Kicking off the blog

Let me start by introducing myself.  I was born in Canada, live in Israel, and was educated in the United States.  I am married with 3 children, thank God.  My academic training is in the hard sciences, and I have worked for the past 15 years on the border between software and electrical engineering, with a focus on analog and RF design methodology.  I recently completed an MBA. I am now embarking (with the support of my amazing wife) on a new chapter in my life - I have left my job, and I start (tomorrow!) to study towards a Rabbinical degree.  I consider myself Orthodox, but I am sufficiently progressive, that not everyone would agree.

Now that I have established that I like being a student, a few words about why I am starting a blog.  I am very interested in the interplay between ideas in different worlds.  I enjoy finding connections between religion, science, engineering, economics, politics and any other field I come across.  I expect the blog to be about ideas that I feel a need to discuss, opinions on politics and economics (a subject I am particularly interested in), and maybe some religion.  I plan to blog twice a week (בלי נדר - although I am purposely putting that commitment out there so I can be held to it.)

The blog will probably at times reference subjects (especially Jewish - see the Hebrew above) that might require an explanation for the uninitiated, but I will try to keep it accessible for a general audience.  If something seems unclear, let me know and I will try to explain.

A few words about the title of the blog.  "Kol HaAdam" is a play on the Hebrew word "Kol" which can be קול meaning "voice" or כל meaning "whole of" or "all".  The blog title therefore means either "Voice of Man" or "Whole of Man".  The latter is a reference to Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) penultimate verse:

יג  סוֹף דָּבָר, הַכֹּל נִשְׁמָע:  אֶת-הָאֱלֹהִים יְרָא וְאֶת-מִצְו‍ֹתָיו שְׁמוֹר, כִּי-זֶה כָּל-הָאָדָם.

13 The end of the matter, all having been heard: fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole man.

The idea is that the humility of the second meaning should be keep the arrogance of the first meaning (and the very idea that anyone wants to read my musings) in check.*

I don't expect anyone to actually read this first blog post, but I figure if someone comes across the later ones, they might go back and reference this one later to see what I am about.  I'll make sure to make the later ones more interesting.

*Note that I am a big proponent of gender neutral language, but I am not sure how to do that here.  Suggestions are welcome.