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| Home » Writings, Speeches, Broadcasts » Credo » 2000 |
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| We Become Closest to G-d When We Become Parents |
| 1/12/2000 |
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At the end of his great book A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking wrote one of the more famous sentences of modern times. If only we could discover a complete theory of the forces governing the universe "it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God." Professor Hawking is an outstanding scientist. Even he might admit, however, that he is not the world's greatest theologian.
I recently heard a much deeper remark from a mother with young c... |
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| We Are Wrong to Think that We Know the Whole Truth |
| 1/11/2000 |
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An ancient rabbinic tradition says that before God created mankind, He consulted with the angels. The angel of compassion said, 'Let man be created because he will do compassionate deeds.' The angel of truth said, 'Let him not be created, for he is full of lies.' The angel of righteousness said, 'Let man be created, because he will perform righteous acts.' The angel of peace said, 'Let him not be created, for he is full of strife.'
Faced with this conflicting advice, tradition says th... |
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| The Human Condition is a Mixture of Good & Evil |
| 1/9/2000 |
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For me, one of the greatest of all religious ideas is the one Jews are thinking about now as we approach the 'days of awe', New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The idea is teshuvah, which means 'repentance' and 'return.' One word, but an astonishingly powerful one.
Throughout the centuries, Judaism has resisted two views of the human condition. The first is that, as human beings, we are not up to much. We are 'fallen,' corrupt, tainted by original sin. That... |
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| Religious Politicians Offer the Best of Both Worlds |
| 1/8/2000 |
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Great interest has been aroused by the fact that American presidential candidate Al Gore has chosen as his running mate a Jew, Joe Lieberman. Jews have played a significant part in American public life - figures like Henry Kissinger and Alan Greenspan come to mind. But this is the first time one has stood for elective office at this level. Nor is Senator Lieberman Jewish in a mere ethnic sense. He is a deeply religious man who practises Judaism with great devotion.
The United States i... |
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