by Jack Moline | Dec 10, 2019 | Opinion
Over the course of our 40-plus years of welcoming guests into our home, my wife and I have been the recipients of many tokens of appreciation. I was taught to call them “hostess gifts,” though I am certain that nomenclature is outdated. The custom, however, has...
by Jack Moline | Nov 4, 2019 | Opinion
I am a big fan of ritual, especially when it has the capacity to convey meaning that might otherwise have been left unexpressed. Such ritual exists in abundance in my own tradition and in other faith traditions as well. Ritual in social interactions may vary from...
by Jack Moline | Oct 10, 2019 | Opinion
I was in a classroom not so long ago in which a renowned scholar was trying to persuade students, who were preparing to embark on a leadership career, to embrace a teaching of Max Weber: Politics is striving to share power (or distribute resources). One student...
by Jack Moline | Sep 11, 2019 | Opinion
There are times when the simplest words are the most eloquent. Expressing an idea, a concept or a feeling in uncomplicated language allows something profound to rise above the craft of constructing a meaningful phrase. I had the experience of contrasting two parallel...
by Jack Moline | Aug 14, 2019 | Opinion
Is it all right to allow someone to live in benign ignorance if the result is somehow beneficial? There is a story I have heard in many versions that illustrates my question. It likely originates about 250 years ago with a rabbi named Moses Hagiz, who claims to...
