Month: July 2020
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Shabbat shalom
If we learn from others one chapter, one halachah, one verse, one saying, or even one letter, we are obliged to show honor to them. From “Chapters of the Fathers” in Gates of Prayer, Chaim Stern, ed. (New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1975), 27.
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Reflecting on James 1 1-11
We are studying James 1:1-11 for Sunday, August 2; it’s the first of a series of five texts drawn from the book of James we’ll be studying, that will round out our summer focus on Biblical wisdom literature. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions on the text we might want […]
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Studying James 1 1-11
What does the book of James have to do with wisdom? We are studying James 1:1-11 for Sunday, August 2, as the first of five lessons on James in this quarter devoted to Biblical wisdom literature, so it looks like we will be finding out. [Here are some questions on the text.] Here are some […]
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Hajj Like No Other
2020 has been a challenging year for religious observance. The Hajj starts today – and from this account, the pilgrimage will be very different from usual. Of course, many pilgrims who’d hoped to be making the trip won’t be, at least not this year. For the few who can, Zamzam water in plastic bottles and […]
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Belonging [Surely … ]
![Belonging [Surely … ]](https://hermeneutrix.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/clippertonisland.jpg?w=1024)
Last week the sermon focused on the “spirit of adoption” Paul talks about in Romans 8: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry […]
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Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130
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Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Meir said: If you study Torah in order to learn and do God’s will, you acquire many merits; and not only that, but the whole world is indebted to you. … You become like a gushing fountain, like a never-failing river. From “Chapters of the Fathers” in Gates of Prayer, Chaim Stern ed., Central […]
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Reflecting on John 14 1-14
We’re studying John 14:1-14 for Sunday, July 26. This is the opening of Jesus’s “farewell discourse” in the gospel of John. [Some notes on the text are here.] Here are some questions the text raises for me: In verse 1, Jesus says “Believe in God, believe also in me.” What do we think he means […]
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Studying John 14 1-14
We are studying John 14:1-14 for Sunday, July 26 – the famous and familiar opening of Jesus’s “farewell discourse,” a text we have probably heard read at funerals and memorial services many more times than once. [Here are some questions on the text.] Here are some notes on the text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: The text […]
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Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. Psalm 139:9-10
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Shabbat shalom
According to the labor is the reward. Rabbi Ben Hei Hei, from “Chapters of the Fathers,” in Gates of Prayer, Chaim Stern, ed., Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1975, 26.
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Reflecting on Mark 6 1-6
We are studying Mark 6:1-6 for Sunday, July 19; this is the story of Jesus’s visit to his hometown, as told by Mark. [Here are some notes on the text.] Here are some questions we might want to think about or discuss in class as we think about what the text has to say to […]
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One of God’s Neat Tricks
We are having a thunderstorm here, this minute (10:59 a.m. edt), and the thunder is really loud, and long, which prompted me to look up on Google (which is still up, at least for now) about what that tells us about the lightning, if anything … Because I am a little leery of lightning, having […]
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Studying Mark 6 1-6
We are studying Mark 6:1-6 for Sunday, July 19. This is Mark’s version of the story of Jesus’s amazingly tepid reception in his hometown. [Here are some questions about the text.] Here are a few notes on that text: BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: The gospel of Mark is the earliest of the canonical gospels. I’ll leave […]
Matters of Interpretation 