can, whenever we can. Even if it hurts.
#ChronicPain #CountingSpoons #ServingSpoons #GoodDeeds #ActsOfKindness #mitzvah #mitzvot #charity #kindness #spoons #energy

https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/459588.44?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

This is something I put together for our #MLK Day weekend #Shabbat am service at @Spinoza on the topic of Solidarity in the Torah.

TL/DR: Many of the #mitzvot of #Torah are connected to a reminder of the past sufferings of the Hebrews (i.e. "you once were the stranger...", etc.). This is important because it brings us to solidarity, of recognizing that our own interests of liberation are tied to the interests of others.

#Mazeldon @mazeldon
#HumanisticJudaism

#Tzitzit are specially knotted ritual fringes worn by observant Jews. The knotting and winding pattern on the strings represents the 613 #mitzvot in the #Torah. They are attached to the four corners of the #tallit (prayer shawl) May they be colored? There is some room for flexibility

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2021/12/14/may-one-wear-colorful-tzitzit/

@mazeldon
#Jewdiverse

@bnjd1837 @bestoneTX @ajackson

"What is broken about the world in this view?" - Great question! See the attached quote. Short version - In #Kabbalah, our entire universe is considered broken, and God wishes us to take an active part in the repair of our universe through observance of #mitzvot. The full article is here -

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2019/08/22/misunderstanding-tikkun-olam/

#SheviratHaKelim #Nitzotzot #Tzimtzum

@bnjd1837 @bestoneTX

The word "mitzvah" is a sacred Jewish word meaning a covenantal commandment from #God to the Jewish people. There are (depending on how you parse the sentences) 613 #mitzvot in the Torah (five books of Moses.) Only about 1/3 of them are still applicable today.

To be clear Jewish people never read the Torah laws literally, we instead read them through the lens of our oral law. See "What makes #Judaism Jewish?"

https://merrimackvalleyhavurah.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/what-makes-judaism-jewish/

Now that we have an increasing number of our contributors here on Mastodon, we can start sharing their works!

"Ten Commandments are Not Enough" by Zackary Sholem Berger @drzackaryberger

Six hundred thir
teen don't even
saturate
the terrifying space
of choice.
We can always do
something else?
Help me, compromiser
keep my
inadequate choices
at bay
not whimpering on chains
not weeping in twilight
but crouching
for a morsel

#Poetry #Jewish #Mazeldon #Poems #Mitzvot

Why are the rabbis so committed to this idea that our patriarchs (and matriarchs) fulfilled all of the #mitzvot?

My exploring of #ChayeiSarah in the #Talmud

https://rabbimarkiz.substack.com/p/abraham-observed-mitzvot-right