Consonants and God. How's that for a title.

The baby said "ma, ma" and "ba, ba" today! He's babbling up a storm. And scooting backwards all over the place. So child-proofing is commencing: we've gotten 3 baby gates, and got special extension cords for his room and plugs for his room (he can't put his finger in them, they close down automatically when there's not a plug in them).

Pictures will be downloaded when finals end. My first paper came out pretty well I think, on feminist God-language (the words you use to talk about God, such as He, Lord, Sovereign, Ruler, etc.) I proposed keeping gender neutral language, but also keeping the masculine terminology. I like the personal nature of a "father" and "king" instead of "parent" or "sovereign." I just want to add in female terminology as well, like "mother" and "queen." In my opinion it's important to address God in the second person in order to be able to relate and feel connected, and I think that changing the metaphors around will be helpful. I realize that calling God "She" will freak some people out, but honestly, calling God "He" has just kept the male normative and contributed to the social and liturgical subordination of women for centuries. Why not mix it up a little? (That said, I also love the fact that liturgy includes non-gendered metaphors for God too, like "Source of all life," etc.)

The next paper is on Saadia Gaon, a medieval philosopher, and Joseph Soleiveitchik, a post-Holocaust philosopher, and what they think of the Book of Job. 16-20 pages. Wish me luck.