You couldn't find a still photo from "The Bad Seed"?

It's an important story, but their writing needs some work. Every social media poster they cite "has amassed nearly X number of followers." It's almost funny.

You seem to be assuming that (1) we can always know what is right; (2) we can guarantee the results of our actions; (3) we never make mistakes....But of course none of that is true.

This is, and has always been, the very essence of Trump's psyche: Truth is irrelevant; it's all about what you can make some people believe. What counts is marketing, not reality.

I believe good intentions matter, even if they didn't achieve their goals.

I can't decide if you meant to place a period after "is" or after "Rey."

Except one's paid up taxes...🤣 😉

I think they probably all have the same basic point: simple, devoted heart surpasses mere ritual conformity....

My familiarity with Zohar is fairly general and limited, but that seems like a very reasonable thesis for parts of Kabbalah. This of course has also been asserted about Hasidut and early modern mainstream Judaism. Remember the shepherd boy who devoutly recited the letters of the Hebrew alphabet?

Completely agree that it's about balance and I love how classical Judaism joins Halacha and Aggada—one of our great strengths. To be clear: I'm not judging you based on one thread; just engaging the ideas presented. Take THIS as a compliment, for how many people can I even discuss this with online?

Jesus echoed our Prophets and Sages—didn't he?—when saying:

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint, anise and cumin, but have neglected the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

Thanks for your replies. As F. Rosenzweig noted, there's a big difference between "law" (the way it's typically used) and "commandment." With all due respect to your profession, I don't want Judaism to be seen as a tax bureaucracy, as important as a system of taxation is...

I have a negative reaction to that self-teasing since it plays so much into Christian disparagement of Jewish spirituality. Btw, do you know this teaching in BK 30a:
אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: הַאי מַאן דְּבָעֵי לְמֶהֱוֵי חֲסִידָא – לְקַיֵּים מִילֵּי דִּנְזִיקִין. רָבָא אָמַר: מִילֵּי דְאָבוֹת. וְאָמְרִי לַהּ: מִילֵּי דִּבְרָכוֹת.
No one says, "Zera'im."

"Large" is relative, especially when you consider Rabbinic Literature as a whole.

Isn't that generalizing the part for the whole? Did you skip Berachot and get stuck in other masechtot of Zera'im?

What teaching in Rabbinic Literature are you referring to?

An amazing statment that God can be found even in the most mundane places.

Hi, Ethan. The OP was referencing certain sections of Talmudic discourse.

As a high school teacher, I can confirm this assessment.

I heard he was in a popular band once upon a time...called Wings.

"The Lord of Hosts is exalted through justice; the holy God is sanctified through righteousness."
—Isaiah 5:16

If you had been paying attention to elections in America recently, you'd realize that every endorsement and every vote counts.