I'm terrible at being Jewish. I keep no holidays, haven't attended synagogue in maybe a decade, married a baptist and attend church regularly. On any given morning you can catch me at the local coffee shop chin deep in a bacon egg and cheese bagel. I celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah (and observe Ramadan for my kid's educational benefit). Still, I was raised a Jew (Reform. My mother is Jewish, and a great deal of my cultural identity is wrapped up in those early experiences.
My biblical exploration of old testament liturgy, greatly informed my exploration and acceptance of Christianity. For example, I can tell you that the beginning of the Covenant and of the Church was on the tree with Abraham and Isaac. I realized my mortality and faced the existential reality of 20th century life upon my realization of the horrors of the Holocaust, and all of my civic engagements can be traced back to the first time I heard the words "First they came...".
So, as an American who shares a strong cultural relation to Jewish America, it astonishes me every time I hear the media repeat the idiotic meme that Obama could have some problem with Jewish voters. Indeed, I see this as a projection of the fact that John McCain presents a much more dangerous future for American Jewry, indeed his cultural ignorance, neo-con arrogance, and apocalyptic associations make me wonder how John McCain can remotely hope to get any Jews to pull the lever for him. I could be wrong, I often am, but this particular issue is simply stunning to me.
Purim = Halloween
I'll start with