A Poem - Powers Much Greater

It's OK if I act with fear
I didn't ask for it
I don't deserve harm
I act with a mix of fear and courage
And learn in time
How to act more in courage
Courage is great
Life is great
Great river
Safety isn't wrong
Do what you can to preserve
AND to live
Safety and change
These miracle powers much greater than you will sweep you
You are safe, I think
Keep trusting the spark
Keep asking
Spark hears...Spark will answer

Passover Insights : Slave Mentality and Blaming the Victim

We are in the final stretch of Passover week, and I've been thinking about the basic holiday themes - miracles, faith, and courage - especially courage.  As I understand it, courage is the willingness to do the right thing even when you are afraid to do it. I've felt for a long, long time that I am a person with little courage. Many people have told me they think of me as courageous, because I'm willing to admit and talk about things they might be too scared to. But the things they see as courageous aren't that difficult for me. I've always been bold.

BDSM, Child Abuse and God the Master

Before you read this, you must be warned. This is not a blog post. It's actually two or three posts rolled into one. This post is about a relationship with a Higher/Deeper/Greater Power, love, gratitute, submission and surrender. It's also about child abuse, guilt, shame, gender politics, warped sexuality, and masochism. And then you include the chanting.

Ethiopian Jewish Child Attacked at Jewish Ritual

Well, I can't say I'm utterly shocked, but I am still horrified.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3988246,00.html

Hagar vs. Sarah : Fear and Loathing in Lech Lecha

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the biblical figure Abraham. Today, I want to share my thoughts on a connecting relationship in the Bible/Torah - that of Sarah and Hagar. Let's start by looking at the text in Chapter 16 of the Torah, Parshah Lech Lecha (16 is also the corresponding biblical chapter).

16:1
Abram's wife Sarai had not borne him any children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl by the name of Hagar.

Mamzerim : Real People, Real Problems

The title of this blog , "Mamzer Hakodesh", literally means "The Holy Bastard", or even, "The Holy Abomination". I used it for several reasons, one is about being a Jewish-born Christian, one is about looking at the Torah and Bible with fresh perspectives, another about being from an inter-faith and interracial family. One is about the idea of Jesus himself as a bastard; also the idea that sacredness is found in profanity.

Abraham the Rapist, a.k.a. A Jewish Woman's Changing Perspective Of The Father of the Jewish People

Today I'm going to write about something that has offended many Jewish (and probably some non-Jewish) people I've spoken with over the years. I'm going to write about my opinion about a Jewish Patriarch and Catholic saint, Abraham. I'm going to write about the fact that Abraham, or "Avraham Aveinu" (Abraham, our father), often called Father of the Jewish People, was a rapist. He is also guilty of enslavement, a particularly nasty and prevalent form abuse or life-long torture. Oh, and I'd better not forget child neglect. And attempted negligent homicide.

So Much Happens In A Week...

So I was so determined to put up the second part of my book review of Bruce Chilton's "Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography" within a few days. And now a week has passed. I decided to go back to that synagogue for Kabbalat Shabbat. Then I decided no to because, Goddammit, I'm Christian. Then I decided to go. The people there were very sweet. I was welcomed. One woman asked me if I was a convert because, she said, she had thought she heard me say I was or something to that effect. But she was so nice I couldn't get mad at her. I was invited to Shabbat dinner, but I declined with embarrassment because I was going to celebrate a friend's anniversary.