N.S. Palmer, at The Blogs

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Nov 15, 2015, 9:59 AM

Think Again about Racism

Ancient or modern, prophets make us think again about problems we thought were solved. Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was one such modern prophet. A philosopher, theologian, and rabbi, Heschel came to the United States in 1940 after narrowly escaping the Nazis. He...

Nov 8, 2015, 6:21 AM

Women as Rabbis: It’s Time

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), an association of Orthodox rabbis, last week issued a very strange declaration to prohibit ordination of female rabbis. Strange because, for all practical purposes, it is internally inconsistent. It reaffirms a resolution from 2010,...

Nov 1, 2015, 8:07 AM

The Real Causes of Violence

Today's news tells of a thwarted terrorist attack in the West Bank. Then of another terrorist attack in Jerusalem. When religion turns men into murderers, God weeps. That's Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his new book Not in God's Name: Confronting...

Oct 23, 2015, 6:19 AM

Logical Results, Lived Faith

Logic gives us good answers, but is there something they miss? At Hebrew College this semester, I'm taking a class whose assignments include Torah readings, Jewish philosophy, and "midrashim" -- that is, ancient rabbinic commentaries on various issues. Midrashim range...

Oct 18, 2015, 9:03 AM

Facing Up to Evil

The devisings of man’s mind are evil from his youth ... -- Genesis 8:20 On October 1, multiple terrorists shot a rabbi and his wife who were in the car with their four children. On October 3, a lone terrorist killed...

Oct 7, 2015, 8:14 AM

Seeing Life in Context

As I said the morning prayers today, I realized something: That act sets a context for my whole day. No matter what happens to me today -- good, bad, or indifferent -- the prayers remind me that it's not all...

Oct 2, 2015, 8:31 AM

What Do You See?

Look at the ink blot. What do you see? The ink blot is used in what's called a "Rorschach test." The picture is supposed to be neutral, and not to look like anything in particular. What you see in it...

Sep 25, 2015, 9:16 AM

Faith Lost and Faith Found

Why do some people lose their faith, while other people find their faith? It's not because of differences in intelligence or education. Orthodox Jewish Israeli physicist Gerald Schroeder and Evangelical Christian geneticist Francis Collins are just as smart and well-educated as British biologist...

Sep 18, 2015, 7:08 AM

Who Is Your Enemy?

Who is your enemy? One of my friends said that she must have done something right in the last year, because she had acquired more enemies. Winston Churchill, who was Britain's prime minister during World War II, would have agreed: You...

Sep 7, 2015, 10:49 AM

In praise of sloppy thinking

People of faith get a lot of unfair criticism for sloppy thinking. It's not that we don't do it: we do. Everyone engages in sloppy thinking, even scientists, atheists, and Nobel laureates. And it's not because of laziness or stupidity. It's because sloppy...

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About Me

N.S. Palmer is a graduate student in Jewish Studies at Hebrew College, Newton Centre, Massachusetts. He has degrees in mathematics, economics, and philosophy. He is currently writing a book about Judaism and the role of religious belief in society.