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Days ago, I pondered writing a midrashic post-mortem to President Trump’s election loss, explaining his loss with a story from a rabbinic midrash. My point was going to be that he was not defeated not exclusively by his policies and that a second term should have been a sure thing since he was an incumbent. His defeat, I wanted to argue, was caused by a particularly destructive character trait which brought about his downfall in a most tragic way. As events would have it, this particular flaw had consequences not only for him but for the nation as a whole, and, indeed, the entire world, since it has tainted anything positive that he has accomplished.
We invest so much energy cleaning up before and after holiday festivities. This year, we have also invested an exceptional amount of effort and energy sanitizing ourselves and things with which we come into contact. Perhaps there are even moments as we clean and sanitize during this holiday season in our secular age that we unconsciously yearn for the sacred domain of seemingly primitive times, reminiscent of Mircea Eliade’s book
All this stood out to me as I have been reading through Leviticus the past few days. One might find it odd to be reading through Leviticus during Advent and Christmastide, but I find it most appropriate. Here’s why. There are no doubt sanitization grounds for some purity or cleanliness laws in the Bible. Still, I am all the more interested in how we might take to heart their import for purification of the heart and our need for Messiah Jesus who comes to earth not to avoid sinners like me but to love on us so purely that he cleanses us and makes us who
Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. The opinions, facts and any media content in them are presented solely by the authors, and neither The Times of Israel nor its partners assume any responsibility for them. Please contact us in case of abuse. In case of abuse,
Is justice always judicious? King Solomon is renowned for a famous case which came before him at the beginning of his reign as king. Two prostitutes, who lived together, both had infant sons. One night, one of these children died when his mother rolled over on him. The aggrieved mother switched the children in the middle of the night, taking the living child for her own and placing the dead child in the arms of the other woman. In the morning, the other mother realized that the dead child by her side was not hers. The case was brought before the young king. Each woman pleaded her case, leaving the king to decide who would retain the live child. Since each woman claimed the child, the