Arthur Waskow

The Torah, the Army, and the troops

The Torah teaches that "ordinary" life-concerns of a soldier, as well as what we might call issues of religion and conscience, stand paramount in an army's relationship to its troops.

By Arthur Waskow | November 11, 2009; 11:02 AM ET | Comments (1)

Fort Hood shooting a flashback to 'fragging'

If the reports are accurate, it seems the Fort Hood shooter broke, choosing murder rather than the nonviolent forms of resistance he might have chosen. In that sense he replicated the violence of the war he abhorred and the violence that kept him in the Army against his will -- replicated the violence instead of resisting it in a deeper way.

By Arthur Waskow | November 6, 2009; 08:05 AM ET | Comments (12)

The Emerging Torah of Same-Sex Sexuality

The world has changed, and so has Jewish holy practice. What must we change for the world to come?

By Arthur Waskow | August 4, 2009; 02:13 PM ET | Comments (10)

The Atmosphere - or Mere Atmospherics?

The effort to prevent climate disaster for Planet Earth is not going well.

By Arthur Waskow | July 12, 2009; 11:04 PM ET | Comments (0)

Religion-Based Terror in Wichita, Washington

The Holocaust Museum murder and the murder of Dr. George Tiller at his church in Wichita share several characteristics.

By Arthur Waskow | June 11, 2009; 11:23 AM ET | Comments (3)

Murder is Murder and Abortion is Not

Tiller is a religious martyr, killed in his own church as he arrived to worship, killed for acting in accord with his religious commitments and his moral and ethical choices.

By Arthur Waskow | June 1, 2009; 04:51 PM ET | Comments (14)

If Ruth Came to America

As we celebrate Shavuot and Pentecost, consider what might happen if the biblical Ruth, welcomed even though she was a foreigner, came to America today.

By Arthur Waskow | May 27, 2009; 12:44 PM ET | Comments (0)

What Obama Should Have Said

I wish Obama at Notre Dame had said explicitly that women are moral beings, possessed of moral agency and responsibility in this unique situation where their own bodies are intertwined with another's.

By Arthur Waskow | May 19, 2009; 10:57 AM ET | Comments (1)

Torturing the Image of God

The choice is whether America is to celebrate the Infinite God or the tyrannical Caesar. To affirm the Image of God in every human being, or to fall at the feet of Empire.

By Arthur Waskow | May 11, 2009; 03:32 PM ET | Comments (5)

Passover's R-Rated Condiment

The real meaning of charoset on Passover? It's all about love.

By Arthur Waskow | April 8, 2009; 09:48 AM ET | Comments (19)

A Universal and Shameful Connection

Religion and domestic violence have, unfortunately, not been strangers to each other.

By Arthur Waskow | February 25, 2009; 04:13 AM ET | Comments (0)

Weaving an Abrahamic Peace

Repairing relations and affirming the legitimacy of Islam in America, by visiting some major Muslim venues; Repairing the bloody wounds of the Gaza-Israel relationship; and making a broad Middle East peace among Israel, Palestine, all the Arab states, Iran and the USA itself.

By Arthur Waskow | February 2, 2009; 06:07 AM ET | Comments (2)

Freedom Seder for Earth, Against Pharaohs

The Shalom Center is creating a 40th Anniversary New Interfaith Freedom Seder for the Earth to help us free ourselves from the greatest dangers of our time: the dangers of global scorching, the climate crisis, enormous disruptions of human civilization,...

By Arthur Waskow | January 26, 2009; 10:55 AM ET | Comments (0)

God Enjoyed Inauguration Rhetoric

I thought God - the real God, the One Who cares passionately about justice, peace, and diversity - came out rather well in the Inaugural ceremonies.

By Arthur Waskow | January 26, 2009; 03:52 AM ET | Comments (11)

HESCHEL+KING+OBAMA = AMERICA'S FUTURE?

In mid-January, several sacred American times will flow together in a way that invites us to draw on the movements for freedom, justice, and peace of forty years ago, to reshape America's future as a new President and Congress take office in the midst of war, economic crisis, and ecological danger.

By Arthur Waskow | January 5, 2009; 03:58 PM ET | Comments (0)

Zechariah's Vision for Gaza

Prophet Zechariah shows alternatives for Hamas, Israel, U.S. in Gaza.

By Arthur Waskow | December 28, 2008; 01:32 AM ET | Comments (57)

A Better Choice for Evangelical Outreach

When it comes to religion, Barack Obama is deaf in one ear.

By Arthur Waskow | December 23, 2008; 03:54 PM ET | Comments (35)

Autos, Plagues & Passover: Creating a New Freedom Seder

What do the Iraq War, the drowning of New Orleans, the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the great Australian drought, and the Senate's refusal to assist the auto industry all have in common?

By Arthur Waskow | December 15, 2008; 05:16 AM ET | Comments (0)

Same-Sex Marriage: The Emerging Torah

The Biblical prohibition of same-sex sexual relationships is rooted in three basic rules the Hebrew Bible prescribes for proper sexual ethics. But these rules were not set in stone forever.

By Arthur Waskow | December 14, 2008; 04:18 AM ET | Comments (17)

Act Now to Heal Religious Hatred, End "Religious" Terrorism

The new Administration should work to strengthen those in every religious community -- beginning with those in American mosques and Muslim organizations -- who oppose religious violence. And treat terrorism as a crime to be policed and punished, not defeated by war that breeds more terrorists.

By Arthur Waskow | December 5, 2008; 08:20 AM ET | Comments (53)

Jan 19-20: MLK Day & Inauguration Day

Relearning Heschel, Rebirthing King, Re-Inaugurating America: Celebrating the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King As a new government takes office, January 19-20, 2009 (Please circulate this message as widely as possible.) As the United States begins a new Administration and...

By Arthur Waskow | November 27, 2008; 11:24 PM ET | Comments (0)

Revitalizing Jewish Activism: Nov 23, Jews Uniting to End the War & Heal America

On Sunday, November 23, The Shalom Center and the Workmen's Circle will hold an action gathering in New York City: Jews Uniting to End the War and Heal America.

By Arthur Waskow | November 15, 2008; 10:54 PM ET | Comments (0)

America's Truest Self

We have taken only the bare first step on that unknown path to an unknown place, the path of hope and change. But that path is the only way to uncover, discover, our truest self.

By Arthur Waskow | November 5, 2008; 09:27 AM ET | Comments (4)

"Obsession" Film: Is There Something Wrong with Being a Muslim in America?

"Obsession" is an attempt to make not a band of terrorists but all Islam the enemy. Bad enough in itself; even worse that it was deliberately sent to millions of homes through newspapers in the major "swing states" of presidential politics. It was an attempt to transform religious fear and ignorance into religious hatred, and hatred into an election tool.

By Arthur Waskow | October 27, 2008; 08:29 AM ET | Comments (3)

Let's Try Biblical Economics

So far the whole notion of rhythmically redistributing wealth - a vision at the heart of Biblical economics - is not on the agenda for Wall Street saviors.

By Arthur Waskow | September 22, 2008; 12:00 AM ET | Comments (4)

The Election: Dancing in God's Earthquake

Not since William Jennings Bryan ("You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!" and William McKinley ("I knelt to pray for guidance on what to do about the Philippines, and heard a voice: Annex them, educate them, Christianize them!") have we had such a choice.

By Arthur Waskow | September 10, 2008; 10:36 AM ET | Comments (6)

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