Mitzvahs and other acts of kindness.

I'm back. Some of you may have noticed that I was AWOL for a long stretch of time.

Fortunately fern hill was a trooper and she plowed gaily forward through the dense miasma of Harper's New©™ Government's political spin. And also, the revolting antics of the Repulsicans and their mutant progeny, the teabagging hatriots.

Oy vey. A funny is what we need. A dear friend (a shiksa) emailed to me and to her secular Jewish spouse this "unauthorized" public service announcement.



More info about AJWS. And yes, like you I thought: But what about the Palestinians?

Judaism is a major world religion, with wide-ranging faith communities who do not necessarily share the same spiritual doctrines or political vision with regard to the state of Israel. I've had the privilege to hear some of these discussions and they're honest - and painful.

It's complicated. Take a long look at the ideological conflicts that oppose the Church of England to the Vatican Taliban, or Alevi Muslims to islamist Shi'ites in Iran.

Who was it who said that G-d, Allah or the Great Goddess wanted their believers to slay their enemies?

The priests and the clerics.

A google search for the term 'mitzvah' provided this gem from the resolutely atheist Christopher Hitchens. (Who knew?)