kaddish in two-part harmony
A conversation between an anthropologist and a musician along with a growing virtual minyan, on themes of death and dying, grief, ritual, and the interplay between music and words.about
Tag Archives: faith
daily kaddish: Osama Bin Laden
Mira’s Kaddish for Osama Bin Laden is an example of why I’m so proud to be her collaborator. With her words echoing in my brain, and her “bismilleh” Kaddish text echoing in my headphones, I attempted to play a Kaddish for this whole sorry scene. I don’t think it’s coincidental that I was hitting clams and playing notes out of tune the whole way through. Continue reading
Posted in kaddish in two-part harmony, podcasts
Tagged faith, Islamic State, jihad, Osama bin Laden, Ottoman Empire, Sephardi, terrorism
4 Comments
a kaddish for Osama bin Laden
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم The goal of building (or rebuilding) an Islamic State is something as yet under-appreciated in the West. Do we in the West ask what kind of State is it? Or do we just assume it’s the … Continue reading
Posted in essays, kaddish in two-part harmony
Tagged faith, Islamic State, jihad, Osama bin Laden, Ottoman Empire, Sephardi, terrorism
4 Comments
what is it about words? a rant in response to a preamble
Music sits alongside religion as an opiate for the masses, and when music joins religion, it’s a truly powerful drug—one that scares the crap out of me sometimes.
Continue reading
optimism in the face of reason, or: another kaddish for new orleans
Mira wrote about having a grudge against optimism in a recent essay that has left me wandering lost in my own mind. See, I agree with just about everything she wrote. I largely agree with her worldview. But I am a persistent optimist. I am an optimist in the face of considerable clear evidence that optimism is irrational. Continue reading
Posted in essays
Tagged faith, Minnesota, music, musicians, New Orleans, optimism, politics
5 Comments
misunderstanding pessimism: a manifesto of sorts
The NYT has run a number of articles lately on optimism and pessimism, including one entitled, “Is your Dog an Optimist or a Pessimist.” Which was an incredibly depressing article. Another, which ran today (but disappeared before I could find … Continue reading
the rebbe and the wise little children
A friend and colleague posted this quote from Arthur Green on his blog and so, of course, I’ve struggled with it. Which is better than saying, yet again, that it pissed me off: “We would understand the entire course of … Continue reading
Posted in essays, tzaddik stories
Tagged Arthur Green, Bireishit, evolution, faith, Genesis, Jewish education, pedagogy, tzaddik stories
3 Comments