RAFAEL BRATMAN

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged How Energy uses Water

  Tonight there is a great Midwestern thunderstorm in the sky.  Lightning bolts are flashing, and the rain is pouring down.  This has put me in a mood of wonderment at the awesome power of the Heavens, and has 'sparked' my curiosity regarding the relationship between electricity (lightning) and water (rain).  While there can be rain without lightning and lightning without rain, the combination of the two is a fairly common occurrence lately, and provides a &...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged Support the Shaar Hagai Kennels & the Canaan Dogs

This week I was alerted to an issue that resonated deeply with me.  I was asked to sign a petition in support of the Shaar Hagai Kennels, who are facing eviction by the Israel Government Lands Authority.  Tied up in this legal battle is the fate of the Canaan dog, a breed of dog most closely related to the dogs depicted in the bible.  After reading of how the kennel owner moved to the desolate location 42 years ago as a Zionist seeking to settle the land and breed these dogs...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged PONDERING FREEDOM ON THE EQUINOX

The main theme of the upcoming holiday of Pesach is the issue of Freedom, in all its complexity.  The Jewish people are brought out of slavery in Egypt (literally Mitzrayim, or narrow place) and we are commanded to remember this act of deliverance by G-d, and to teach it to our children.  We are supposed to keep this memory of redemption always in our thoughts and words; the daily prayers and the Sabbath blessing over the wine contain passages remembering our deliverance  fr...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged Tu B'Shvat Fruits -- Meaningful Foods!

 It is a widespread custom on Tu B’Shvat to eat of the seven species – five fruits and two grains – associated with the Land of Israel.  The Land of Israel is described in Deut 8:7-10 in terms of the resources that it offers, “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams and springs and fountains issuing from plain and hill; a land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged Olives -- the fruit of light and metaphor

  As today is the first day of Chanukah, I think it a fitting time to reflect on the virtues of olives and olive oil; their benefits, and some of their hidden meanings.   The story of Chanukah is the age-old struggle of the Jewish people to remain Jewish in a non-Jewish world.  According to the Talmudic legend, when the Hasmoneans recaptured and cleansed the Temple following their victory over the Syrians, they were able to find only a single vessel of oil suffi...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged The many meanings of Sukkot

I love the holiday of Sukkot, and for many reasons.  I feel it is a holiday with many meanings, and many lovely paradoxes.  I love how Sukkot encourages us to spend more time in the outdoors, and yet how it encloses us within walls and a roof, even as we are exposed to the elements at the same time.  I love how it reinforces our human ingenuity in building structures, and yet reminds us how fragile and impermanent these structures really are.  I love its inherent earthy...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged Water Fluoridation and Vaccinations are contrary to Torah principles

  Having previously examined the issue of Genetically Engineered Organisms and Kashrut, I'd like to focus this month's blog on what I see as the other two most harmful medical misconceptions of our age -- water fluoridation and vaccinations.  In both cases, the media and medical establishments have claimed that these practices will help humanity, when in fact they have caused tremendous harm.  Additionally, it will be shown that water fluoridation and vaccination...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged On Jews and Gold

As the global economy continues down the tumultuous path toward financial meltdown, the value of gold has correspondingly skyrocketed.  From a value of around $300 an ounce in the year 2000, the price of gold today sits at $1,784.  The price of silver has had even more of a meteoric rise during this same period.  Very likely this move toward the precious metals is a reflection of investors fears regarding the fiat money system itself and the reserve-banking ponzy scheme that...more...

RAFAEL BRATMAN blogged On Technology and Faith

  I have worked myself up into a state of near-frenzy lately, driven by my concern for the state of the world and its inhabitants.  Despite my best efforts to remain calm, it seems to me that Chicken-Little’s call of, “The Sky is Falling” rings truer every day.  From widespread environmental destruction to pending economic collapse to illegal and unconstitutional U.S. military aggression, the future of the humanity is looking gloomier on a daily basis, ...more...

Evonne Marzouk commented on wall:

Rafi, thanks for your comments. Where is your post that you mentioned on my blog posting? Can you post the link there so that I and others can see it?