Anyway - that was a digression, of sorts.
Hanukkah has begun - no it is NOT early - if you use the Jewish calendar! It is right on time. Sunday night November 27th was the beginning of the 25th of Kislev, which is the first day (night) of Hanukkah. We got home later than planned, after a 10 hour drive (12 including stops) and lit the first candle without much fanfare. We were tired.
Hanukkah is a post-Biblical holiday (for the Jewish Bible). It is a commemoration of a military victory, with a little miracle story attached. It is not a 'major' holiday, particularly - although it does last 8 days (as do some other holidays we have), it has no particular work restrictions, and is mainly celebrated in the home, in the evening, with a short little ceremonial candle lighting, and (usually) a pretty minor 'celebration'. Fried foods (in Europe and most of America, potato pancakes; in Israel, DOUGHNUTS, especially 'filled' doughnuts of all descriptions). Maybe some child's games. Perhaps a few gifts for the children - this is NOT a major gift giving holiday, and no, in most countries, children do NOT get a gift every night. Families give gifts to their children, but not to other adults or other families, typically. And gifts tend to lean heavily toward things like new socks, or a book, or some crayons and a coloring book.
Hanukkah is, however, mentioned in the New Testament - 'the Feast of the Dedication' (Hanukkah means 'dedication', referring to the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, after the Persians had desecrated it for years). It is just a passing mention ('it was the time of the Feast of the Dedication') but the writer (Luke?) clearly expected people to know when that time was (early winter).
In Israel, the winter is mostly chilly and wet. Snow is rare except in higher elevations - like Galilee and the Golan, and - VERY rarely - around Jerusalem.
So -
here we are!
Lighting candles, increasing light, beating back the darkness, once again.
Judaism and thinking about God
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Hi agricola
Is there a time of year when you do give gifts as part of a holiday celebration?
Is there a time of year when you do give gifts as part of a holiday celebration?
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Purim is a gift-giving holiday, but the 'gifts' as small gifts of food and drink. There is no Jewish holiday of 'gift giving', but people DO give gifts - but for things like birthdays and weddings, and bar/bat mitzvah celebrations.
ALSO it is a strong tradition to GIVE TO CHARITY on ALL Jewish holidays - including every Shabbat - either drop some money in a box at home, or make a donation (of money, or volunteer time) to just about anything. It is seen as a suitable replacement activity for the typical sacrifices one WOULD HAVE brought to the Temple, during the times when there was a temple.
But that's not actually a 'gift'. Giving of that sort is not seen as a 'nice thing' or a 'voluntary' offering - giving of that sort is an OBLIGATION, an actual LEGAL obligation - and the word Jews use (tzedakah) which is often translated as 'charitable giving', actually means:
JUSTICE/RIGHTEOUSNESS
It aligns with the laws about not harvesting absolutely everything in your field, but leave the corners and the dropped stuff for the poor. And never take something to hold as a loan guarantee, which a person actually needs.
You know what this affects? Jewish beggars. You know how in Fiddler on the Roof, the beggar comes to Tevye who said he had a bad week?
The beggar said something like - just because YOU had a bad week, why should I suffer?
In Jewish thought, you see, the beggar isn't 'begging' exactly - the beggar (the poor) actually has a RIGHT to a donation.
And even someone on public assistance, who lives BECAUSE he gets 'donations', is ALSO obliged to 'give back' to the community, too.
Tzedakah.
It's important. And it isn't 'charity'. People don't have a 'right' to charity. People DO have a right to tzedakah.
ALSO it is a strong tradition to GIVE TO CHARITY on ALL Jewish holidays - including every Shabbat - either drop some money in a box at home, or make a donation (of money, or volunteer time) to just about anything. It is seen as a suitable replacement activity for the typical sacrifices one WOULD HAVE brought to the Temple, during the times when there was a temple.
But that's not actually a 'gift'. Giving of that sort is not seen as a 'nice thing' or a 'voluntary' offering - giving of that sort is an OBLIGATION, an actual LEGAL obligation - and the word Jews use (tzedakah) which is often translated as 'charitable giving', actually means:
JUSTICE/RIGHTEOUSNESS
It aligns with the laws about not harvesting absolutely everything in your field, but leave the corners and the dropped stuff for the poor. And never take something to hold as a loan guarantee, which a person actually needs.
