Sam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
l33tminion) wrote2004-11-29 09:23 am
l33tminion) wrote2004-11-29 09:23 am
Back Home from Home
So, I'm back home at last (and I really do feel that this is my home, now...). My vacation was very relaxing. I got a lot of reading in, visited some of my friends (although I had to leave town before some returned... sorry, guys, I'll see you at winter break...), and even managed to finish the work I wanted to complete.
My cousin Lev's Bar Mitzvah celebration was good. His d'var torah was an interesting look at a biblical story in his portion that is little known, mainly because it makes people, especially modern readers, uncomfortable. Our family had also discussed that story with Rabbi Hoffman (a family friend from Connecticut; we stayed at his house on our trip), and his position on the story made me more than a little uncomfortable, but the Rabbi is admittedly a bit "like a zealot" in his positions on intermarriage.
I was able to get a ride back home with some Boston cousins, which avoided me paying an absurd amount for an Amtrak ticket. The ride was long, dark, rainy, and slow, and I'm glad that I wasn't the one behind the wheel; it was a nasty night for driving. But I got home safely, anyhow...
On the minus side, I lost my winter jacket (although I got a new one in Cleveland), which is a pain... I really liked that jacket, and the new one I got is much less comfortable. No idea how my jacket dissapeared... I thought it had got to college, and I thought it had never left my room. One of the two must be wrong... I searched my room again, but I suppose I'll have to look around campus a bit more as well...
Also on the minus side, I've gained a few pounds... thanksgiving vacation is not a good time for watching your diet, eh? Oh, well... the diet's back on, and hopefully I'll be able to make some time for some regular exercise as well. As a matter of fact, I think I hear the calling of a DDR pad right now...
On the plus side, though, I'm making progress on making plans for the month off I have for winter break. It looks like I may go home for just a week-and-a-half and then return to Boston to hang out at MIT over IAP (intersession). That plan, however, is contingent on me finding some work, and I may be able to get some programming work at Metacarta, where Xavid(![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kihou) works, during that time. Currently, I'm in the process of scheduling an interview, so we'll see how that turns out.
My cousin Lev's Bar Mitzvah celebration was good. His d'var torah was an interesting look at a biblical story in his portion that is little known, mainly because it makes people, especially modern readers, uncomfortable. Our family had also discussed that story with Rabbi Hoffman (a family friend from Connecticut; we stayed at his house on our trip), and his position on the story made me more than a little uncomfortable, but the Rabbi is admittedly a bit "like a zealot" in his positions on intermarriage.
I was able to get a ride back home with some Boston cousins, which avoided me paying an absurd amount for an Amtrak ticket. The ride was long, dark, rainy, and slow, and I'm glad that I wasn't the one behind the wheel; it was a nasty night for driving. But I got home safely, anyhow...
On the minus side, I lost my winter jacket (although I got a new one in Cleveland), which is a pain... I really liked that jacket, and the new one I got is much less comfortable. No idea how my jacket dissapeared... I thought it had got to college, and I thought it had never left my room. One of the two must be wrong... I searched my room again, but I suppose I'll have to look around campus a bit more as well...
Also on the minus side, I've gained a few pounds... thanksgiving vacation is not a good time for watching your diet, eh? Oh, well... the diet's back on, and hopefully I'll be able to make some time for some regular exercise as well. As a matter of fact, I think I hear the calling of a DDR pad right now...
On the plus side, though, I'm making progress on making plans for the month off I have for winter break. It looks like I may go home for just a week-and-a-half and then return to Boston to hang out at MIT over IAP (intersession). That plan, however, is contingent on me finding some work, and I may be able to get some programming work at Metacarta, where Xavid
kihou)
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As for the d'var~ I heard a very different one, which was far less critical of Shimeon and Levi. Of course, it also started by assuming the fundamental truth, goodness, and purposeful design of the text...
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Rabbi Hoffman interpreted it as teaching that intermarriage is dangerous. He stated that, in the brothers' position, he might have felt justified taking the same actions, and I don't think that speaks well of him as a moral leader.
Now, it is possible that that is what the text intends to teach. If so, then it is a lesson of the Torah I can never agree with. Of course, it wouldn't be the only one...
I never consider revenge to be a valid justification for something immoral, and while I can see situations in which killing is necessary (even if it means some innocent people might die), I can't think of any situation in which such cruel deception could be justified.
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