A Few Interesting Posts Elsewhere

The three of us have been co-blogging at Sefer-HaBloggadah on Sundays. We're working our way through the interesting midrashim and aggadot in Sefer Ha-Bloggadah in a 2-year program. So far, we have the following posts:

Bruce on Plants and Trees With Attitude! Both trees and the earth disobey God during creation, and God is happy with one, unhappy with the other, and how this all pertains to theories of halachic interpretation.

Diane on To what lengths we will go to confirm what we already think? The midrash tries to slam Eve, and Diane turns the tables and slams the midrash.

Steve on Moderation in All Things, Including Moderation. In the midrash, Satan helps Noah plant his vineyard, and implicitly argues for moderation in drinking. Steve argues for moderation in this moderation.

Bruce on As Numerous as the Stars: Quantity, Quality, and the Quality of Quantity. God tells Abraham to look at the stars and promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as these stars. The midrash elaborates on this story and messes it up. To untangle the midrash, Bruce takes a tour of the stars. Literally.

Speaking of Sefer Ha-Bloggadah, BZ, the resident blogmeister there, has two interesting posts on his own blog Mah Rabu. The first is on orthodox vs. Orthodox, or how the word "orthodox" is confusingly misused. The second dissects the Reform position on one-day yom tovs. (With a second post promised, as well as one on the Conservative position.)

All are worth reading.