365Shorts

The Kohen is used to settle matters of Law (mishpat) – between blood & blood, judgment & judgment (Deen) and lesion & lesion? The first two describe major areas of law as we’d categorize them today: criminal and civil law. The third describes the third category of law – moral. In Jewish Law, in all… Continue reading Shoftim

Let’s look at the stages of ‘courtship’ in the case of the captive woman. In the first stage, the soldier chashaks her. It does mean desire. But its other meanings imply ‘holding close’ or ‘attaching to’. It expresses a desire to hug and comfort. But because the woman is beautiful, we don’t know if that… Continue reading Ki-Tzetzei

Again and again this offering emphasizes “the fruit of the ground.” Why? In addition, we bring the fruit of the ground because Hashem brought us to a land of Milk and Honey – neither of which is a fruit of anything. Why? If we look at prior references to the “trees” (as opposed to the… Continue reading Ki Tavo

I tap my fingers on the board and ask the crowd what I should do. The responses are loud and eager. Okale is a particularly social game. But I’m not really looking for their advice. I’m waiting to see Jouda’s reaction. And then it comes – an almost unreadable rightward nod of his head. I… Continue reading Chapter One

It has been a while since I last posted. Here is a story I wrote for Yom Kippur. I believe it is quite important. ********** The man sticks his hand out to shake mine. He is wearing a cobbled-together set of winter clothes. His hands are protected against the cold by a pair of garden… Continue reading Iran

When I started this I said that if it began to negatively impact other things in my life then I would stop. The fact is that other things have begun to prevent me from doing this. I haven’t mentioned my work before, but I work as a strategic analyst for a company that just got… Continue reading Hiatus

The windows of the car are open, but no smells assault my senses. Instead, I am buffeted by hot winds as the feel of long-baked earth pervades the air. This is a dry land, but a land that somehow supports a substantial population. Ahead, a man crosses the road, sheep trailing behind him. I slow… Continue reading Day #70: A Burst of History

“Mr Smith,” says the voice on the other end of the line. It was the man from HR. “You should be proud, you’ve been offered the job.” “Which job?” I ask. I’d interviewed for two. “Cog,” he says, “Cog Grade II. with luck and hard work, I’d expect you could be promoted – maybe to… Continue reading Day #69: The Machine

The lights in the lecture hall were dim. The projector was showing a single massive image on the screen. It was a page, obviously extremely old. On it were characters from some very odd language. It seemed to flow in a circle – from the middle to the outside or from the outside to the… Continue reading Day #68: Spirals

“I’ve got a fixer.” The lights in the operations center were dim. The smartly dressed FBI agent had short black hair and intense brown eyes. She was sitting in front of a sleek computer with a pair of massive flat screen monitors. At least 20 application windows were open. The agent, Gail Burrows, was carrying on… Continue reading Day #67: The Fixer