Tag: Judaism
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The Men Inside (Child Abuse)
“At 7, I was bound, abducted, and forced to have sex with other children, in a cinderblock room, much like I was kept at The Building,” says David (name changed). He has said this twice, in the past week, the entire time we’ve known each other since he arrived from “The Building”, what the men…
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Sanctuary, not Sacrifice
This week we begin reading VaYikra (Leviticus), the Torah’s central book literally (3 of 5) and ethically. The sages say children should begin their learning not with Bereshit (Genesis, “In the beginning…”) but VaYikra, saying “Let the pure come and study purity” [1]. Rabbi Akiva says the core of Judaism is found in it, “You…
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Fight the Weak
Joey (name changed) twitches like a lovable toy robot dropped down the stairs a few too many times. The batteries are fully charged, but jerky movements let you know something’s loose inside. Still, his smile radiates with a shy glee and his eyes [reveal] a brain working overtime. It doesn’t tell him nice things. “I…
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Donkey Empathy
This week’s Torah Portion, Mishpatim, is perhaps my favorite. Like a great standup bit, it seems to be random observations going nowhere in particular, until the final revelation. Hot off the giving of the Ten Commandments, we have a Parsha that is different from many which came before it. There are no spectacular miracles, no…
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Asking for help
Hi guys, Now that I have some breathing room, a bit of a longer note… Before I begin: Next visiting day is SUNDAY. Please message my dad [email protected] if you’d like to visit and haven’t filled in a form. (G-d willing those who have will be approved before this Sunday and we’ll update you this…
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“Manning Up”
A strange set of stories introduce us to Israel’s greatest prophet and leader in this week’s Parsha, Exodus: “It happened in those days that Moses grew up and went out to his bretheren and observed their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, from his brethren. He turned (faced) this way…
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Teaching Art in Prison
Last night, I taught a drawing class to a room full of men accused of crimes ranging from armed bank robbery, to child porn, to drug running, to white-collar fraud, to illegal migration, to public corruption… The Education building of FCI Miami Low looks like a small school, but with the same heavy steel doors…
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Judaism through new eyes
Shavua Tov. This was a laid-back Shabbat with some nice highlights. “Bek” (Dennis Gogel), the German soldier who discovered he’s Jewish in prison, attended Friday night services and got his first Aliyah to the Torah (being called up to the Torah) this morning. I was leining (reading the Torah), and it was super nice to…
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The Lebanese Jewish Zen Monk Who Taught Nazis to Fight
“Nobody with hope joins a gang,” says Brian Zater, the Lebanese Jewish Zen Monk of Glass House. He’s telling me about his first encounter with a White Nationalist, “He was covered from the neck down in tattoos, with plenty of swastikas.” Brian Jones approached Zater, the new guy in the Pen, in a TV room…