Parsha Naso

YHWH demands that women suspected of adultery be brought before Her. It's surprising, since last week's parsha condemned any non-priest approaching YHWH to death. We have a theory of what was up. Practically speaking, we imagine the woman standing in the courtyard before the curtain of the Tent of the meeting. YHWH would dwell behind the curtain and pass judgment from there. This is also the Rastafarian parsha. It describes the rules for Nazirs, people vowing to dedicate themselves to YHWH for a specific period of time. The bible's most famous Nazir was probably Samson, who was also the world's first suicide terrorist.

Also in this parsha (but not our comic) is the priestly blessing, the finger arrangement of which was popularized by intergalactically famous Heeb, Leonard Nimoy.

- SHABBAT SHALOM! - a & s

Secret plan to "destabilize" Iran

The Blotter

I think we're all Karaites on this bus

I thought cholent was just the Yiddish word for "leftovers." I didn't realize it was a religious fault line.

According to an article in today's JPost the Shulchan Aruch instructs us to eat cholent on Shabbat lest we be taken for Karaites, who apparently don't believe in ... cholent.

But my best takeaway was that Karaites reject the divinity of the oral law and, most interestingly, believe we should read the Torah and decide for ourselves what it means. Karaites are apparently encouraged to "consult with as many people as possible where there is a question of uncertainty. One can take the advice of a hacham (an especially learned member of the community), but that advice is not binding and the hacham has to be able to prove his view from the Torah."

Isn't this what Jews mostly do anyway? When rabbis (to our stunned amazement) disagree on interpretation, don't we just go with whom/whatever makes most sense to us?

The article quotes one learned Karaite as saying: "Rabbinic Judaism has taken the responsibility away from the individual and given it to the rabbis. But you can't say on Judgment Day that the rabbi told me this or that - the responsibility is on the individual. Every person's decisions are on his head and that's why each person should read and try to understand the Torah."

Isn't this what all Jews are supposed to do? We all live, more than less, by the Karaite motto "search well in the scripture and do not rely on anyone else's opinion."

To me the Karaites are just another bunch of Jews proving Rabbi Friedheim's adage, 'There is only one kind of Judaism, Orthodox. There's only one kind of Jew, Reform."

A Female Nazir?

This week's parsha, Naso, includes instructions for dedicating oneself to YHWH as a Nazir. And just to show you how good that can look, straight outa Kingston comes Zahra Redwood, the new, dreadlocked, Rastafarian Miss Jamaica! Betcha Haile Selassie is rising in his grave!

MORE ABOUT MOLECH THE GOD THAT THE WORLD RULING ELETE WORSHIP

We spend a lot of religious energy opposing old Molech. Here's one version of what his followers are up to today.

Making modern midrash | The Shalom Center

OK, I am obsessed with defending our little comic from charges of blasphemy. This little essay on the Shalom Center site, about making modern midrash is one of my favorites.

Bamidbar sketches

Hellooo Honey!

Meet YHWH's "friend" Honey Milkand. She's arguably the Torah's most desirable character. We'd be thrilled to plow her fields any day.

Mammatus cloud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mammatus cloud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shilpa Shetty

We know/knew nothing about Shilpa Shetty but decided to be inspired by her image for our latest CT character, Honey Milkand aks "The Land." But now we've fallen in love/lust with her, as does Moses in our comic. She's a great character to draw since she is so ridiculously beautiful she's practically a cartoon herself. We've now watched a lot of her stuff on youtube and increase our fanhood with each viewing

Shilpa Shetty Online

Shilpa Shetty Online

Who Is a Leader?

Who Is a Leader?: "'It shall be that when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself TWO copies of the Torah ... It shall remain with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to have awe for the Almighty, and to observe all the mitzvot the Torah - so that his heart does not become haughty over his fellow countrymen ...' (Deut. 17:18-20)"

Cookbooks - Jewish & Kosher Cooking at MSN Shopping

Cookbooks - Jewish & Kosher Cooking at MSN Shopping

The Book of Enoch, Section I

The Book of Enoch, Section I: "angel"

A Hunky Entre

Parsha Emor implies that YHWH only likes hunky, good-looking Kohanim. So for Shabbat dinner this week we'll serve Literal "Beef Cake"