What Does Judaism Think

It seems a harsh overreaction, an excessive punishment for the sin. Putting people to death for this, on its surface, seems way out of proportion. To what do I refer? To the biblical portion of Ki Tisa, the same chapter that contains the story of the Golden calf. I could easily be referring to the punishment meted out to those who worshiped the calf, although I am not. I'm referring to a casual verse at the beginning of the section, dealing with the requirements of the priests in the sanctuary.

God commands these Priests to wash their hands before entering the sanctuary to perform the service. A priest who does this properly "will not die." This implies that failure to wash hands and feet before entering the sanctuary to serve God carries with it a death sentence.

What could this possibly mean? Why so harsh a reaction to some seemingly minor infraction? To be clear, this apparent death sentence is not to be carried out by a human court. It is a statement of Divine intent, not of human judicial requirement. Even so, what is so terrible about this sin? Read More

Mike Bickle, a respected pastor, recently endorsed Senator Ted Cruz. This aroused some controversy, as a previous sermon that Bickle delivered caused offense to members of the Jewish community. In it, he expressed the belief that the prophets foretold the tragic sufferings of the Jewish people than the 20th century, and that this was part of the process of bringing them to accept the Christian Messiah.

In response to the criticism, Pastor Bickle wrote an impassioned response in the Times of Israel proclaiming his deep love of the Jewish people and his unwavering support of the state of Israel. He was hurt by the accusation that he was, somehow, indifferent to the Jewish people. I have no doubt that Pastor Bickle works tirelessly on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people, and that his heart contains no malice towards them. The opposite, he seems to care very deeply.

There is, however, a consistent error expressed by many well-meaning people of faith. Read More

As the presidential election season continues, candidates are vetting each other as never before. If an opponent said something years ago that is different from what they are saying now, they get pounced upon. Yes, candidates for president can expect everything in their records to be examined with a microscope.

So it is a bit puzzling why the first High Priest was chosen despite a glaring flaw in his record. Aaron, Moses's brother, got the top spot in the religious hierarchy despite one huge religious error: Aaron made the Golden Calf.

We will amplify this question before we find the secret reason that Aaron was irreplaceable as High Priest. Read More

God is the spiritual force that powers the universe. He is unseeable, untouchable. He is omnipotent and omnipresent. So why does He command the children of Israel to construct a lavish Tabernacle in His honor? Of what need is a temple to God? We believe that God can be communicated with in any place.

The answer can show us an entirely new way to experience the mystery of life. Read More