Friends,

The new crescent moon of the final month of the Jewish year is shining tonight, on the heels of a solar eclipse and a night of meteors.

This cosmic confluence invites us to begin this month of reflection and repair with humility and awe, focusing on forgiveness.

In the spirit of forgiveness - I’m sorry for the last minute change but please mark your calendars - our next monthly LIVE Learning Session will NOT be on August 23rd but on August 30th at 2pm instead.

This session is OPEN AND FREE FOR ALL - scroll down for details.

I’m also excited to invite you to join me and the Lab/Shul community for our annual 40 days virtual journey into the new year - starting today - on SubStack.

Check it out - and subscribe - for free:

Word Watch - Prepent Blog 2026

🚩 JOIN ME ON 8/30/26, 2pm ET

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes ALL Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, fellow learners and supporters, for enabling me to delve into this research, and deliver this blog series.

It’s a gift ahead of the new Jewish Year.

Queen Jezebel & the Prophet Elijah: Sex, Power, and North/South Spin

The most maligned queen and most misunderstood prophet were not friendly. But did they share similar passions and goals?

Jezebel and Elijah face off as embodiments of northern pluralism vs. Judahite zeal. Reading through this tragic tale that spans generations, we unpack how gender, foreignness, and religious difference get weaponized—and how Jezebel’s “bad press” reveals whose side has been telling Judaism’s story.

SAVE THE ZOOM LINK:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89101478172?jst=2

🚩It’s not too late to join this journey, with 6 sessions left - as a generous Paid Subscriber.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Can’t join on August 23rd and want to watch the session?

No problem.

You’ll all get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom, healing and consolation, and may this new month help us return to center, ahead of the new year.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

Hello Friends,

“Can You Kill and Claim the Land”?

One of the bible’s most powerful and famous prophetic slogans echoes as loudly today as it did when it was first proclaimed in the hills of Samaria.

This quote comes the scene in which the Prophet Elijah shames King Ahab and Queen Jezbel of Israel for coveting their neighbor Nabot’s vineyard, having him killed under false pretenses, and then inheriting his ancestral vineyard.

But the crime of greed and power does not go unseen.

Elijah is sent by God to talk truth to power - with a script in hand:

“Say to Ahab, ‘Thus said GOD: Would you murder and take possession? Thus said GOD: In the very place where the dogs lapped up Naboth’s blood, the dogs will lap up your blood too.’” (I Kings 21)

It’s too late for Nabot. But the story remains a moral for the ages.

Jeremy Bernstein writes:

“In 16 verses, the Biblical author has given us a memorable “anti-vision” of the ideal society: how indulging the very personal act of coveting can cause civilization to unravel. This story, then, is not about Ahab and Jezebel and poor Nabot - but about ourselves and how we build a just, compassionate society, or not.”

So much injustice still infuriates us today, as too few prophets manage to pierce the arrogant hearts of the ones who steal the land of others and then steal their lives.

The terrible terror that rises in Judah and Samaria today is what happens when lawlessness is enabled by law makers and encouraged by those who claim to represent the prophetic legacy of Israel. Pending on which media you follow or who you ask - you may get very different perspectives about the situation and how to solve the conflict.

The same applies to the biblical saga of Elijah, Jezebel and Ahab. It’s all about agendas:

* Was Jezebel the guilty evil queen who spilled innocent blood?

* Was it Elijah the fanatic zealot who murdered his opponents?

* What are these stories really about and what was the agenda of their authors?

* What can we learn from them as we delve deeper into the schism between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and its relevance to our contemporary challenges?

Join me on August 23rd at 2pmET to ask big questions of this big story. This session is free for all. Scroll down for details.

Read ahead -with this post from the Below theBible Belt Archive:

Elijah’s Rage: Kill the Man and Steal his Land?

🚩 JOIN ME ON 8/23/26, 2pm ET

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes ALL Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, fellow learners and supporters, for enabling me to delve into this research, and deliver this blog series.

It’s a gift ahead of the new Jewish Year.

Queen Jezebel & the Prophet Elijah: Sex, Power, and North/South Spin

The most maligned queen and most misunderstood prophet were not friendly. But did they share similar passions and goals?

Jezebel and Elijah face off as embodiments of northern pluralism vs. Judahite zeal. Reading through this tragic tale that spans generations, we unpack how gender, foreignness, and religious difference get weaponized—and how Jezebel’s “bad press” reveals whose side has been telling Judaism’s story.

SAVE THE ZOOM LINK:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89101478172?jst=2

🚩It’s not too late to join this journey, with 6 sessions left - as a generous Paid Subscriber.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Can’t join on August 23rd and want to watch the session?

No problem.

You’ll all get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom, healing and consolation.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

Friends,

It’s not just the prophet Elijah who visits Jewish homes in the liminal moments of liberation and at the thresholds of life - Jezebel is right around the corner also.

Lest you think that our year-long course is about the dust of history, myths and conflicts long forgotten - three recent headlines are a reminder that these scriptural stories are the still the stuff of front page news. These tales matter.

Our next LIVE LEARNING session on 8/23 will focus on one of the most intriguing battle and heartbreaking saga - Queen Jezebel vs. Prophet Elijah - two fanatics, one lingering mystery.

Note: Our next session will WELCOME ALL SUBSCRIBERS FOR FREE - as a Jewish New Year gift. Details below.

Three news stories caught my eye this week, echoing this drama:

Jezebel’s name was included in a death threat note attached to a brick that shattered the glass doors of one of Israel’s TV studios; The mold of a local goddess dating back to the First Temple period was discovered in Jerusalem; UNESCO published a designation of Sebastia - the ancient Capital of the Kingdom of Israel, as an engendered heritage site.

Let’s start with Jezebel.

🚩 Earlier this week, a brick smashed the glass doors of Channel 12 - one of Israel’s somewhat more liberal news outlets.

Attached to the brick was a handwritten note with a death threat to the media agents who reported on the questionable behavior of Israeli soldiers - including accusations of sexual abuse towards Palestinian prisoners. A bizarre list of Israeli leaders is implicated in the note, among them Gali Baharav-Miara, Attorney General of Israel - labeled here as ‘Jezebel’.

The news reports didn’t mention this odd biblical mention but it stopped me in my tracks.

Jezebel? Whoever wrote this note used a loaded codeword for a woman who’s a foreigner, an evil influence, a enemy who will pay the ultimate price.

The brick, note and shattered window are more signs of escalating violence and discord within Israel - reminiscent of what tore Judah and Israel apart when the original Jezebel was around. We are hopeful for better and kinder chapters ahead, despite the deep differences of opinion and values.

How did Jezebel, the Phonetician princess turned Queen of Israel 2,700 years ago become branded as the ultimate evil?

Join me on Aug. 23 to find out.

🚩 Then there’s Sebestia - the ancient Capitol of the Kingdom of Israel, where the ancient Queen Jezebel may have had a palace built for her by her husband King Ahab.

Sebestia, in the northern West Bank, inside Palestinian territory, now occupied by Israel, has archaeological remnants from successive periods dating back at least to the 9th-century BC capital of the Israelite kingdom, through the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic periods, Crusader and Ottoman ​eras, according to UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization.

It is also traditionally seen as the burial place of John the Baptist.

But Palestinian residents ​of the adjacent village, many of whom rely on tourism for a living, are facing ​land confiscations after Israel announced a plan to seize about 1,800 dunams (445 acres) at the site, which it said was meant to develop the area.

Last Friday, UNESCO added Sebastia to its World Heritage List and to the ​List of World Heritage in Danger, a related mechanism used to flag listed heritage sites ​that are facing serious threats, to try and safeguard them.

I was only there once - back in 1976, Seven years old, as the Jewish settlement movement was just getting started - right in Sebestia’s old police station. My brothers took me along.. I’ll tell you all about it at our next session..

🚩 The mysterious mold was discovered in an archeological dig right in the middle of the Old City of Jerusalem, a few weeks ago, and was just announced. It is astounding. It is the face of an ancient local goddess. And it is proof that Jezebel was not the only one to worship the Great Mother in the region - in both Israel and Judah, despite Elijah’s scorn - Goddess was Alive.

The Times of Israel reports:

“First mold discovery in Jerusalem provides evidence that enigmatic clay artifacts — possibly linked to the goddess Asherah— were manufactured in biblical capital..More than a thousand such figurines have been located in the area around Jerusalem.

Until now, molds for these figurines have never been discovered in Jerusalem, raising the question of whether they were manufactured locally or imported from elsewhere. The discovery of the mold provides the first direct evidence that at least some were produced within Jerusalem.”

