Black Fire above White Fire

The lecture “Torah: Black Fire over White Fire” was given by Rabbi Salazar at Temple Ahavat Achim last Tuesday. Rabbi Salazar is the scribe who is writing the new Torah scroll to replace the one lost in the fire that destroyed the previous temple building. The talk was fascinating!

Before the lecture, Rabbi Salazar was had the Torah-in-progress spread out on the table.

Rabbi Steven Lewis gave an introduction:

 

 

Rabbi Salazar spoke off the cuff with erudition and fervor, but very clearly and accessibly, even for folks like me who don’t know much about Jewish theology.  Christians and Jews have a lot in common in some ways – judging from this lecture, at least some schools of Jewish thought have more in common with Christian mysticism than I expected – but there are also very significant differences, of course. Christianity had its origin in Judaism two thousand years ago, and a lot has happened historically, philosophically, and theologically in the interim!

 

 

You can see a couple more photos here.

Fr. Matthew Green

Christmas Tree Poll For Our Jewish Readers

I’m curious amongst our Jew buddies here on GMG, Do you freak out when you see Christmas Trees lit up on town squares or are those just the extremists Jews in the community raising a stink?

Personally I’m more pissed off that we’re gonna have to listen to Christmas muzak starting any day now all the way through January and at “those neighbors who leave their Christmas lights up past Easter”, but then again I’m not Jewish.

I just read the first of the obligatory annual “Jewish townfolk are pissed off because someone put lights on a Christmas tree” story in the newspaper and it struck me as being a bit early for that.

I’d like to know where the middle of the road Jews stand on this issue. Thanks in advance for your comments below.

Groundbreaking Celebration For the New Temple Ahavat Achim, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 18 April 2010

April 24, 2010 — World premier of a new setting of Shehechiyanu by Larry Constantine at the groundbreaking celebration for the new Temple Ahavat Achim, Gloucester, Massachusetts, 18 April 2010.