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Beyond the specifics of the red heifer ritual, Shabbat Parah offers opportunities for modern interpretations. Secular humanists can find meaning in creating their own traditions that foster community.
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“Here is what studying sacrifice does for me: It centers me on ritual and intention. What if we separate the act of sacrifice from the concept of a deity? Could the act of offering itself present something of value, even symbolically? And what would this look like?” #HItzonim
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New #Hitzonim post for Purim: “Esther is a book of multilayered truth, even though nothing in the book is historically factual. Some would argue that this is the best kind of truth there is.”
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The post challenges the traditional definition of diaspora, questioning the association with a homeland and exploring the impact of Zionism on the Palestinian people. It reflects on the historical resilience of the Jewish people and advocates for embracing vulnerability and redefining diaspora without reference to a homeland, calling for a commitment to peace and freedom.
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Or to put things slightly differently: Our texts have origin points that we can learn more about, and for someone more secular like me, tracing the history of the texts and our ancestors is a meaningful way to engage Torah.
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What does justice demand of us? A project of truth telling about our ancestors and a commitment now to be better. And isn’t that what the Torah is? A frame for moral discourse?
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I guess this is how I’m religious. I was mindful of what I was eating. I was being religious by violating our religion.
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I call for ceasefire not in spite of my Jewish identity but because of it. T’shuvah, my beloved siblings.
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We Jews tend to be more straight up about our leaders and each other because we’ve thrown in our lot in with each other and following the Law, and it is Gd that is in charge. Anthropomorphic and emotional on the pre-Priestly accounts and transcendent on the Priestly view.
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Maybe confronting these stories, finding their core, understanding what is to be done with them is something we need more of, not less.
Hitzonim | Outsiders 