This is not mere relics - this is a smoking gun in the religious war of yore - and now. Jezebel’s faith was fueled by deep attachment to the Mother Goddess and her ways - confronting a rising Patriarchal narrative that favored the father.

Who won? Depends who you ask and how vast the perspective. I’d say we’re still in it. And we’ve got a long way to go. That’s what this journey - and our next session - is all about.

🚩 Our Next LIVE LEARNING Session:

Sunday 8/23/26, 2pm ET

Queen Jezebel & the Prophet Elijah: Sex, Power, and North/South Spin

The most maligned queen and most misunderstood prophet were not friendly. But did they share similar passions and goals?

Jezebel and Elijah face off as embodiments of northern pluralism vs. Judahite zeal. Reading through this tragic tale that spans generations, we unpack how gender, foreignness, and religious difference get weaponized—and how Jezebel’s “bad press” reveals whose side has been telling Judaism’s story.

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes ALL Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, fellow learners and supporters, for enabling me to delve into this research, and deliver this blog series.

It’s a gift ahead of the new Jewish Year.

SAVE THE ZOOM LINK:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89101478172?jst=2

🚩It’s not too late to join this journey, with 6 sessions left - as a generous Paid Subscriber.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Can’t join on August 23rd and want to watch the session?

No problem.

You’ll all get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom, healing and consolation.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

Friends,

Today is the 10th of Av on the Jewish calendar - and we rise from the rubble of the 9th of Av, remembering destructions past and present, as we begin the journey towards a new year of responsible repair and renewed resolve to rebuild - better.

It’s an astonishing annual cycle that helps each of us reflect on what’s broken or not working well in our personal and public realities, so that we can be part of the hopeful and honest healing, again and again.

On our journey to explore the original split between Judah and Israel, these days of rising from the rubble offer a reminder of what happens when discord dismantles society, and how, with resilience, we can overcome divisions, face reality and forge new paths ahead.

This is what our ancestors did when they faced the horrors we remember during these days of lament. They didn’t just weep. They crafted a canon out of their calamity - and for better or worse, with agendas that we must decipher - gave us the bible.

Jacob L. Wright reminds us that this is the entire project of the bible - and of Jewish history:

"The true genius of the biblical project is that it is a literature of defeat. While other ancient empires vanished when their capitals were razed and their peoples exiled, the scribes of Israel and Judah did something unprecedented: they institutionalized their geopolitical failure. By constructing a narrative of collective guilt and divine purpose around their destructions, they created a portable identity that could survive without a state, a temple, or a king."

What are we to do with these legacies today - as so many of the Jewish people are back on the land, with a state? While some clamor for temple and king, most of us simply want a just and moral sovereign state, with equal rights for all and a horizon of hope and peace. Will we get there? Or will the old fault lines of Judah vs. Israel prevail again and become a civil war that rips us apart?

We won’t know until we do. But in the meanwhile - it’s on to learn from our past, make better decisions based on informed literacy, and help the future blossom with more love and less fear. From the failures of the past - the flourishing of the future is in our hands.

I am cautiously optimistic. Join me.

I invite you to watch the hour long recording and to read the source sheet - both linked below.

🚩 In our recent LIVE LEARNING session we explored the stories of the two exiles - Samaria and Jerusalem.

READ: Tale of Two Exiles: Source Sheet

Watch:

Our next LIVE LEARNING online session is on

August 23 at 2pm ET.

We’ll talk about the surprising stories of the two great queens who ruled this region - with not much credit by the creators of the biblical canon.

Queen Jezebel & the Prophet Elijah: Sex, Power, and North/South Spin

The most maligned queen and most misunderstood prophet were not friendly. But did they share similar goals? Jezebel and Elijah face off as embodiments of northern pluralism vs. Judahite zeal and we will unpack how gender, foreignness, and religious difference get weaponized—and how Jezebel’s “bad press” reveals whose story has been telling Judaism’s story.

You are all invited to join me.

Scroll down for details on joining the live conversation on August 23rd or watching it later.

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research and work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other supporters today.

It really does mean a lot and would be very helpful.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Shabbat of Peace שלום سلام

May peace prevail.

Amichai

Friends,

“Every question we ask reshapes the world just a little. In asking, we’re already beginning to heal the brokenness we see.”

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat

Last night I sat on the ground, among a few hundred other people of all ages, in the courtyard of the former Leper Colony of Jerusalem, converted in recent years into a beautiful, bustling and hip artistic culinary center.

But none of the restaurants or galleries were open last night. We sat under the hot summer sky, singing along to the public recitation of a 2,500 year old poem of lamentation, weeping for pains long past and the lingering losses that now impact millions of us on this holy land and way beyond. We wept for so many personal and public pains. We paused to ask tough questions that echo in the first word of this biblical scroll - ‘How is this possible?’

Chanting a litany of loss over a city in ruins - while sitting in that very city that has risen from the ashes is remarkable experience that helps one appreciate the arc of history, longevity of memory and the glimpse of some reality so much greater than what we think we know or understand.

It is also heartbreaking.

How has our long list of intergenerational traumas not taught us to be wiser, kinder, more just and loving towards each other and the others with whom we share land, live, love and loss? Why can’t we learn from the past to co-create safer presence and more hopeful futures?

Is the repeated practice of the rituals of grief on this day of sorrow, seared into our collective memory, meant as a measure that reinvokes our trauma so that we hold on to the ancestral grief - or teach us to prevent such traumas and destructions from slowly dismantling this miracle of homecoming - again?

It’s always both/and.

As we on this year-long course dedicate time to reflect on the original schism of our nation - how the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were born divided and our national narratives hold distinctly different directions critical for our continued survival - this pause on the calendar of business as usual offers important time for reflection, a sigh, and perhaps a conversation.

Where does it hurt?

Why did we get here?

What can we each do to help heal?

How is hope alive for you?

To help with this process of reflection - whether you are fasting today or not - I invite you to read some of the previous posts from Below the Bible Belt - with focus on two of the five chapters of Eycha - Lamentations.

Maybe there is hope, wrote the author of Eycha, the alphabet of our sorrows.

Yes, I say today, from Jerusalem - step by step, hand in hand, heart to heart.

May we be consoled and take part in the healing, for justice and peace.

Amichai

READ:

MAYBE THERE IS HOPE? Reading Lamentations 3

Read:

hHowl! And other Lamentations .Reading Lamentations 1

Hi Friends —

Not sure what happened but our usual Zoom link seems not to be working.

Please use THIS LINK for today’s session:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88680390383

Can’t join us today?

No problem.. you’ll get the recording and resources later next week.

See you soon,

Amichai

Read more

Dear Friends,

What does the experience of exile mean to you?

It’s in our collective DNA - and for some of us more recent, and perhaps alive as others in the world right now are feeling this cruel fate directly.

I invite you to explore this question with me this coming Sunday, right in the middle of the Nine Days on the Jewish Calendar that commemorate some of the darkest days of destruction and exile in our national history, so many generations ago.

We will explore the three major traumas that our people went through as both the kingdoms of Judah and Israel ceased to exist - over the course of a few hundred years.

What’s left? How did our ancestors survive exile and reinvent identity? How did these exiles impact the evolution of Jewish culture? Can we not only reflect on how we suffered - but about our historical role in creating conflicts within us that made it easier to dismantle our national realities? What can we learn from these histories to be better and do wiser, kinder, safer - now?

There are critical theological and political lessons to be learned here - not just tears for traumas past.

Dr. Christine Hayes, in her “Introduction to the Old Testament” suggests that the exiles gave us a global language of belonging and a religious vocabulary of purpose:

“The exiles of 722 BCE and 586 BCE forced a philosophical revolution. Before the destructions, if your nation was conquered, it meant your god was weaker than the enemy’s god. The prophets of Israel and Judah inverted this completely: they argued that Babylon and Assyria were merely clubs in Yahweh’s hand. In doing so, they decoupled God from geography, paving the way for a monotheism that could be worshiped anywhere on earth.”

This coming Sunday we’ll delve deeper into this topic, just in time for the Ninth of Av.

🚩 Our Next LIVE LEARNING Session:

A Tale of Two Exiles - Mourning Both Jerusalem and Samaria

Check it out here:

Judaism Born Divided: Curriculum

🚩Sunday 7/19/26, 2pm ET

If you are already a paid subscriber - scroll all the way down for the link.

Thank you for your generous support!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.. you’ll get the recording and resources later next week.

Or - please upgrade today - there’s half a course left — and join me on Sunday to be part of the live conversation, and ask questions during the Q&A section.

Your support is really meaningful and super helpful towards editing this content into a book.

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upgrade here. Thanks!

Wishing us us all kinder days - everywhere

Shabbat Shalom - Peaceful Sabbath

Amichai

Read more

“A cry is heard in Ramah —
Wailing, bitter weeping —
Rachel weeping for her children.
She refuses to be comforted
For her children, who are gone.”

כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה ק֣וֹל בְּרָמָ֤ה נִשְׁמָע֙ נְהִי֙ בְּכִ֣י תַמְרוּרִ֔ים רָחֵ֖ל מְבַכָּ֣ה עַל־בָּנֶ֑יהָ מֵאֲנָ֛ה לְהִנָּחֵ֥ם עַל־בָּנֶ֖יהָ כִּ֥י אֵינֶֽנּוּ׃ כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה מִנְעִ֤י קוֹלֵךְ֙ מִבֶּ֔כִי וְעֵינַ֖יִךְ מִדִּמְעָ֑ה כִּי֩ יֵ֨שׁ שָׂכָ֤ר לִפְעֻלָּתֵךְ֙ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה וְשָׁ֖בוּ מֵאֶ֥רֶץ אוֹיֵֽב׃ וְיֵשׁ־תִּקְוָ֥ה לְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה וְשָׁ֥בוּ בָנִ֖ים לִגְבוּלָֽם׃

Jeremiah 31:15

Friends -

Greetings from the hot summer days in Jerusalem, during these Three Weeks of Dire Straits, on which we remember old wounds of national traumas - in the midst of ongoing political challenges, and ongoing heartaches here, and in so many places of pain and struggle all over the world.

We don’t grieve just to remember - we take this precious time to mourn, and to learn how to repair.

Shedding tears is one way that helps us open our hearts to this process of healing.

The tears of Rachel the Matriarch, heard throughout the ages, echoed in these words of Jeremiah, are the soundtrack at this annual time of grief.

These tears and tales might comfort and guide us as we prepare for our upcoming session on the “Judaism: Born Divided” journey - focusing on the two exiles endured by both kingdoms of Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

Rachel’s role and story, as the mother of two tribes - and the Mother of the North - is intertwined with the historical schism between the Kingdom of Israel and Judah.

Although she was the mythic Mother of the North and her burial site, as described in Genesis may be in the northern territory of Benjamin - north of today’s Jerusalem - her tomb is found nowadays south of Jerusalem - in the Judean hills near Bethlehem.

How did the mother of the north end up in the south?

What does this have to do with our exploration of the ancient schism, its modern meaning - and our need to be consoled?

And - how does Mother Mary show up in this saga??

Today’s post offers a wink towards our next session on July 19, with a reminder of how stories contain the recipes for redemption.

Jeremiah, living through the loss of Judean sovereignty and the destruction by Babylon in 568 BCE brings us Rachel’s lament as she guards the border - where her exiled children will walk away from home, in chains. His specific location is accurate - she laments at the spot where the caravans of exiled and defeated peple of the Kingdom of Israel were led away from home.

But Jeremiah is talking to his own people in Jerusalem, a century later, just before they too will be led away as refugees - still remembering the previous exile - the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel.

The mother’s tears know no borders.

For Jeremiah, and for us, Rachel’s haunting lament embodies not just the sorrow of loss but the collective trauma experienced by both kingdoms, as well as the yearning and the faith in redemption.

Feminist scholars like Judith Plaskow emphasize the importance of reclaiming both grief as a tool for repair -and lifting up women’s voices in biblical narratives.

Plaskow argues that “Rachel’s weeping is a powerful expression of maternal grief that challenges us to acknowledge the pain of loss and the strength of resilience.”

Men in our patriarchal reality are taught not to cry and hold it in.

But Mother Rachel’s tears remind us all to let it out.

This perspective invites us to see Rachel not only as a symbol of suffering but also as a figure of strength and hope amid the historical ruptures that have shaped our identities, often through hardship.

But what is it about her resting place that has to do with our story of schism?

The Tomb of Rachel, for centuries a pilgrimage site, and still a popular one today, has become a focal point for political discourse.

While the most widely accepted location is the heavily guarded citadel, near Bethlehem, in the border between Palestinian and Israeli areas, debates about the actual location reflect deeper historical and ideological divides.

In his insightful article, “Where Was Rachel Buried?”, Prof. Aaron Demsky presents various scholarly views, including the notion that the tomb may have originally been situated further north, in the territory of Benjamin:

“The traditional site of Rachel’s tomb, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, is a later identification that may not reflect its original location.”

This geographic nuance is significant, particularly as we contemplate the narrative of loss and return, exemplified by Jeremiah’s prophecies. Ramah, where her cries are heard, is also up north - and it checks out with the verse in Genesis that describes where she was buried by the grieving Jacob.

So when did Rachel’s tomb ‘move’ south - identified with Judah’s Bethlehem?

It’s possible that Rachel’s tomb, like much of the Northern Kingdom’s narratives got co-opted by the Southern Judah. After the fall of Israel, Judah was left to tell the tale and possibly reclaim and ‘own’ Rachel’s role as well - although her sister Leah was the official mother of the south.

There may also be a really surprising link with ties into the story of another mythic mother, Mary, the mother of Jesus. Demsky suggests:

“The belief that Rachel’s tomb should be located near Bethlehem has its earlier appearance in Matthew 2:16, which connects Rachel’s cry in Jeremiah to the story of how Herod killed children in Bethlehem when searching out baby Jesus:

“When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi.

Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

(Matthew 2:16-18)

Like Rachel, Mary famously cries for her slain child. Her tears are so important - they are part of the Christian liturgy. Somehow the stories of these mourning mothers and their tears are integrated into our sacred stories.

So however Rachel’s tomb ended up where it now is, despite debates in the rabbinic sources, the current site, just north of Bethlehem, eventually became identified as the ‘real tomb’ of Rachel, a marker for hope, right on the border, in the midst of bitter battles for land rights and dignity between Abraham’s children.

Beyond the tragedy of territorial disputes - the myth of the mother who helps her children’s hurting hearts heal — endures.

The tears continue flowing for the exiles of all children, everywhere.

And the words of Jeremiah, smeared with tears, all those generations later, echo like a mother’s hug -- don’t give up hope, don’t give up patience: You are never alone.

Poet and feminist scholar Alicia Ostriker reflects on Rachel’s tears:

“In the face of loss, Rachel teaches us that mourning is a sacred act, a space where hope can emerge.”

This perspective invites us to consider how Rachel’s tears can inspire a collective movement toward understanding and reconciliation, transcending political boundaries.

The tears of the mothers and the poetry of prophets remind us today that even in deep sorrow, there is a promise of return, restoration, and renewal.

🚩 Our Next LIVE LEARNING Session:

Sunday 7/19/26, 2pm ET

A Tale of Two Exiles - Mourning Both Jerusalem and Samaria

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research, work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session, just like today’s post.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom, healing and consolation.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

Friends,

Americans today prepare for the 4th of July - celebrating 250 years of American independence - with much to be grateful and hopeful for during these difficult and gilded days in the United States.

Yesterday marked 1000 days since October 7th.

I posted a reflection yesterday, focusing on the call to tone down our toxic speech so that we do not fan the flames and fuel the fires of fury any further.

You can read my post on Facebook or on my Instagram page:

This somber milestone, so many sorrowful days later, so much suffering still going on, coincided with the 17th of Tammuz, the first of the two summer fast days that commemorate historical calamities of the Jewish people - focusing on the tragic destruction of Jerusalem and the exile from Judah in 586 BCE. We are now in the Three Weeks of Sorrow - leading to the next fast day of the Ninth of Av.

Part of the tragedy of this history is that Jerusalem became vulnerable to Babylon’s assault because of inner strife and civic discord. “Baseless Hatred” is how the sages named it. People were already fighting over everything and it was what made the enemy’s task even easier. United societies stand strong against challenges. Divided societies dont’ stand a chance.

The 17th of Tammuz recalls the very first crack that appeared in the walls of Jerusalem before Babylon broke down the walls - and it may likely also be a metaphor for how kingdoms begin to collapse.

This day also marks the mythic day on which Moses broke the Ten Commandments in response to the creation of the Golden Calf. This would make it the day that marks the first civil war in our history - fueled by furious faith and conflicting visions of the divine. So this fast day and these three weeks are a reminder to reexamine the ways in which we let discord get out of hand, and consider the consequences. Maybe we will learn from the past to do better next time - like now?

That’s why this year-long journey to better understand our origins of schism and the dignity in different narratives - matters so much.

The growing gaps between us at this time give these days and milestones an ominous overtone that echoes this exploration. The Judah-Israel divide is still very much with us - as labels such as left vs. right, religious vs. secular, Liberal vs. Conservative, and Zionist vs. Anti Zionist define our identities and binary building blocks. Life, we know, is far less black or white — there’s much more breathing space in the both/and of nuance. And yet polarization, once again, pulls us apart.

As we enter these three weeks of communal commemoration of exile we once again dare ask:

How is it that these ancient tales of terror left such a strong imprint in our national collective - even after so many golden ages in other cultures and civilizations?

Long past Babylon and Rome’s demise - what is the cognitive and spiritual price we’re paying for the longing for a past and an era long gone? How does this play out now that there is an active presence in the homeland - with such fierce fighting over what this presence means, and how it can be secured without brutality?

And finally - among the many critical questions - what are the stories we are not telling and the narratives we are not lifting up that will help us heal despite divides and chart a hopeful path?

We will focus on these questions at our next monthly LIVE LEARNING session on July 19: The Tale of Two Exiles.

It was not just Jerusalem that was burned by an empire. It was also Samaria - 150 years earlier. The Kingdom of Israel suffered a terrible fate that has almost no mention in the Bible or our history, yet it stand along the later destruction of the Kingdom of Judah as our defining national narratives of longing and belonging.

To prepare for this session I invite you to read one of the chapters from the archives of Below the Bible Belt - this is the farewell to Judah written by Jeremiah - one of its last prophets:

"How Judah Was Exiled from Its Land"

🚩 Our Next LIVE LEARNING Session:

Sunday 7/19/26, 2pm ET

A Tale of Two Exiles - Mourning Both Jerusalem and Samaria

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research, work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session, just like today’s post.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom, healing and consolation.

Happy Birthday America!

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

BTW: I’m turning this course into a book -

want to help?? Looking for capable editors and people in publishing to help find the perfect agent and deal.. Thank you

Hello Friends

Today I want to recommend a book for your summer reading. It is no light fare - yet it is a page turner and a fascinating companion to our journey that explores the origins of Jewish schism - why and how we got here, and what may help us heal divides.

(Yes, I’m also looking at you, NYC - rumbling in the wake of the most recent primary elections and clear signs that old politics are shifting, support for Israel is wavering, and dynamics of alliances among Jewish voters, elected officials and the public are changing fast - bringing up both fears and cheers, depends on whom you ask. Time will tell.)

On the Jewish calendar. We are midway through the month of Tammuz, and next week marks the fast day of 17th of Tammuz, the first of two annual mid-summer fast days that commemorate national traumas, destruction and exile.

The second summer fast, the 9th of Av, is the closing bookend of the three weeks of sorrow that link these two days, holding space in our collective body, and literally in our bodies, for our remembrance of rupture and our hope for healing, even thousands of years later. We fast in solidarity with suffering, as a way to reflect inwards, and to rise from the rubble towards repair.

But while these days use liturgy and tell stories that have to do with the tragic destruction of Jerusalem and Judea in the 6th Century BCE by Babylon and in the 1st Century CE by Rome - they do not mourn or even mention another massive national tragedy of turmoil, destruction and dispersion: The total annihilation of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by Assyria in the 722 BCE.

Why is this colossal crisis not remembered or grieved?

Because our history was written and moulded by the sages of the South - the survivors of the Kingdom of Judah, who wanted to focus on their tragedy and minimize the good and bad history of their Northern neighbors - who were family, allies, and at times brothers in arms - the Kingdom of Israel.

The mostly hidden history of this ancient rift and the narratives that help us understand how we got to today’s deepening divides among Jewish people all over the world is what this year-long course is all about and what has become, quite frankly, my obsession.

The more I delve into this topic and as our course progresses into its second half I am drawn to the details of the demise, like a moth to the flame. Yet this is not a morbid fascination with how the errors and woes of the past got us kicked and how they still impact modern reality.

I am fascinated by this lesser told history because by learning how we got here I am hopeful we can pause to reflect, and pave a better path, honoring differences and forging some sort of better union, finding common ground. I want to learn from the follies of our past towards a better future.

In the past weeks I’ve been deep inside a book that I can’t put down and recommend to you today:

The Jewish March of Folly , recently translated into English, is by Israeli journalist Amotz Asa-El.

I devoured the original Hebrew version when it first came out a few years ago - and now it seems prophetic.

This is how the introduction to the book frames the project:

“The Jewish March of Folly is a revolutionary history of the Jewish people that discovers ancient Israel’s forgotten civil wars, places them at the heart of Jewish history, and probes their meaning for the future of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Blending journalistic storytelling with historical narration, The Jewish March of Folly reads like a news reporter’s account of political dramas, military battles, personal tragedies, spiritual crises, and social revolutions, while bringing the past to life and probing its consequences—to this day.”

Daniel Gordis, in his podcast, just interviewed Asa-El about the book, and I encourage you to listen to the conversation, regardless of your political positions that may not align with Gordis’ more center-right stand - if you want to delve in even deeper, linking the book’s purpose to the political realities unfolding in present time:

Israel from the Inside with Daniel Gordis

"The Jewish March of Folly: The Dramatic Events, Fateful Results, and Unlearned Lessons of Ancient Israel’s Political Suicide"

Several years ago, in March 2022, we ran an interview with Amotz Asa-El, a very gifted Israeli author, whose book, The Jewish March of Folly, instantly hit the Israeli bestseller list and stayed there for a long time. At the time of our interview, the book was not yet out in English, though Amotz and I both expressed hope that that would happen…

Listen now

2 months ago · 10 likes · 1 comment · Daniel Gordis

Our next monthly LIVE LEARNING session will be on July 19 - right in the middle of the Three Weeks of Sorrow. We will focus on the story of the exiles - Judah and Israel, Jerusalem and Samaria. As Asa-El shows in his book - to fully understand the scope of our story and how we got here we must pay attention to both these narratives - especially the one we were never told.

Here’s one teaser text from Asa-El’s book - as he tells the terrible tale of the trauma of the northern tribes, victims of Assyrian Ethnic Cleansing in the 8th Century BCE. :

“The view was appalling. Had we boarded back then a small airplane at the airstrip by today’s Kibbutz Mahanayim and flown toward the Jordan River’s springs between the Naphtali Mountains and the Golan Heights, we would have seen an endless convoy of deportees snaking north—some carrying their bundled belongings, others holding children and babies—all trekking toward the unknown through smoldering fields strewn with dead bodies, while hobnailed horsemen whip the elderly lagging at the column’s rear. It was more than just the ugly face of ethnic cleansing, the Assyrian invention for which one historian used the loaded term “final solution”; for ahead of that caravan loomed a defeated nation’s wretched future, and behind it sprawled its fractious past.

This grand political fiasco—the refusal to behave like a nation and the unwillingness to unite, even in the face of a common threat—caused the holocaust of the northern tribes’ disappearance and sent the Jewish March of Folly from its founders’ reckless politics to their successors’ fateful dislocation.

Yes, in almost any sense biblical Israel’s downfall cannot be called a holocaust.

Ancient Israel was treated no differently than other nations, Assyria had no special theories concerning the Israelites, and their extinction was not its aim. Even so, in one sense the North’s downfall was a holocaust nonetheless: Israel was destroyed.

The blows it sustained demographically, politically, and psychologically left the people who emerged from biblical Israel’s ruins—the Jews—feeling much as American Jewry felt the morning after European Jewry’s Holocaust: amputated, decimated, shocked, haunted, guilty, and flooded with longings for a multitude of siblings that had vanished overnight.

Had ancient Israel avoided its schisms and placed nation above tribe, Israel might never have died, its Jewish successor may never have been born, and the Israelite homeland might never have been lost. Moreover, the North’s collapse precipitated the South’s demise; for the minuscule kingdom into which Israel’s remainder now shrank—Judah—would eventually be even easier prey for its own invaders than the northerners had been for theirs.”

🚩 Next LIVE LEARNING Session:

Sunday 7/19/26

A Tale of Two Exiles - Mourning Both Jerusalem and Samaria

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research, work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session, just like today’s post.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom.

Peace שלום سلام

PS: I’m thinking of turning this course into a book - want to help? I’m seeking editors and people who want to work with me in turning the transcriptions of our monthly sessions into compelling chapters. Interested? Got time, ideas, talent or what to help support? Please be in touch. Thank you!

Amichai

"The book is as old as fire, as water. It is the memory of the desert where the word found its stone... You cannot burn the book, because the book is made of the very ash that remains after the fire."

Edmond Jabès, The Book of Questions, 1963

Hello Friends -

81 years ago, on June 12, 1945, at Manhattan’s McAlpin - one of New York City’s largest Hotels, 200 rabbis from the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada formally assembled to excommunicate Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan.

The ceremony includes a public burning of the Sabbath Prayer Book Kaplan had just published, deemed heretical by the Orthodox rabbis.

It is mind-boggling that such actions could be taken place while the Holocaust was barely over, but this is just one more startling example of the age-old rifts and ruptures tearing the Jewish people apart - dividing the pious and particular from the pluralistic progressives. Whether it’s theology or politics - or both - the heat is still on and sometimes our feuds turn to fires.

You can read more about this shocking event in this article in the Forward - it’s just one of the stories we discussed at our most recent LIVE LEARNING monthly session of our year long course - Judaism: Born Divided?

Book burning go back. 2,700 years in our tradition, and the attempt to ban, burn or suppress truths and ideologies continues today.

Some truths are suppressed when books get banned or burned.

Some truths are hidden when books get written.

Sometimes truth triumphs despite attempts to silence it. Sometimes it does not.

This course exists to explore some hidden and repressed truths- celebrating the multiple truths and narratives that form our histories and inform who we are - and how our journey continues.

From Jeremiah to Josiah, Mordechai Kaplan to the Kaplan Protests - the stories of our ancient and current schism are critical so that we make sense of how we got here and how we navigate ahead.

Check out the sources we read last week, and take an hour to watch the session:

READ: Study Source Sheet

Watch the Recording of our LIVE Learning Session:

`

🚩 Next LIVE LEARNING Session:

Sunday 7/19/26

A Tale of Two Exiles - Mourning Both Jerusalem and Samaria

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research, work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

I’m thinking of turning this into a book - what do you think? (want to help??)

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other kind supporters today.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session, just like today’s post.

More info on the rest of the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

Hello friends,

“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches… Every minority feels it has the right to censor what it dislikes.”

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 (afterword, 1979)

Boycotts, book bans, cancel culture and deepening socio-political divides — what can our biblical history teach us about how we got here, what can help us handle differences, and why 2,600 year old culture wars matter to our future?

Join me this Sunday to find out.

🚩Today’s post contains the Zoom link for this coming Sunday’s monthly LIVE learning session.

Scroll down for the information - not too late to join!

(not a paid subscriber and want to join this session and check it out? sure! send a reply here and we’ll send you the info.)

🚩 Some truths are suppressed when books get banned or burned. Some truths are hidden when books get written. Sometimes the truth triumphs despite attempts to silence it. Sometimes it does not.

As we enter the mid-way point of our year-long exploration of the oldest Jewish schism and how we got to be so divided now - there are critical narratives about who gets to tell our stories, which narratives count, and what alternative histories were banished or banned - and why.

The first book burning in the bible sets the tone for the eventual suppression of full truth by Jerusalem’s scribes - and the dominion of the southern narrative over the northern.

It’s the shocking story of Jeremiah the Prophet and how his scroll was tossed into the flames by the fearful King of Judah.

Throughout history, tyrants and fear-fueled societies kept and keep using various forms of censorship to dispel dissent and silence voices that threaten power paradigms. But truth? still stronger. Join me this Sunday to learn about Jeremiah’s scroll, Josiah’s book, and what the Judah-Israel division means to our modern day narratives, struggles, hurts and hopes. ``

🚩 Next LIVE Session: Sunday 6/14/26 @ 2 PM (ET)

If you are already a paid subscriber - scroll all the way down for the link.

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Wishing us us all kinder days - everywhere

Shabbat Shalom - Peaceful Sabbath

Amichai

Read more

Hello Friends,

When it comes to censorship of information - sometimes books are burned, talks are banned, voice silences - and sometimes books get written, propaganda propagated, and ideologies enforced - despite dissent, discord and different opinions.

Our history is full of such examples - like the creation of the Hebrew Bible — and sadly - this is part of our current reality. How can we learn to discern this trend, talk back to tyranny, lift up more narratives and perspectives that celebrate the full spectrum of life?

At our next LIVE LEARN session on June 14 (details below) we’ll learn about the first book burning in the Bible - and how this 2,700 year old story scorched the path towards the suppression of critical dissent and alternative perspectives that still impact and hurt our lives today.

Even in London.

Did you about the drama in the British Museum?

It’s a relative small storm in a teacup but still an upsetting incident that speaks to the high volume of tensions these days as attacks on anything to do with Israel and Jewish life continue worldwide - and in this case - directly related to the topic of our year-long journey.

What does the ancient history of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah have to do with contemporary political realities?

And why would a lunch&learn session at the British Museum cause fury and make it to every major media channel?

The short version is that an afternoon talk at the British Museum, planned for May 28, as part of Jewish Culture Month in the United Kingdom - was initially cancelled, then postponed, due to the museum’s concerns over disruption by protestors. A new date has yet to be announced - and hopefully it will include an online access option - so that we can all join.

Why the protest?

The event, titled ‘The Ancient History of Israel and Judah’ delivered by Paul Collins, Keeper of the Museum’s Department of the Middle East is intended to explain how “the histories of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah can be illuminated by the archaeology and art of the wider ancient Middle East.”

But with credible fears of Anti-Israel protesters, the Museum published a note announcing the postponement of the event - with heightened security.

You can read more about it in the New York Times:

British Museum Postpones Jewish Cultural Event, Citing Threat of Disruption

And you can also read the Museum's Statement - here.

AND - what does this actually have to do with the histories of Judah and Israel and why this ancient discord informs the ways we are so deeply divided now?

British-Jewish historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of several books, among them the magnificent book Jerusalem: The Biography wrote a super long response on X to this scandal, worth quotation almost in full:

“This matters.
An obscure London event on the history of the ancient Jewish kingdoms in Judea and Israel is cancelled because of ‘security concerns’ and it turns out this was a reaction to a campaign to fill and then undermine the event by activist disrupters.
How strange! Why would a posse of aggressive activists be interested in the arcane details of bullae and steles and ostraca and inscriptions and numismatics in some small South Levantine kingdoms in the Iron Age?

The BM and its leadership are decent and well-meaning and have explained that they wished to save an event from disruption by bullying vandals but I am sure the BM realizes it is essential to announce a new event fast lest it give the impression that the permission of tiny cadres of aggressive bullies are required before it hold events. But the significance is wider than an event about the Moab and Tel Dan steles in a great museum.

..There is the history itself.
This event concerns the study of the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel that existed between roughly 1100BC and 586BCin the Levant. It is not a coincidence that this was chosen for disruption. The history of the Judean kingdoms and the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem that stood for most of the time between 1000BC and 70AD etc is important and fascinating history in its own right, supported by complex and growing archaeological finds.
These small kingdoms and the subsequent Temple priestly mini-state (restored by the Persian kings Cyrus and Darius 539BC) and then the larger Judean kingdoms of the Hasmoneans and Herodians – between 167BC and 135AD chronicle the long indigenous history of Jews in the region – which the protesters are keen to erase.

This is a political project of ideological erasure and malicious incitement of course concerned with the complex, brutal Israel-Palestine conflict that has now gone on for a hundred years and is unlikely to be solved in a small lecture theatre in the British Museum.

But it also attempts to deny or erase Jewish history itself – and by implication the heritage of British Jews who live here in Britain, a small community that is now under cultural and sometimes physical threat.

Incidentally - but it is worth saying, this history does not deny anyone else’s history, nor the many other small realms in this region through ancient times nor the many names of the region and its entities and the historical origins of those names (Canaan, or Philistia or Peleset, Phoenicia, Aram Damascus or Moab or later Nabatea and the provinces of Palaestina Prime, Seconda and Tertia and the Ghassanid kingdoms and so on etc etc).

The history of one can not be used to erase the history of the other and does not need to do so. The pursuit of knowledge which is one of the delights of human life and is the mission of the BM and indeed anyone who writes, reads or enjoys history, can celebrate and recognize all of these.

Yet this protest and the many like it deployed across Britain nowadays is the opposite of that - an attack on history using the methods of intimidation and vandalism. Much of this involves distorting or dismantling actual history or often lying to replace it with a fabricated ideological structure that nourishes no one and helps no one but degrades our culture and civic life not to speak of history itself.

And this is relevant not just to those of us who write study or enjoy the history of the region but also to those who believe that cultural life and civic society is a right that must not be submitted to the aggressions and plots of loud well-organized much-indulged ideologues who take advantage of the freedoms of our society to undermine its principles and the very freedoms they are designed to guard.

Just as vital is a rule of history itself that concerns the rise and fall of civilizations: the society that ceases to allow to free discussion of ideas and stops respecting and recognizing the value of scientific and historical sources and facts is a society that will fail.”

I’ve been wanting to go visit the British Museum in London for some time now - with a special focus on viewing precious relics and artifacts from the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel.

I hope it happens soon. Or at least I can attend the Zoom version of this rescheduled event. I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile - our next event is coming up:

🪬Next LIVE Session: Sunday 6/14/26 @ 2 PM (ET)

“Book Burning: What Scriptures Start a Civil War”

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research and work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other supporters today.

It really does mean a lot and would be very helpful.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

If you have questions or issues with subscriptions or renewal please email us here:

Judaismborndivided@gmail.com

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

“Book burnings. Always the forerunners. Heralds of the stake, the ovens, the mass graves.”

(Geraldine Brooks — People of the Book, 2008)

Hello Friends —

Did you know that Since 2021, PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 book bans in public schools, “a number never before seen in the life of any living American”?

Many of the titles include LGBTQ+ content that Conservative America deems dangerous.

As Pride Month begins next week, following Jewish Heritage Month - it’s important to remember how far we have to go in protecting books and people from ignorance and hatred.

You can check out the list of banned books here.

What does this have to do with the Judah-Israel Divide we are exploring on this journey?

The first book burning in the bible sets the tone for the suppression of truth and the dominion of the southern narrative over the northern. It’s the shocking story of Jeremiah the Prophet and how his scroll was tossed into the flames by the fearful King of Judah.

Throughout history, tyrants and fear-fueled societies kept using various forms of censorship to dispel dissent and silence voices that threaten power paradigms. ``

As we head into the mid-way point of our year-long exploration of the oldest Jewish schism and how we got to be so divided now - there are critical narratives about who gets to tell our stories, which narratives count, and what alternative histories were banished or banned - and why.

Scrolls and books, then and now, continue to be burned, banned, silenced or rewritten - all in the so-called interest of protecting people and preserving systems.

The price? The loss of pluralism, prophetic passion, political protest or complex ideas that do not fit into neat national/religious boxes.

That’s what happened when Jeremiah spoke up and had his scribe down his words of protest against the Judean king.

The scroll ended in flames - but the prophet’s words lingered on to become the writing on the wall that spelled out the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. When I went into the Below the Bible Belt archives to dig this chapter up I was shocked when I realized the date on which we read this text together — October 8 2023.

The chilling synergy between this terrible date now etched in our collective memory and the story of the suppression of prophetic truth-to-power is perhaps a reminder of why these narratives are so vital to our process towards truth, peace and reconciliation. From Jeremiahs’ Jerusalem to today’s global growth of authoritarian attacks on free speech — we have much to learn and fix, as history guides our path to better present and futures.

Ahead of our next LIVE LEARNING session on June 14th I invite you to check out this Below the Bible Belt reflection on chapter 36 from the Book of Jeremiah:

Book Burning: So It Begins.

🚩

Next LIVE Session: Sunday 6/14/26 @ 2 PM (ET)

“Book Burning: What Scriptures Start a Civil War”

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research and work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other supporters today.

It really does mean a lot and would be very helpful.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

If you have questions or issues with subscriptions or renewal please email us here:

Judaismborndivided@gmail.com

Wishing us all Shabbat Shalom.

Peace שלום سلام

Amichai

Hello Friends

“The biblical text is not a single univocal story but a chorus; we must learn to listen for the strains that run counter to the surface argument — the unexpected, dissenting voices that change how the whole text speaks....”

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

Tonight the Jewish world begins to celebrate Shavuot - the ancient agricultural festival of the fresh offering of wheat - transformed over time into the holy day that celebrates the Revelation of Torah at Sinai.

Layers are what makes our legacy so special, enduring and meaningful.

As Zorneberg writes - the ‘‘chorus’ of perspectives is what makes our story so compelling, complex and unique.

(you can read her full quote + others in the source sheet linked below)

The Christian holiday of Pentecost, developed out of Shavuot, also celebrated this coming Weekend, is another layer in this seasonal celebration of the sacred strands of revelation and access to the holy wisdom from beyond.

Despite our shared legacies and human yearnings for the holy - conflicts tear us apart.

Now, as in many times in our histories, people are at odds over religious narratives - and that includes the story from our Scriptures about the battle between the Ten Commandments and the Golden Calf: Words vs. Image, abstract or concrete divinity - and possibly - the narrative of Southern Judah in conflict with that of Northern Israel.

Understanding how we were born divided helps to make sense of this story, the ongoing schism - and how we might build bridges across divides - and heal.

🚩 In our recent LIVE LEARNING session we explored the story of the Golden Calf conflict in the context of the Judah-Israel divides, and why what happened at Sinai still matters today.

I invite you to watch the hour long recording and to read the source sheet - both linked below.

Our next LIVE LEARNING online session is on June 14 at 2pm ET. We’ll talk about book burning, censorship and the origins of the biblical canon.

You are all invited to join me.

Scroll down for details on joining the live conversation on June 14 or watching it later.

I wish us all meaningful and joyful holidays.

For those of you in the United States - may this Memorial Day Weekend honor the sacrifices and the courage of so many whose lives gave us the gifts of freedom, hope and home.

May peace prevail and joy unite us.

Amichai

🚩 Read: Source Sheet - Golden Calf Conspiracy

🚩 Watch: Golden Calf Conspiracy LIVE LEARN session

🚩

Next LIVE Session: Sunday 6/14/26 @ 2 PM (ET)

“Book Burning: What Scriptures Start a Civil War”

This LIVE LEARNING session welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research and work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other supporters today.

It really does mean a lot and would be very helpful.

Check out Subscription Options.

Thank you!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.

You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARNING session.

More info on the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

If you have questions or issues with subscriptions or renewal please email us here:

Judaismborndivided@gmail.com

Peace שלום سلام

“Jerusalem was capital of southern Israel, known then as Judah. Isn’t it true that there’s always a rivalry between north and south? North and South Korea, North and South Vietnam, Northern and Southern Ireland, Yankees and Rebels, uptown and downtown. Somebody please tell me why that is? “

―Tom Robbins,Skinny Legs and All

Hello friends - from Jerusalem

The controversies at the core of the Capital City of Gold is one of the top topics of our upcoming LIVE LEARNING SESSION this coming Sunday -

AND YOU ARE ALL INVITED TO JOIN

🚩Today’s post contains the Zoom link for this coming Sunday’s special session -

IT’S FREE FOR ALL SUBSCRIBERES & OTHERS CURIOUS TO LEARN ABOUT THIS TOPIC AND THIS COURSE.

WHY?

PER POPULAR DEMAND + WITH GRATITUDE TO THE GENEROUS PAID SUBSCRIBERS WHO MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO KEEP THIS BLOG GOING.

Almost half way through this year-long journey I invite more of you to dive deeper into the exploration of this critical and ancient schism story with vital and deep relevance for who we are now, why so divided — and what will help us heal - together.

Scroll down for the zoom info. so that you can join on Sunday.

The recording will be shared with all during the following week.

🚩 But first - a few words about why today matters and what this session will be about.

Somehow - the Golden Dome of the Rock that I can see clearly as I write these words from a balcony in East Jerusalem — echoes the tragic tale of the biblical golden calf - the main topic of our session this coming Sunday.

What does this hallowed symbol of the city sacred to three faiths and meaningful to so many — have to do with a scriptural story of a national and religious crisis?

It all has to do with Jerusalem - and the real secrets inside this sacred city.

🚩 Today, May 15, is marked by many around the world as Nakba Day - the commemoration of Palestinian displacement and destruction of 1948.

On the Hebrew calendar - yesterday marked Jerusalem Day - the 1967 marker of the reunification or conquest of the city by Israel.

These are days fraught with competing narratives of joy and grief, as tensions and violence keep ripping so many of us apart.

I started yesterday in the Old City of Jerusalem along with colleagues from Rabbis for Human Rights and hundreds of Israeli volunteers - standing in solidarity with the local Palestinian residents and offering Protective Presence to help defend the locals from the violence of the the most extremist among the thousands of Jews from all over the country, on their way to celebrate in the Western Wall. While the majority of those walking to the wall is peaceful - a loud and vicious growing minority - mostly teens and young Orthodox men, attack Palestinians, sing racist songs, damage shops and homes, and spew hatred in their path.

I used to be one of those young men, dancing, in my teens years, down the alley ways of Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter, dressed in a white shirt, and signing loudly about Jerusalem as our eternal home, seat of our on ce and future temple.

But in the past decade of so the vibe has turned triumphalist and violent. Yesterday I was there to bear witness, to protect and to pray for peace.