You know what this affects? Jewish beggars. You know how in Fiddler on the Roof, the beggar comes to Tevye who said he had a bad week?
The beggar said something like - just because YOU had a bad week, why should I suffer?
In Jewish thought, you see, the beggar isn't 'begging' exactly - the beggar (the poor) actually has a RIGHT to a donation.
And even someone on public assistance, who lives BECAUSE he gets 'donations', is ALSO obliged to 'give back' to the community, too.
Tzedakah.
It's important. And it isn't 'charity'. People don't have a 'right' to charity. People DO have a right to tzedakah.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Hello everyone!
Last month, I had the honor of reading from the Torah (this is different from being 'called up' to read from the Torah. Being called up, you just say a blessing before and after the short passage, and somebody ELSE does the actual 'reading' (chanting). THIS TIME, I studied for two weeks, and did the actual CHANTING of the Torah portion, Mishpatim.
('These are the ordinances')
It was the section about if you acquire a Hebrew servant (slave), then he serves six years and goes out free in the seventh year, and if he arrives with his wife, his wife goes free with him. BUT if you, the master, GIVE him a wife (woman) and she has children, then the servant goes out free after six years, but the woman and the children remain behind with their master.
It's a difficult passage - not to CHANT, the actual trope for this section is simple enough - but the topic is strange to a modern sensibility, and leaves most people in a state of wanting to argue with it.
Which is fine, really, in any Jewish context.
Learning that it was okay to argue with the text - even to violently dislike the contents and disagree with it entirely - was a new thing to me, coming from the typical coc attitude toward 'scripture'. It was hard to learn the difference between taking it seriously, and at the same time, violently arguing with it.
Here's something:
The Torah says a lot of things, and some of the things it says really AREN'T rules to follow, but are object LESSONS about what happens if you do this, or that - and therefore, we are CERTAINLY allowed to disagree and argue with the text! Just because 'patriarch Jacob' did something, does not, in fact, make that thing actually RIGHT.
The Patriarchs are not perfect.
We aren't perfect either.
We are expected to do the best we can, given that we are not, in fact, perfect, and neither is anybody else.
Last month, I had the honor of reading from the Torah (this is different from being 'called up' to read from the Torah. Being called up, you just say a blessing before and after the short passage, and somebody ELSE does the actual 'reading' (chanting). THIS TIME, I studied for two weeks, and did the actual CHANTING of the Torah portion, Mishpatim.
('These are the ordinances')
It was the section about if you acquire a Hebrew servant (slave), then he serves six years and goes out free in the seventh year, and if he arrives with his wife, his wife goes free with him. BUT if you, the master, GIVE him a wife (woman) and she has children, then the servant goes out free after six years, but the woman and the children remain behind with their master.
It's a difficult passage - not to CHANT, the actual trope for this section is simple enough - but the topic is strange to a modern sensibility, and leaves most people in a state of wanting to argue with it.
Which is fine, really, in any Jewish context.
Learning that it was okay to argue with the text - even to violently dislike the contents and disagree with it entirely - was a new thing to me, coming from the typical coc attitude toward 'scripture'. It was hard to learn the difference between taking it seriously, and at the same time, violently arguing with it.
Here's something:
The Torah says a lot of things, and some of the things it says really AREN'T rules to follow, but are object LESSONS about what happens if you do this, or that - and therefore, we are CERTAINLY allowed to disagree and argue with the text! Just because 'patriarch Jacob' did something, does not, in fact, make that thing actually RIGHT.
The Patriarchs are not perfect.
We aren't perfect either.
We are expected to do the best we can, given that we are not, in fact, perfect, and neither is anybody else.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
-
FinallyFree
- Posts: 2389
- Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2015 3:29 pm
- Location: Southaven, MS
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Agricola, are you familiar with Tovia Singer? I have watched some of his videos on YouTube.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Yes indeed, and I have even met him in person, but it was many years ago! He's very dedicated and very knowledgeable. I wouldn't have the patience or good temper, at all, doing what he does.
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Congratulations, agricola. Sounds special.
And what does that passage mean, I wonder? If you put yourself into the ancient context, it makes sense from an "ownership" perspective, I guess.
