Thoughts on Sefer Melachim.

Do miracles change peoples' behavior?

Does punishment serve as a motivator for ethical behavior?

Elija's currency is contained in grand events, but his educational method leaves much to be desired.

Maiseh on Melekh Shlomo

So the man said to me, "I'm not looking for a job. I'm looking for a life."

And I knew that he was right. If we become the sum total of our jobs, then we cease to use the tools of our humanity for building community.

Do you have a job? No? Volunteer.

We can all do a bit more of that.

You'll meet people. You'll make connections. You'll find people who need you in ways you didn't know existed.

East & West

The Tradition is invested in eternity. The West is not. The West would have electronic dishwashers that eventually end up in a junk heap. The Tradition would instead fashion a set of tefillin until they are ready to be solemnly buried. The Tradition exudes a yearning for the reanimation of the dead upon the coming of the Messiah. Does that include tefillin?

Buddhism & Shtus

Says Alan Watts, Buddhism is Hinduism, stripped for export.

In the same way that there are both cultural Jews (Hiloni) and religious Jews (Da'ati'im), there are also cultural Hindus and religious Hindus.

Hinduism asserts that one cannot be a full Hindu without living in India. There is a similar contention in Judiasm—that one cannot be a total Jew without living in the land of Israel. Perhaps it is at least the land of the Israelites.

In any land there is a cultural mix of elements, among which are climate, the arts, architecture, music and so on. These background elements inform the culture for the native Jew living in The Jewish land. Thus, Conservative Judaism can also be understood as "Land of Israel YKVK post-Israelite religion," but stripped for export. And that is among, if not the chief reason that the Conservative Judaism of the west is nearly irrelevant in Israel.

Had Conservative Jews settled Israel on masse, then perhaps the timbre of modern Israeli culture would be different. But Conservative Judaism fails to consider the reality of being an Israeli, living as an observant Jew. How does one craft an identity? The modern Israeli embraces a broader Jewish social state of being.

Conservative Judaism where I grew up, was like going to the circus. Purim was fun. Simchat Torah was flags, apples, and Hershey bars. But then when I got home, there was Elvis and Happy Days. The religion of Hiluni Jews in Israel is surely not more erudite or profound. For my Israeli counterparts however, because of their shared common experiences—living in an intentional Jewish national polity—the voice of everything is Jewish/Hebraic. The language of things in Israel is Hebrew language.

But the language in totality of a Jew in Israel reflects myriad influences, and surely no less than those faced by Jews in America. Israelis for example, share an implicit informality. Some are not necessarily polite, and others have limited patience. This appears to be inherent to Israeli life. These characteristics might be attributed to the effects of compulsory army life and the levels of urgency and camaraderie which that institution fosters.

I'm thinking that Israelis are this "way" also because they are more tied to ancient cultural attitudes and truths inherent to this part of the world. Whatever the case, I think that my idea here places an interesting focus on the distinction between natural Judaism and movement Judaism (natural meaning born in Israel, and the movement being a largely American phenomenon). Movements are subject to commodification, but more about that another time.

People living in a state of native comfort recognize one another on a different level. It is like tuning in to a radio wave. You either get it, or you don't. The transmission is either jammed, or it's clear. If you have the right receiver, you'll pick it up.

Alan Watts

Alan Watts explains the Buddha's dialectic method as such, via an anecdote about RH Blyth, the scholar who introduced the modern world to haiku poetry.

Blyth said, "If you ask me if I believe in God, the respons would be as follows: If you do, then I don't. If you don't, then I do."

From a pedagogic standpoint, this is a constant demand to achieve clarity in meaning. It asserts, "I know what I believe, but tell me what you believe. If you are seeking sweetness, then I'm here to tell you that everything is miserable, and if you are miserable then I'm here to teach you about the sweetness."