You can watch some of my reporting from there here: https://www.instagram.com/amichailaulavie/

The Flag March has become the cause for a day of division and a cause for concern.

And it does not have to be this way — Jerusalem - the seat of sacred story for Jews, Christians and Muslims can and must be a city that unites, not divides.

There are already many such unions happening despite this loud distraction. I was at an interfaith prayer at the foot of the walls of the old city the night before, and ended yesterday at a a joyful gathering in East Jerusalem - the first ever public LGBTQ event where Palestinian queers along with some Israeli and European activists came to celebrate pride, tolerance, peace and possible futures.

There is, despite despair, much hope here — the tribal and trauma-based either/or narrative can and will be challenged by a more inclusive and tolerant both/and approach.

The south needs the north to negotiate identity and forge a path forward.

So what does Jerusalem, with its multilayered histories, and the Golden Dome as its famous symbol have to do with the story of a Golden Calf created by the people of Israel as a religious icon?

Why does that puzzling and painful story have to do with the origins of the split between south and north, Judah and Israel - as it still continues today?

I invite you to join me in Jerusalem - from wherever you are - this coming Sunday, to explore these questions - together.

🚩 Next LIVE Session: Sunday 5/17/26

This is the ZOOM LINK for Sunday:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83001192942?jst=2

ID: 83001192942

THIS session is free and open to all.

To upgrade, support this journey, and enable others to join - please consider becoming a Paid Subscriber at a level that is comfortable for you.

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Wishing us us all kinder days - everywhere

Shabbat Shalom - Peaceful Sabbath

Amichai

Hello Friends

Are the political fights and feuds splitting us further apart keeping you up at night?

Sorry about that.

And I’m here to help - in the very least to give you late night reading material to map how we got here - and learn about what can help bring us closer together.

🚩Welcome - and welcome back - to this year-long conversation, exploring the Iron Age riddle that is still impacting our contemporary complicated reality of deepening divides:

🚩Why is the Jewish community so divided, torn over core ideological issues?

🚩When did this feud begin —how did we get here - and what can we do about it?

In this online course we explore the radical idea that we were born this way.

And so was the Bible that defines our story.

🚩 In today’s weekly mailer I’ll recap the big picture of this journey - now in its fifth month - with a teaser towards our next monthly LIVE LEARN session on May 17 + and how you too can join us, adding your voice to the conversation.

(you can scroll down to read this info)

So what’s the story the schism and why does this mostly lesser known history matter?

Knowledge is power and power is change.

Knowing our origins of dispute is one critical way to work towards creation of common ground - while also respecting each other’s viewpoints - and lifting up nuanced narratives, and the dignity of differences.

Take German Jewry - for instance.

Last week I spent a few days in Germany, at the annual Limmud Conference which bought together 400+ of Germany’s estimated 200,000 Jews, including others of other faiths who love and live with them.

All ages were represented with multiple sessions and services offered very different options to the diverse audience.

But the excited people gathered did not represent the full spectrum and diversity of Jewish communities who call Germany home today.

Notably missing were the Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox communities, who largely avoid this conference that celebrates pluralism, includes prayers by all denominations, and even invites teachers like me - an openly gay rabbi as a featured speaker.

During the gathering I presented a session on the rising violence of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the future of the peace process, as well as a panel with a leading Conservative rabbi on responses to the rising reality of intermarriage.

Both of these sessions resulted in important conversations, debated and disagreements - mostly respectful and hopefully helpful. Overall what this conference showcased was the way we come together - and the ways we really don’t.

While there’s nothing new here - and while German Jews have had heated debates over identity for over 1,000 years - what’s telling here is that this split stands for a much bigger and longer legacy.

With so much violence and hatred among us and against us at this time - making sense of this schism story seems more urgent than ever.

Divides among Jews over how to live our Jewish lives and which values to prioritize or devalue have always been part of our story.

How did we get here? Why does it matter?

Now more than ever, as bitter battles rage within Israel, where I am writing from right now, and as across Jewish communities worldwide difference of opinions split families and congregations apart - we must pay attention to the textures of our feuds and the fusions that will help us flourish.

That’s what this year-long exploration is all about.

Many scholars suggest that it all began with the ancient rift between the two kingdoms that became the Jewish nation and eventually also birthed the bible.

The Kingdom of Judah in the south and the Kingdom of Israel in the north were not always siblings or allies and their stories - our story - reveals the origins of the deep schism that hurts us now.

The north included ten tribes. The south - two. They existed alongside each other for two centuries, both eventually demolished by local empires - Assyria conquering Israel and exiling the ten tribes, and later Babylon destroying Judah and exiling the remaining two tribes of Judah.

The survivors wrote the bible —a genius was to survive without sovereignty - composed from the POV of the Judean kingdom’s ideologies which gave us their identity - Judeans, or later - Jews.

But what was the legacy of the earlier and larger Kingdom of Israel about and how is it different than the viewpoints of the Kingdom of Judah that rewrote history and wrote the book?

On my way to Limmud I stopped in Frankfurt to honor the graves of my ancestors, and to stop by the tombstone of the founder of the Neo-Orthodoxy movement which would become the Modern Orthodox world in which I was raised.

The Jüdischer Friedhof Battonnstraße - Old Jewish Cemetery on Battonnstrasse is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Frankfurt, and one of the oldest in Europe and the world - with burials dating back to 1272. (Photo: Amichai Lau-Lavie)

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a prolific 19th century Jewish-German religious leader, writer and interpreter of Scripture wrote this about the reason for the lasting rift between the two Jewish viewpoints:

“The ten tribes of Israel sought a life based on the ‘now,’ on political expediency. The two tribes of Judah sought a life based on the ‘eternal.’ This is the constant struggle of the Jew in the Diaspora.”

Hirsch could not have imagined the future of the Jewish state, yet in many ways his commentary also speaks to this moment of tensions between ‘now’ and ‘eternal’ not just for Diaspora Jewry but also among Israelis - as well as between Zionists and Anti Zionists, Religious and Secular, all over the world.

We are both the Jews of now and the Jews of always.

Where are you — where are we - on this spectrum of priorities?

At our next session, on May 17th, we’ll explore a tragic biblical story that may shed some light on this history and help us reflect on similar tensions that highlight our identities, agendas and choices.

What really happened with the Golden Calf?

How can understanding this faith-based fiasco, the first violent civil-religious war among the Jewish people help us deal - and heal?

Join me on Sunday, May 17th, to go deeper.

Just ahead of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot on which we celebrate the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai - this story about what happened at the foot of the sacred mountain reveals an astonishing history with much to teach us today about the real meaning of the feuds that fuel our fears and fury.

Hint? It’s not just about an idol. It’s about two different ways of being Jewish - and human - in the world.

Want to prep ahead?

I invite you to check out this hour-long Zoom talk that I gave some months ago:

Why the Golden Calf Riot Matters More - Now.

The LIVE LEARN session on May 17 welcomes Paid Subscribers - as one way of thanking you, generous supporters, for enabling me to do this research and work with tech support to deliver this blog series.

There are several tiers/options - please consider joining over 150 other supporters today.

It really does mean a lot and would be very helpful.

Check out Subscription Options.

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You’ll get the recording and resources within the week of each LIVE LEARN session.

🚩 Next LIVE Session: Sunday 5/17/26 @ 2 PM (ET)

More info on the course:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

If you have questions or issues with subscriptions or renewal please email us here:

Judaismborndivided@gmail.com

Now, and Always - I wish us all the good will to handle and contain complex realities, with respect and love, honoring our history of dialogue and debate for the sake of better lives - for all.

Wishing us us all kinder days, peace and justice - everywhere

Shabbat Shalom - Peaceful Sabbath

Amichai

Greetings Friends —

Sometimes a torn fabric tells us more about the future than about what’s torn apart.

Today is May Day - layered with many meanings, marked for centuries as the Celtic New Year of Spring, and since the late 19th century as International Workers' Day, commemorating the fight for an 8-hour workday. Greetings to all who celebrate today! On the Hebrew calendar today marks the middle of the moon of Iyar - and the “Second Passover” - a biblical option for second chances of observing the holiday’s rituals for those who missed the first Passover. Avid readers of this blog may recall that this second Passover was one of the defining moments of the schism between Judah and Israel - when King Hezekiah King of Judah moved the original Passover to today’s date in order to attract the refugees from Israel and foster unity between the people. Today, Second Passover has become a celebration of diversity and multiple ways of Jewish life - esp. in the LGBTQ community.

