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Genesis tells us that Methuselah lived a full 969 years and his son, Lamech, who later fathered Noah, lived an equally impressive interval. And so, in the nine generations intervening between Adam and Noah, the patriarchs each lived an average of … more
Instructing Moses in the preparation of altar incense, the Lord said: “Take fragrant spices: gum resin, aromatic shell, galbanum; add pure frankincense to the spices in equal proportions.” [Exod. 30: 34.] The Queen of Sheba is said to have … more
Diseases that afflict humans don’t wait to be identified; they flow and ebb, governed by the many independent forces of nature; sooner or later, though, someone pauses, examines the blight and declares it to be distinguishable from other … more
The English translation of the Bible, often referred to as the King James Version (KJV) of 1611, brought the noun, corruption, and particularly its verb, corrupt, into the mainstream of ethical discourse and community standards. Corruption had then … more
Childhood is that wondrous kingdom where nobody dies, where the family elders live forever and where reality tarries behind the next hill. And so, in many middle-class homes, young children are temporarily shielded from the very sad events that are … more
Things are rarely black and white – except, of course, when the color of a specific object needs to be defined; and then such words as black and white lose any of their metaphoric potential; they become mere adjectives. more
Aging, it is widely believed, enhances one’s store of anecdotes, – while decreasing their accuracy – increases the numbers of hairs turned white and provides stand-up comics with yet another source of jokes. Aging, in essence, is believed by … more
There are no outward differences between starving and fasting; both seem contrary to elemental human nature and both, eventually, become life-threatening. The dissimilarities, then, are largely within the personal motivation of each and the degree … more
Amusement was not on the required roster of life’s essentials for the tenement dwellers of New York City during the depression years of 1929-’39. The word amusement was then applied narrowly, describing parks in such shady enclaves as Coney … more
No ancient culture was without its musical accompaniments. Music was central to the religious ritual of these many civilizations as well as companion to their recurring events – marriages, births, deaths, warfare and the periodic appeasement of … more
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