Might a golem help make a minyan? Over 300 years ago, a rabbi considered the question, now cited in countless discussions about the implications of artificial intelligence and Judaism.

A symbol of sustenance, a sign of the covenant, and metaphor for the sources of our sustaining existence — God and our ancestors — our Rock remains an eternal emblem of salvation.

As we celebrate over Hanukkah’s eight days the valor of those who rose to resist villainy – in those days and in our time – we mark the words of Maccabees both ancient and modern.

A long-forgotten theory, unmentioned in the latest debate over Christopher Columbus’ Jewish origins, is that with the discovery of the Americas, the hope quickly emerged that the New World’s Natives might in fact be the lost Ten Tribes. 

This tension between two possible worlds is reflected in the nature of the Bible’s description of creation itself.

The details of Jacob’s dreamtime vision will no doubt continue to be debated, just as sure as we spend our days ascending and descending simultaneously in so many varied realms.

He’s the Passover Haggadah’s second-favorite villain.