Deuteronomy 13

I Challenged The Preacher’s Hateful Speech

I Challenged The Preacher’s Hateful Speech

I Challenged The Preacher’s Hateful Speech The preacher on the UCLA campus made himself out to be a prophet. He predicted doom for any minority group whose religious beliefs did not match his narrow Christian faith in Jesus. I was standing with members of the Jewish Student Union when we heard him say, “the Jews killed Jesus and are ‘damned’ to hell.” One female student started crying when she heard these hateful words. She begged me to stand up to the preacher and defend Judaism. I challen
Torah portion Re’eh Deuteronomy 13
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Dreams, False Prophets, and Red Flags

Dreams, False Prophets, and Red Flags

Dreams, False Prophets, and Red Flags In Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams (1899), he speaks about the significance of dreams and develops a psychological technique for their analysis and interpretation. I never gave dreams much thought until my grandmother told me her dream about an attic fire and how it came to pass. At the time, I was skeptical. However, I changed my mind when my father suffered a massive and unexpected heart attack one month after I dreamt about it. As unusual as t
Torah portion Vayeshev False Prophets
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
A Dreamer of Dreams and the Messianic Age

A Dreamer of Dreams and the Messianic Age

This week’s Torah portion Vayeshev (Genesis 37:1–40:23), starts with dreams and ends with dreams. Joseph’s dreams foretell that he is destined to rule over his family and the dreams of the butler and baker pave the way to Joseph’s miraculous rise from enslavement to a position of leadership. My grandmother told me a story of a dream she had concerning an event that eventually occurred. I was skeptical until I had my own experiences with dreams that came to pass. Although dreams have the potent
Torah portion Vayeshev dreams
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Standing Up to a Prophet of Doom

Standing Up to a Prophet of Doom

Standing Up to a Prophet of Doom The evangelical street preacher stood in the middle of the UCLA campus and attracted a large crowd by spewing insults at ethnic groups and minorities. This “Prophet of Doom” accused professors, blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities of being “non-believers” who were condemned to hell and eternal damnation. The students rowdily jeered and heckled the preacher in an attempt to drown out his hate-filled speech. I witnessed this spectacle together with members o
Torah portion Re’eh Deuteronomy 13
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz