I've been following along with everything that's been going on at @YUNews / Yeshiva University these past few weeks and even though my doctoral program is not in the same realm as these events, I've decided I can no longer be a student there. I have spent the rest of the week in deep contemplation and, no matter how I try and find possible reconciliation, I cannot separate YU’s official response to the situation from everything else. I have had such a wonderful experience in the school of education, but:

A brief discussion of a Passover seder conundrum I have been thinking about all week:

I'm stuck on the Rabbis' (and ours, really) approach to the Wicked Child in the seder. I've always disliked it, but this week I understood it even more - and it makes me hate it even more. Here's the text from the Haggadah.

Traditionally we say that because the wicked child says "to you" they are excluding themselves from the whole thing, and that's what makes them evil. They're not seeing themselves as part of the Jewish people.

Jew Friends: As you plan your seders and your menu, here is my favorite reminder/tip for you, if you would like it:

Once you do karpas - once you dip your green vegetable - serve the salad course and lots of veggies and dips and such. There’s no reason to go hungry during the seder. There are plenty of opportunities for snacks and dips while you’re doing all of your fancy talking and questioning and such.

It’s a mitzvah to dip on Pesach, so, why not serve many dips?!

In honor of Purim, here’s a bit of serious Torah for y’all. Lots of folks like to claim that Deuteronomy 22:5, the verse that’s traditonally understood to be against “cross” dressing, is an end-all, be-all prohibition.

The thing is? It’s not. It’s conditional. Much like most every other to’evah in the Tanach (to’evah is usually translated as “abomination” but “taboo” is more appropriate), it’s context-dependant.

We know in Torah there are things that others do that are a to’evah for them but not us, and so on. This is like that.

Today's 8th grade discussion topic: Vashti! Was she a prude? A disguised animal with a tail? An embarrassed woman with leprosy? A woman who thought she wasn't pretty enough to be on display? Or just a woman with a strong sense of self worth and confidence in what she deserved? I am a firm believer that Vashti is the true hero of the Purim story.

She's the only one who doesn't compromise her values for someone else's benefit, and she's the only one who doesn't pretend to be anyone other than who she knows herself to be.