"Slavery Is a Love Song" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Recently he has been writing about a fascinating-sounding book, Bound for Canaan, about the Underground Railroad. Of course, my reading of Exodus brings with it much thinking (and feeling) about the American slavery experience, as well as the almost unthinkable situation you recently observed in Ghana (and so much else). In a recent blog item -- provocatively, and beautifully, titled "Slavery Is a Love Song" (theatlantic.com/
Freedom: The Promise And The Challenge -- "Freedom to observe, freedom to neglect," in the words of one 19th-century rabbi, by Samuel G. Freedman (http://www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Modern_History/1700-1914/America_at_the_Turn_of_the_Century/Religious_Life/Freedom.shtml)
Negative and Positive Freedom -- "We are called on daily to "proclaim liberty throughout the land." by Rabbi James Jacobson-Maisels (http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/yitro_ajws.shtml)
from reb shlomo carlebach z'l: Rav Aaron Karliner says a beautiful Torah: When God said to the Red Sea: “You are going to split open for the Jews”. The Sea said to God: “Can You show me the Jews that I’ll be splitting open for?” God showed it the Jews the way they looked in heaven. They looked holy and beautiful and clean. When the Sea saw the Jews standing before it, looking so tired and so broken, it said: “These are not the people I am supposed to split open for!” It was so hard to convince the Sea that those were the people.