Back to May Day:

This auspicious day is not to be conflated with the globally recognized distress signal MAYDAY - derived from the French phrase "m'aider" (help me).

It’s this emergency use of May Day as an emergency call that I want to highlight today, as we continue our journey exploring the ancient rift between Judah and Israel and why it still matters today.

There are moments in history that serve as distress calls, flagging pending ruptures. These are sometimes recognized in real time, and taken seriously. But so often are ignored.

A recent incident that made headlines all over the world made me think and link an ancient moment of rupture to today’s growing gaps of political polarities - connecting the schism of Judah/Israel to today’s turbulence.

It’s a small but serious distress signal that invites us to pay attention - and be aware of what’s at stake. It’s also a call for those of us who choose to rise to the occasion, to protest the rupture , and to protect justice and human rights as ways to prevent further and deeper divisions.

What’s it all about? The intentional ripping of a fabric.

Last week, a colleague of mine, Dr. Alex Sinclair, British born Jewish scholar and educator living in Israel, was detained by the Israeli Police for wearing a Kippah with both the Israeli and the Palestinian flag. He was released fairly quickly but his Kippah was returned to him - ripped apart - minus the Palestinian flag.

This outrageous and illegal action made world news, including this CNN Story about the Torn Kippah, and most recently, Dr. Alex Sinclair's Response in the Jerusalem Post, in which he writes:

“I do not wear the Palestinian flag on my kippah naively. I do not ignore the pain and suffering of my fellow Israelis who have lost loved ones to Palestinian terrorism. I do not dismiss the very real challenges that lie before both peoples if we are to achieve peace.

But my kippah does remind me, and I hope it now reminds you, that there are two peoples here. They both, through the ironies of history, have a legitimate historical connection to this land. They both have a right to national self-determination. And we – Zionist Jewish Israelis – will never live in peace until the Palestinian people, in the State of Palestine, do too.”

The story of the torn Kippah made news for many reasons, exposing the brutality of the politically motivated Israeli police under the leadership of Ben Gvir - a champion of Jewish racist terrorism. It may serve as another link in the chain that leads more in Israel and abroad to recognize how low we’ve sunk and how political change is urgently needed.

What has this to do with the biblical battles between the two kingdoms?

It begins with a ripped garment.

The first book of Kings describes the moment in which the dye was cast in favor of a split that will rip the northern kingdom of Isarel apart from the southern kingdom of Judah. Jeroboam, King Solomon’s tax collector, is already engaged in resistance to the tyranny of the king and his excessive and oppressive taxation. As he leaves Jerusalem one day - a prophet by the name of Ahijah from Shiloh confronts him, and proceeds to rip his robe apart, as a visual message from God:

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לְיָֽרׇבְעָ֔ם קַח־לְךָ֖ עֲשָׂרָ֣ה קְרָעִ֑ים כִּ֣י כֹה֩ אָמַ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל הִנְנִ֨י קֹרֵ֤עַ אֶת־הַמַּמְלָכָה֙ מִיַּ֣ד שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה וְנָתַתִּ֣י לְךָ֔ אֵ֖ת עֲשָׂרָ֥ה הַשְּׁבָטִֽים׃וַיִּתְפֹּ֣שׂ אֲחִיָּ֔ה בַּשַּׂלְמָ֥ה הַחֲדָשָׁ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָלָ֑יו וַיִּ֨קְרָעֶ֔הָ שְׁנֵ֥ים עָשָׂ֖ר קְרָעִֽים׃

Ahijah took hold of the new robe he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.

“Take ten pieces,” he said to Jeroboam. “For thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel: I am about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hands, and I will give you ten tribes.

King I 11:30-31

The robe ripped into 12 pieces is the MAYDAY call of its day - signaling the severing of the ties between the tribes and the creation of two different sovereign entities.

You can read more about it in the post I wrote about this chapter a few years ago, Below the Bible Belt:

He Raised His Hand Against the King

The story of this torn coast is also not the first such severing to tear a family apart.

Scholars suggest that the action of the prophet echoes a much older tragic ripping of a coat — the one worn by Jospeh the dreamer when his brothers stripped him of his beloved striped coat and sold him to slavery. That cruel moment in which ten tribes went up against their brother — may be a literary trope hinting at the tensions between the tribes of the north and south — the children of Leah vs. the children of Rachel.

The narratives are not the same yet mythic symbols seem to resonate between these stories.

Ripped fabrics, coats or kippahs, are symbols of what happens when we are tearing at the seams - before we are fully torn apart. We must be vigilant.

Does history repeat itself - or can we learn from the past to recognize distress signals, even if symbolic - before it’s too late?

I hope and trust that we can. The reason why we study history -and why this course exists - is precisely that: to remind us where we’ve been, what’s at stake - and what course correction we can still commit to in order to prevent future painful ruptures — as best as we can.

We will pick this up when we meet again in two weeks.

I look forward to continue our live learning together on May 17th, revisiting the revealing backstory of the revelation at Sinai:

What does the Golden Calf Fiasco have to tell us about the first violent civil-religious war of the Jewish people? How can history help us deal - and heal?

You can find all info here:

Judaism: Born Divided Landing Page

And you are invited to upgrade your subscription to enable you to join the LIVE session and to help support this course: Subscription Options

May what’s torn mend with kindness, and this May bring us blessings of healing, unity, repair and resolve.

Shabbat Shalom

Amichai

Dear Friends -

“The twelve tribes represent a foundational pluralism. Israel's origin story is not that of a single man’s family becoming a monolith, but of a confederation of distinct groups who must learn the difficult politics of alliance ...The tribal symbol is the root of the 'problem of the many' within the 'one.' How can a single nation contain twelve distinct identities without fracturing?"

Michael Walzer, From Exodus and Revolution, 1985

This quote, one of many sources in the most recent monthly session on the Judaism: Born Divided journey invites us to probe a problem most of us never knew existed:

The peculiar origins of the prevailing notion that Judaism is born of a family of twelve siblings turned into tribal systems.

Really?

Or is there more ancient rubble here covering up a more complex series of origin stories with their own political agendas of forced unity over a more diverse and distinct narrative?

This old history meets today’s growing gaps as a roadmap guiding us towards the dignity of difference, the power of knowledge and the vision of pluralism as a path to peace.

I invite you to watch the session, and to access the Study Source Sheet.

As always, comments, replies, questions and feedback - welcome!

Our next session is on May 17th.

What does the Golden Calf Fiasco have to tell us about the first violent civil-religious war of the Jewish people? How can history help us deal - and heal?

I wish us all hopeful days of kindness and wisdom, just peace and joy

Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem

Amichai

Hello friends,

🚩Today’s post contains the Zoom link for this coming Sunday’s monthly session. Scroll down for the info.

🚩But first:

When was Israel born? There’s not a simple answer to this question - which ‘Israel’ do we mean?

The State of Israel will mark its 78th birthday next week - a complex week of markers on the modern Jewish calendar that invites us to honor the fallen, mourn the victims of violence - and then switch to a celebration of independence, and pray for the peace of all those who call this land home.

This troubled year, as wars continue, the conflict is far from resolved, and as very different idealogical viewpoints tear us apart - there are very different ways of marking these days - both in Israel and around the world. The word ‘Israel’ literally means ‘to wrestle with the divine’ and it feels like many of us are doing just that.

The concept of “Israel” was not born in 1948.

The nation, the people, the land, the lore and even the man whose name it was — go back thousands of years, into the matrix of the bible.

How far back? What are the actual origins?

That’s what I’m excited to explore with you next week - the surprising origin story of the Twelve Tribes of Israel - get ready for some myth busting along the way.

🚩 To better prepare for the session I invite you to enjoy the archives — and read one of the posts from Below the Bible Belt’s original journey.

Psalm 78 hides a fascinating story that hints at the backstory of the tensions between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel — the origin of the tribes — and the problem with propaganda.

https://amichailaulavie.substack.com/p/the-unchosen-tribe-of-israelRead it here:

🚩 Next LIVE Session: Sunday 4/19/26 @ 2 PM (ET)

If you are already a paid subscriber - scroll all the way down for the link. (it’s the same as last month’s link and will be the same for each monthly session)

Thank you for your support!

Not a paid subscriber?

No problem.. you’ll get the recording and resources later next week.

Or - you can upgrade today and join us on Sunday to be part of the live conversation, and ask questions during the Q&A section.

Subscribe with Paid/Founding status:

upgrade here. Thanks!

If you have questions or issues with subscriptions or renewal please email us here:

Judaismborndivided@gmail.com

Wishing us us all kinder days - everywhere

Shabbat Shalom - Peaceful Sabbath

Amichai

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