Adventures in Judaism

"Dad, I've finally figured out why I like Judaism better than Christianity" "Oh, why's that?" "Christianity teaches that people aren't good, have never been good, and aren't capable of getting any better, so why even bother trying? Judaism teaches that people aren't perfectly good, and nobody ever has been, but that we can  be better people and so it is  worth trying to fix our problems and do good in the world – in fact, we're commanded to do our best to be good people and do good in the world." Now, before I go one word further, I want to stress that my son came up with that last paragraph entirely on his own . You shouldn't applaud me for an excellent job of indoctrination, nor can you upbraid me for instilling a narrow view of Christianity, because these words come from his own experiences, not from anything I've taught the boy.  Yes, I know that not all Christians would agree with the ideas of original sin, total deprav

Well, it's that time of year again – which comes for me about three times a year, actually – when the frenetic pace and stress hormone support of finals week wear off and I'm left with a mood crash and plenty of time to indulge it. Naturally, my thoughts turn to a midlife-crisis-like search for the change that would give my life the boost it so obviously needs: would a change of career bring me lasting happiness? What about a new hobby/project? A new gadget (surely an Apple watch would at least keep me amused a while longer) or a new car (my credit union just announced a special deal with Tesla)? Oddly, this is the first end-of-spring in some years (decades, perhaps) that has NOT  brought with it the idea of changing or questioning my religious affiliation. Maybe that is because I am already engaged in an extended process of doing so (becoming Jewish involves a lot of study and questioning, which I've noticed tend to continue after one becomes Jewish, and with all of it