Category Archives: Jewish History/Culture

What’s for dinner?

What’s for dinner?
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten? I had balut when I was in the Philippines. It’s a duck egg that’s not entirely formed. You suck out the duck and fluid from a hole in the egg. Ewww. Strange, but some consider it a delicacy. When I went to Peru I was goaded into promising not…
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Pentecost People

Pentecost People
Christians celebrate Pentecost this week. But it’s actually a Jewish holiday – and its Jewishness brings us heightened meaning. Pentecost, or Shavuot, actually begins tonight at sundown. When God gave Moses the Law, written on the tablets on Mt. Sinai, He created for Himself a visible reminder of His presence among His people. Those tablets…
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Like a Mother

Like a Mother
There are many kinds of mothers described in the Bible - Eve, the mother of all; Sarah, who birthed Israel; Bathsheba, who advocated for her son Solomon; Hagar who sacrificed for Ishmael, Hannah, who believed and gave Samuel to God; and, of course, Elizabeth and Mary. Hosea uses the imagery of a ferocious mother bear…
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Prodigal Sons

Prodigal Sons
There is a parable in the Bible about a man with two sons. We title it the "Prodigal Son," but there are three main characters in the story. Jewish scholars would title this the "Compassionate Father and his two Lost Sons." Both of the sons are in rebellion and it can be argued that the point…
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