This made me laugh out loud many times. "the first thing you might notice is that it says “ten commandments” but then lists twelve. Or eleven, if you don’t count the author byline" was my first. There is a lot to think about, obviously, but I think the question I have by the end is the one you allude to: what is this doing to kids? I remember back when we were deciding if we should bring up our children (OK, YOU) Jewish, an old wise friend said she thought you should give a child a religion so they have something to rebel against. That was as good a reason/excuse as any for me to bring up my children in the religion I had been brought up in, loved, rebelled against, and then made my own in some hybrid/iconoclastic way. But I didn't have all this confusing/conflicting mishmash of input that kids have today and I wonder how kids will know what to love and rebel against. Maybe this isn't what you meant by this post, but it's what it left me thinking about. Thanks for writing it. And I always felt like parents should earn the honor, by the way.
I really enjoyed this- the connections, the factoids, the writing and the humor. One suggestion: the first half about the Ten Commandments stands on its own as a separate essay. I bet you could get it published as an excerpt, bringing in a larger audience. Actually, both halves work as standalone essays, crossposted. But in its current form, the title does not lead the reader into the Ten Commandments discussion so the content could get lost by potential readers who would enjoy it if they could find it .
This made me laugh out loud many times. "the first thing you might notice is that it says “ten commandments” but then lists twelve. Or eleven, if you don’t count the author byline" was my first. There is a lot to think about, obviously, but I think the question I have by the end is the one you allude to: what is this doing to kids? I remember back when we were deciding if we should bring up our children (OK, YOU) Jewish, an old wise friend said she thought you should give a child a religion so they have something to rebel against. That was as good a reason/excuse as any for me to bring up my children in the religion I had been brought up in, loved, rebelled against, and then made my own in some hybrid/iconoclastic way. But I didn't have all this confusing/conflicting mishmash of input that kids have today and I wonder how kids will know what to love and rebel against. Maybe this isn't what you meant by this post, but it's what it left me thinking about. Thanks for writing it. And I always felt like parents should earn the honor, by the way.
> (Do not do this. I am not a lawyer and also killing is wrong.)
I see what you did there! Although I have this faint feeling that I haven’t spotted all of it…
I really enjoyed this- the connections, the factoids, the writing and the humor. One suggestion: the first half about the Ten Commandments stands on its own as a separate essay. I bet you could get it published as an excerpt, bringing in a larger audience. Actually, both halves work as standalone essays, crossposted. But in its current form, the title does not lead the reader into the Ten Commandments discussion so the content could get lost by potential readers who would enjoy it if they could find it .