And what does that passage mean, I wonder? If you put yourself into the ancient context, it makes sense from an "ownership" perspective, I guess.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
Many slam the Torah for 'endorsing slavery' but fail to appreciate context - slavery was simply a GIVEN, and slaves had essentially NO rights in most cultures.
As late as the 19th century 'civilized' nations like the UK would imprison debtors, and often put them to forced labor. This is a kind of 'slavery' and the Jim Crow laws throughout the South created categories of crimes which were 'crimes of existing in public'. The 14th Amendment ended slavery BUT allowed for 'if convicted of a crime', which merely turns the local government into the 'owner'. This still occurs today.
The Torah creates legal categories of slaves, with RIGHTS. Not full rights, maybe - but some.
So this particular passage begins with the concept of 'your fellow Israelite' who has reached the point of destitution where he must 'sell himself' into slavery. This type of 'slave' is automatically free to go after six years. 'He goes out freely in the seventh year'. If married, his wife goes too.
HOWEVER, if he arrived by himself, and his master HANDS him a woman (presumably another slave) then that woman does NOT go free when he does, and he must go out alone, leaving her AND any children, with the owner.
OR he can say 'I love my master, my woman and my children, I will not go out (free)'. If he does this, then he becomes a slave for the rest of his life.
But boy do we argue about this NOW! I daresay, at the TIME, it seemed very generous!
Later Jewish sages in argument and discussions, (recorded in the Talmud) reached the 'solution' in that they made it mandatory for a slave OWNER to treat the slave BETTER THAN HIMSELF - better food, better housing, etc. They didn't outlaw slavery of this sort, they simply made it UN-ECONOMIC, and it eventually died out.
When you have a set of laws that are 'written by God' you can't CHANGE them - but you can sure as hell regulate around them until they never APPLY!
As late as the 19th century 'civilized' nations like the UK would imprison debtors, and often put them to forced labor. This is a kind of 'slavery' and the Jim Crow laws throughout the South created categories of crimes which were 'crimes of existing in public'. The 14th Amendment ended slavery BUT allowed for 'if convicted of a crime', which merely turns the local government into the 'owner'. This still occurs today.
The Torah creates legal categories of slaves, with RIGHTS. Not full rights, maybe - but some.
So this particular passage begins with the concept of 'your fellow Israelite' who has reached the point of destitution where he must 'sell himself' into slavery. This type of 'slave' is automatically free to go after six years. 'He goes out freely in the seventh year'. If married, his wife goes too.
HOWEVER, if he arrived by himself, and his master HANDS him a woman (presumably another slave) then that woman does NOT go free when he does, and he must go out alone, leaving her AND any children, with the owner.
OR he can say 'I love my master, my woman and my children, I will not go out (free)'. If he does this, then he becomes a slave for the rest of his life.
But boy do we argue about this NOW! I daresay, at the TIME, it seemed very generous!
Later Jewish sages in argument and discussions, (recorded in the Talmud) reached the 'solution' in that they made it mandatory for a slave OWNER to treat the slave BETTER THAN HIMSELF - better food, better housing, etc. They didn't outlaw slavery of this sort, they simply made it UN-ECONOMIC, and it eventually died out.
When you have a set of laws that are 'written by God' you can't CHANGE them - but you can sure as hell regulate around them until they never APPLY!
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
I picked this up off Quora - apparently I 'liked' it about five years ago - and I ran across it again today - I'm not sure of his link to a clip from Pulp Fiction will post or not - I'll just assume his post is interesting without it -
His post is too long for this site, so I'll slice it in half and give it to you in two parts -
Joel David Woren
I am Jewish 5y
What does being Jewish mean to you?
I’m going to begin by admitting that what I’m about to say probably sounds really stupid. And none of it has anything to do with Torah or scriptural canon. But you asked for a personal perspective so here goes.
Have you ever seen the movie, Pulp Fiction? In it, the character of Jules, played by Samuel L. Jackson, quotes a fictional bible verse a couple of times throughout the film. He says it’s Ezekiel 25:17. Don’t bother looking for it in your Bible. No matter what your religion, you won’t find it in there. It doesn’t exist. Quentin Tarrantino made it up.
