The Second Commandment, Jewish Olympians, and a Rye Challah
Plus the Torah portion in under sixty seconds in today's Everything Challah!
Do I Follow the Second Commandment?
Continuing our series assessing how many of the Ten Commandments I actually follow, we come today to the Second Commandment.
You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Exodus 20:3-6
I can’t say how alluring the idea of worshiping idols was back in ancient times. As we’ll see in upcoming Torah portions, the Israelites backslid into worshiping the Golden Calf within months of being delivered from Egypt!
For me, though, the idea of worshiping a statue or any manner of graven image has no appeal at all. This is not to criticize anyone who finds spiritual sustenance in such a practice. For me, though, an incorporeal, singular deity I will never get to see or touch is all the deity I need. Hey, it’s how I was raised.
Now, there are interpretations of the Second Commandment that argue America’s collective obsession with money or consumerism represents a form of idol worship — a placing of other “gods” before God.
But since I’m making the rules of this assessment, I’m not going to stretch the commandments to make them harder to follow. And, for what it’s worth, I’m on the record against consumerism, anyway.
So in conclusion, YES, I do follow the Second Commandment. Two for two!
Though things only get harder from here… The Third Commandment is up next week.
Challah of the Week: Molly Yeh’s Rye Challah
In this recipe, Molly Yeh offers a challah made with rye and caraway seeds, an Eastern European spin on the traditional bread. And while challah will never be healthy, the use of rye flour at least makes this challah healthy-ish. And delicious!
Weekend Movie Recommendation
A friend turned me on to this hilarious (and affecting!) documentary, about the life and career of Mel Brooks — yes, very much still alive and zinging at 99.
Drafted at 17, Brooks cleared landmines in Europe and fought at the Battle of the Bulge; he helped pioneer television comedy, writing for Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows; he directed and starred in iconic comedies like The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein; and was married to Anne Bancroft for over forty years. And you can watch the documentary on HBO Max to learn all the stuff I left out.
Jewish Olympians in Italy
The Winter Olympics are in full swing, and Jewish and Israeli athletes are well-represented.
While Israel has never won a medal at the Winter Games, check out flag-bearer and skeleton racer Jared Firestone’s helmet!
That alone should be worth a medal.
These games also feature Israel’s first bobsled team, who have nicknamed themselves “Shul Runnings,” in honor of the definitive bobsledding film of the ‘90s.
There are also many Jews representing other nations at the Winter Games, including the goaltenders for both the American women’s (Aerin Frankel) and men’s (Jeremy Swayman) ice hockey teams.
And a particular Mazel Tov goes to Korey Dropkin, a Jewish-American curler who won silver in the inaugural mixed doubles event.
And speaking of Jewish Olympic achievements…
A Gold Medal Hava Nagila
Aly Raisman’s floor routine in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London helped the United States women’s gymnastics team win gold. And yes, I know this is a performance from the summer games.
But on the other hand, it’s set to Hava Nagila.
The Torah Portion Speed Run
This week: Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18, in under sixty seconds.
Shabbat Shalom, everyone. See you on Tuesday!