Jordan Peterson is a great writer and speaker. I had the opportunity to see him on his "We Who Wrestle with God" tour -- which is amazing in itself, in that it's a tour for a book that hasn't even come out yet (that's how popular he is).
It was interesting to see him thinking aloud on stage. He explained that the entire process of thought is very much like prayer, in that it involves leaps that can only be attributed to some kind of revelation, or supra-rational inspiration.
He went on to describe the nature of faith as a full commitment to the proper direction of one's life. I enjoyed the Biblical stories he wove through his remarks. His daughter also spoke -- and she is both wise and beautiful.
Very much worth seeing -- if you ever have the chance to do so.
This portion, one of the shortest, repeats the terms of the covenant: do good, and receive reward; do evil, and receive punishment. The Torah makes clear that this applies to individuals: it cautions against rationalizing sin.
Deuteronomy 29:18 says: "When he hears the words of this oath, he may bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I will enjoy peace of mind even if I follow my heart’s illusions.’ As a result, God will add the punishment for his 'drunk' (unintentional) sins to the punishment for his 'thirsty' (intentional) sins."
The punishment for sin is one thing; the punishment for excusing oneself from the moral rules is that you are punished even for inadvertent sins.
The lesson: don't try to make up an independent morality, separate from the one God provides to the people. If you could ever do such a thing, you'd be so great that you'd be worthy of being punished for even inadvertent sins.
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This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
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