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Psalm 51; Mark 12: 28-34The Midrash contains the story of the Gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism but that he demanded to learn the whole of the Torah while standing on one foot. After going to another rabbi, the Gentile came to Rabbi Hillel who told him that the entire Torah could be contained in the following: “Whatsoever is hateful to you, do not do to another.” Perplexed, the Gentile asked what this meant and the story goes on that Hillel responded with the statement in this morning's Gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul, and mind, and strength. The second is like unto it that we love our neighbor as ourselves. As Hillel said, all the rest is commentary. The critical question is, of course, who is our neighbor? Luke's version of the answer to this question is the stor...
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2 Kings 5: 1-14; Mark 1: 40-45 Back in the late 70's and early 80's people used to think that Dr. Siegal was a little strange. He would spend time with his cancer patients asking them about their faith in God and how it affected their trust in him as a doctor. But Bernie Siegel was onto something. As a noted oncologist practicing at Yale New Haven Hospital, he became increasingly convinced that faith – which is ultimately trust – played a central role in healing. Since then Bernie has written extensively on this subject, including books and articles for what some of his hoity-toity colleagues at the Med School call "the popular market." Bernie, a practicing Jew who worshiped at Temple Mishkan Israel in Hamden, only commented that his colleagues just didn't want to face their own limitations. The doctor offe...
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Leviticus 19: 9-16; Matthew 22: 34-40Sometimes on Sunday afternoons as I am driving I listen to a program called “The Great American Songbook.” Now, before I make this comment, you should know that I
really do enjoy the old songs with their old renditions, Jo Stafford singing “The Nearness of You” or even Vera Lynn with her “There'll be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover,” a glorious old World War II song. What I really can't stand is
schmaltz.The word schmaltz, which we use as a derogatory term referring to maudlin sentimentality, has its origins in old Yiddish cooking; the word actually refers to rendered chicken or goose fat, a staple in orthodox Jewish cooking, which prohibited the use of butter or pork lard in cooking meat. How the word moved from a kitchen to the world of...
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