But at the end of the movie, Jules is explaining his perspective on, what in his universe appears to be an actual passage from their version if the bible. And despite none of this having anything to do with the real Hebrew Scriptures, I think he manages to give a pretty accurate description of what it means to be “Chosen”.
He basically says that after giving the verse some careful thought, he’s finally figured out what it’s trying to say. He realizes that he’s not perfect. He’s not the kind of man anyone should look to for guidance. But he recognizes how important it is for him to strive to be. There’s something very important about that struggle.
Here’s the whole scene. Warning: language.
(agricola here - I was right, the link failed, oh well)
The thing that sticks with me is that final line:
“I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.”
see next -
His post is too long for this site, so I'll slice it in half and give it to you in two parts -
Joel David Woren
I am Jewish 5y
What does being Jewish mean to you?
I’m going to begin by admitting that what I’m about to say probably sounds really stupid. And none of it has anything to do with Torah or scriptural canon. But you asked for a personal perspective so here goes.
Have you ever seen the movie, Pulp Fiction? In it, the character of Jules, played by Samuel L. Jackson, quotes a fictional bible verse a couple of times throughout the film. He says it’s Ezekiel 25:17. Don’t bother looking for it in your Bible. No matter what your religion, you won’t find it in there. It doesn’t exist. Quentin Tarrantino made it up.
But at the end of the movie, Jules is explaining his perspective on, what in his universe appears to be an actual passage from their version if the bible. And despite none of this having anything to do with the real Hebrew Scriptures, I think he manages to give a pretty accurate description of what it means to be “Chosen”.
He basically says that after giving the verse some careful thought, he’s finally figured out what it’s trying to say. He realizes that he’s not perfect. He’s not the kind of man anyone should look to for guidance. But he recognizes how important it is for him to strive to be. There’s something very important about that struggle.
Here’s the whole scene. Warning: language.
(agricola here - I was right, the link failed, oh well)
The thing that sticks with me is that final line:
“I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.”
see next -
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.
Re: Judaism and thinking about God
continued -
There are a lot of ways that people can deal with the concept of morality, good and evil, right and wrong. Some people ignore it. Others rationalize it. Some pretend they’re above it. Some give up or just give in to their desires or their bad behaviors. Some trust religion to automatically ensure their “salvation”. Some people trust prayers or rituals to guarantee their consciences can remain clean in spite of their behaviors. Or they think that belonging to some group or club or faith or creed means their job is done and they don’t have to try anymore.
But being a Jew means belonging to a people who have descended from Israel… a man whose name meant “He wrestles with God”.
There’s an old story that says that when God wrote the Torah He went around to every tribe or people on earth and asked them if they’d be willing to accept it. Some said they didn’t need it. Others said it was too hard. Some said they’d find another way. Of all the peoples on earth, only the Jews said, “we’ll try”.
Some people think that being Chosen means we think we’re better than everyone else. That’s not even remotely true. What it means is that we’ve chosen to accept a set of rules and guidelines designed to help us help humanity to make the world a better place for all of us.
hit the limit again - NEXT please -
There are a lot of ways that people can deal with the concept of morality, good and evil, right and wrong. Some people ignore it. Others rationalize it. Some pretend they’re above it. Some give up or just give in to their desires or their bad behaviors. Some trust religion to automatically ensure their “salvation”. Some people trust prayers or rituals to guarantee their consciences can remain clean in spite of their behaviors. Or they think that belonging to some group or club or faith or creed means their job is done and they don’t have to try anymore.
But being a Jew means belonging to a people who have descended from Israel… a man whose name meant “He wrestles with God”.
There’s an old story that says that when God wrote the Torah He went around to every tribe or people on earth and asked them if they’d be willing to accept it. Some said they didn’t need it. Others said it was too hard. Some said they’d find another way. Of all the peoples on earth, only the Jews said, “we’ll try”.
Some people think that being Chosen means we think we’re better than everyone else. That’s not even remotely true. What it means is that we’ve chosen to accept a set of rules and guidelines designed to help us help humanity to make the world a better place for all of us.
hit the limit again - NEXT please -
History is the fiction we invent to persuade ourselves that events are knowable and that life has order and direction. That's why events are always reinterpreted when values change. We need new versions of history to allow for our current prejudices.