Mary Magdalene, Holy Hooker

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the symbolism surrounding Mary Magdalene's hair color. But I knew I had more to write; I want to share my thoughts on Mary herself. It's not surprising, given that Mary Magdalene is  a fascinating biblical figure that has stayed in public consciousness for about two thousand years.

I was raised in a Jewish home, and it was only around the age of twelve or thirteen that I began to learn more about Christianity. At some point, I learned about Mary Magdalene. First, I learned that she had been a prostitute saved by Jesus. Soon, I started to hear snippets about Mary Magdalene as an ancient Goddess figure and High Priestess defamed by "The Patriarchy" (which is to feminists what "The Man" is to African-Americans).  And finally, as Jesus' wife and possible divine consort.

Mary Magdalene's Red Hair : Ravishingly Racist?

Today, I'd like to bring Mary Magdalene's hair color to your attention. Certainly, there is much more to the woman than her hair, and I will be writing more about her in the future. For the moment, though, I want to put in my two cents on the historical and contemporary obsession with Mary Magdalene's hair color.

I Wore A Cross Today

In my jewelry box sits a beautiful large silver cross pendant with a small oval lapis lazuli stone in the center. I bought it for two dollars at a garage sale a year ago. Today, I wore it. This is the first time I've worn a cross since I was a teenager.

The Big Fat Mess - The Controversy of Messianic Judaism

When, after years of denial, I finally admitted to myself that I adored Jesus, I wasn't very comfortable with that fact. I'm still uncomfortable with it. In fact, I cringed when I wrote the first sentence of this post, and I've cringed each time I've read it since. I was committing the ultimate sin. Jews have been persecuted, quite literally, for thousands of years. And the most enduring and brutal persecutions have been perpetrated by Christians in the name of Jesus.

Jewish Renewal, Yom Kippur, Montreal...

This week, I was preoccupied with learning new job-skills and navigating an ever-expanding work-week. Which is good, because Hashem, Jesus, and Hathor the ancient Egyptian cow-mother Goddess know I NEED the work.

Whenever I start something new and challenging, I panic. And sometimes, I panic all day long. You see, sometimes I decide to cash a check the day before I have an important bill to pay, inconveniently forgetting that the bank will hold any deposited amount in excess of $200 for five business days. And then it rains all day. And my back hurts. And part of me is cursing myself for a low-paying work commitment I'v taken on. But another part of me keeps telling myself I'll be ok, and that I will make it through the next week eating the beans and lentils I've got in my kitchen. And then, somehow, when I get home, I feel ok. I feel like I can make it through. And then, the next morning, I check my account and realize I under-estimated, and I'm going to be able to pay that bill.

Oops, I did it again....

Oops, I did it again. I spent another weekend trying to find some well-meaning, but rigid Orthodox Jews to fawn over me and to spend time trying to convince me that they're right. To hold me in value just because I was born of a Jewish mother.

Book Review of "Rabbi Jesus; An Intimate Biography", by Bruce Chilton; Part 2

There were so many interesting ideas in Chilton's book that I've wanted to really explore in this review, but I can't spend the next five weeks writing about it!!! So here are some of the major, and most interesting perspectives from "Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography".


Between his childhood and emergence in adulthood to begin his own ministry, a big blank spot appears in the gospels.

There are many ideas of what happened during this time, including a sojourn to India to learn from spiritualist masters there. But have you ever considered this - what if Jesus was a teenage runaway? That's exactly Chilton's idea based on the gospels. Jesus made a pilgrimage with his family to Jerusalem one year. He disappeared, and his mother had to go back to the temple to find him teaching there. He give her a little bit of teenage sass before going back home with her. But what if that last part about going back home was just a resolution tacked on in later years to excuse Jesus' unpredictable behavior? For after this incident, nothing more is heard about Jesus until he is well into adulthood. What if, instead of going back home, Jesus RAN AWAY from home? What if he couldn't take local life as a mamzer after his father died and escaped at the earliest opportunity? What if he was drawn to the holy city as some children are drawn to the nunnery?