Categotry Archives: Uncategorized

Over the years, Reform has gotten more traditional while Conservative has gotten more liberal. The result is two movements that have pretty much met in the middle. Last week, I attended a Conservative synagogue for the first time and these are my observations. I was naive when I attended the Conservative synagogue. I knew they recognized me as a Jew.… (more…)

I haven’t been to my Masonic lodge in almost a year. It meets during the week and I can’t make it. But, I happened upon an old picture I had of the lodge officers… Now, our lodge is a relatively normal lodge. It once met upstairs in a Baptist church (pretty common in the old South) and, once the church… (more…)

I’ve had a spurt of updates to this website, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to continue at this pace. It’s a “Do it when I can and have something to say” type of deal. But, I do want to share this: The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life has an Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish communities online. Luckily, it has… (more…)

The Jewish Daily Forward posted a book review. It was on conversion and this is something that hits close to home. I replied there, but I’ll reply here as well in more detail. The article talks about the traditional issue of conversion as well as the modern Orthodox movement’s views on conversion. Now, a little about how I play into… (more…)

A rabbi teaches his students “we can learn valuable lessons from everything God puts on this earth.”  One student challenges the rabbi:  “What can we learn from atheism?” The rabbi replies:  “We can learn a great deal from atheism.  When you see your brother or sister in trouble, do not say ‘God will take care of you.’  Act as if… (more…)