In the movie “Annie Hall”, Woody Allen plays the character Alvy Singer. In one scene he is standing in line near a guy who is pontificating about the media. The screenplay goes like this: Man: It’s the influence of television. Yeah, now Marshall McLuhan deals with it in terms of it being a-a high, uh, […]

“Wise men make proverbs, but fools repeat them.” – Samuel Palmer How do we know God wants us to refrain from stealing from others? How can we be so sure the Almighty is against adultery? After all, it’s kind of difficult to pinpoint any individual meeting with him (her? them?) recently. Yet, millions of people […]

An interview with Emunah Alon, the wife of Israeli right-wing parliament member Benny Alon, took place in March 2003 on the IDF radio channel. The interviewer asked her about certain rumors, saying that Yigal Amir had discussed Rabin’s murder with her husband before performing the act. Mrs. Alon explained how that specific discussion was about […]

“I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.” – John Locke In 2003, Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal was put in jail for nine years. The judge recommended that el-Faisal, from Stratford in east London (UK), should serve at least half of the sentence and then be deported. Abdullah el-Faisal had […]

Here is a short and very partial list, just to get an idea of some of the more peculiar religious Jewish verdicts mentioned in the Israeli media during the last few years. All have good religious explanations. Note that some of them obviously contradict others: It’s not allowed to pick your nose on the Sabbath. […]

Some two millenniums ago, Jewish priests were not allowed to be near dead people or even cemeteries. This ancient law evolved into religiously forbidding people carrying the last name of, say, ‘Cohen’ (Hebrew for ‘Priest’) from entering cemeteries. But what is the extent of a cemetery? It appears that the Jewish god also regards the […]

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh Picking your nose in public is certainly not a nice thing to do. Picking your nose in private is probably okay… unless it’s Saturday and you’re one of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s followers. The interesting verdict […]

Let’s conduct a seemingly simple experiment that may be done during common theological arguments (which I’m sure you’ve encountered many times). After hearing all the usual claims about the miracles supposedly created by the wonderful divine supervision, ask your religious friend the following question: “Tell me yourself, what will cause you to quit believing… Is […]