Category: Philosophy
Dangerous Division – Torah and Nature in Pirqei Avot
There’s a famous mishna in the ethical tractate called Pirqei Avot (Chapters on Fundamentals), which says the following: Rabbi Ya’aqov said: One who is reviewing their Torah study while w... Read More
When a rabbinical student says Kaddish for his non-Jewish parents…
Having grown up in the Catholic faith, death, dying, and mourning were always such surreal experiences. Although one begs to ask, what isn’t surreal about the entire process for anyone? It always fe... Read More
“Right View” and Interfaith Dialogue
One “fold” on the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path toward enlightenment is Right View. “Right view” is the skill of dissolving interpretations in favor of drawing closer to the reality of the wor... Read More
The Mechanics of Personal Transformation via Interfaith Dialogue
My research on interfaith dialogue is driven by questions about people’s individual capacities for transformation and cohabitation with other humans. In previous articles (here and here) I demonstra... Read More
Resilient Space and the Necessity of Discomfort
“The idea of safe space is a Utopian ideal.” — Laurie Patton, President of Middlebury College Despite how often we hear and use the phrase “safe space” in interfaith work... Read More
Working T’shuvah – What is Forgiveness?
I grew up in a non-religious family, and then became Christian as a teenager, and then converted again to Judaism as an adult. I learned as a teen that forgiveness is freely and completely given. It i... Read More
Call to Action for a New and Just World Order By Junaid S. Ahmad and Abdul Jabbar
Over the past few decades, “politics” became a dirty word globally, to be left for the corrupt and deceitful. A healthy tradition of interventions by various social and political actors to remedy ... Read More
The Difference Between Religious Diversity and Religious Pluralism
In a previous article I explored how “choice and safety” are the key ingredients in converting de facto religious diversity into religious pluralism, an environment more conducive to transformativ... Read More