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.

Mamzer at the Movies : The Secrets

I recently watched an Israeli movie called, "The Secrets". It's about a young Chareidi (Ultra, ultra Orthodox) woman, Naomi, who is a brilliant Torah student with limited options in her community. Her mother has just passed away, and she is being pushed into a marriage with a man she can barely tolerate, let alone love.

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.