I attended my first Torah study group yesterday. The rabbi had no beard, and actually wore a skirt... yes, it was a FEMALE rabbi! That was a surprise. I hadn't even known that women could be rabbis. But I guess it is acceptable for Reform Jews (not Orthodox, however). She wore a little gold and pearl yamulke. She seemed pretty sharp. She did a good job of interpreting the text for us. She's fairly young and quite dynamic. I hope to see her again, if I attend the Torah study group on a regular basis. They're recessing for the summer, however.
At the gathering yesterday, I was introduced to a new Jewish dish - kugel/kegel (not sure how to spell, and it's pronounced two different possible ways). It's a noodle pudding of some sort. Very, very good. I'm liking the Jewish food I'm discovering so far.
I'm currently reading a book called "Judaism for Everyone," about how Jewish values can apply to the lives of all people, not just Jews. It states that Judaism is about the triumph of superior "feminine" values over inferior, aggressive "masculine" vallues. It puts spirituality and morality over military might, etc. And it states that because of Jewish focus on morality, other peoples have persecuted the Jews because they have seen Jews as "pests" who have sought to spoil their "fun." Some interesting food for thought.
Hey, this is Cliff from the BYOT class. I've been meaning to check out the blog.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting thought about the persecution due to morality. I always thought of it as a result of the xenophobia of the Dark Ages (and even into the Industrial Age, really).