Random reflection from hour #17 of #shavuotlive

I got to hear part of Shaul Magid's presentation Sinai and the State Against Our Will: Rav Manitou’s Description of the Problems of Our Time, which I will definitely be listening to again in recorded form, to explore more thoroughly the question of whether we Jews (metaphorically) accepted the Torah willingly or whether we did so under coercion.

#Shavuot

Random Reflections from the overnight of #ShavuotLive when I was passing between times of sleeping and being awake (hours #10-16)
1. Was Essau a vampire? What about the angel that wrestled with Jacob? - Not as crazy as it sounds, as Essau fell up on Jacob's neck when they reconciled and the angel had to go when the sun came up after the night of wrestling!
2. Some words are rolling in my head about games of chance, of how humans want to see divine messages in randomness.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Vampires #Shavuot

Random reflection on #ShavuotLive hour #9, Chava Shapiro's presentation "Pikuach Nefesh (Saving a Life) and the Moral Work of Jewish Law" was a very helpful presentation, digging into the history of the principle of Pikuach Nefesh (PK).

PK is interesting because it was pretty much a universal ethical principle (which overrode almost all mitzvot in importance) with little if any dissent, but also was a principle that is arguably post-Biblical.

I also appreciated Chava's response to my question about doing activism on #Shabbat.

#PikuachNefesh #Ethics #JewishEthics #Judaism #Mazeldon

Random reflection on #ShavuotLive hour #8 by @devotaj on "Agrat: Jewish Demon-Queen"

All I can say is wow. Every time I think I've learned a truly wild, unexpected thing from the Jewish tradition, I learn something even wilder. This was a good program.

Random reflection from hour #7 of #ShavuotLive - Mazel M's program "GODHOLE THEORY: A Kabbalistic, Quantum, Classroom Cosmology" was crazy trippy. Zany. Provacative. I'm glad this was one was late, as I think I had more fun with it.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Shavuot

Random reflections from hour #6 of #ShavuotLive from Judaism Unbound
This hour was by John Argaman on the topic of "Why do we need sermons" was excellent. The most important message he gave was an encouragement that religious communities should ask good questions about why they do sermons, and then give serious thought to how to change services and sermons to meet these goals.
I also agreed with several in the chat that discussed how that we wish that Jewish sermons looked more like sermons in non-white traditions, especially with providing opportunities for call-and-response, sponateous immediate responses, etc.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Shavuot #Preaching

Random reflections on Hour #5 of #ShavuotLive by Abby Stein on kabbalah
My attention wandered some in this session due to the arrival of my family (I skipped services to stay and do shavuot live), but I did come away with a deeper appreciation of the way that the kabbalistic movement shaped the practices of most other branches of Judaism.
Also the chat discussions were delightful.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Kabbalah

Random reflections on Hour #4 of #ShavuotLive - This is a great shift in gears - to a study session about erotic Yiddish poetry written by and for women. The presenter is Arielle Stein.
My main take away is that everything is #Torah, even erotic literature. And if Torah is in Song of Songs, it can certainly be in Ginsberg's Howl, and it can most certainly be in erotic Yiddish poetry.

#Shavuot #Mazeldon #Judaism

(from last night)

Very random reflections from hour #3 of #shavuotlive

It is so helpful to hear Miriam speak with painful vulnerability about the weirdness of living in today's fascist dysopian reality.

This hit me hard because 2 hours ago I was at a local hispanic grocery store, buying some ingredients for a BBQ happening this weekend. They had all kinds of great food and as always I was given very friendly helpful service, by folks who are patient and kind with my espanol muy limitado. --- This store is still open thankfully, but the experience of being there has changed for many shoppers. A lot of folks come in fast, get what they want and leave quickly --- I assume some must fear being that being too long in a store that serves an immigrant community could make them vulnerable to ICE raids, and I assume that many folks aren't even making it to the store, but instead are shopping elsewhere or doing without.
And yet, it was for me an ordinary Friday afternoon. I was in zero danger of any problems, by the hands of either criminals (who are nearly non-existent these days) or law enforcement (because I'm white-appearing person). The worst thing that might happen is that I might order too much meat at the butcher shop thanks to my bad Spanish (this happened to me many years ago in Elkhart, Indiana when I miscommunicated that I wanted 3 kg rather than 3 lbs).
This disconnect of experience is really jarring to me, especially because I gave it little thought in the moment while I was leisurely and unhurriedly browsing the aisles at the market.

Anyway thanks Miriam Terlinchamp for opening up this revelation for me.

#Mazeldon #Judaism #Shavuot

(from last night)

Random Reflections from hour #2 of #ShavuotLive

The experience of time and memory is so subjective. It is not fixed at all in our lived experience, which is amplified by some through being either neurodivergent or by having a mind-altering experience (such as that spurred by meditative pracitce or drug use).

Enjoying the peaceful evening. It's overcast here, cool and damp. #Oklahoma can be a nice place sometimes.
Also, it's not long until #Shabbat.

#Judaism #Mazeldon #Shavuot