Mail.Liberal-Judaism

• batabraham@juno.com

• BerRotm@aol.com

• Paul Shaviv <pshaviv@chattc.org>

From: batabraham@juno.com 
Date: 
Subject: God and distance

I found Sharon's sense of distance from God in Judaism the opposite of what I
experience.  I am a convert from Christianity, where I was afraid of God.  I
was also to strive to be perfect like Jesus, only I would never be because I
am human.  We were taught the "God of the Old Testament" was a harsh,
judgmental God, and the Law was too hard for mere humans to follow.  However,
in Judaism I found the loving, God, who is approachable, and who wants me to
go to Him.  If I mess up like all humans, God is waiting and willing to listen
and help me do better.  There are the formal prayers, parts which I can
connect with, and others I can't.  I use both God and Hashem, because Hashem
has become more personal to me than God.

So where did I learn about God?  In Torah.  Our ancestors messed up big time
time after time after time.  And each time, God let them know He was no happy
with them, but He forgave them, and sent them to begin all over again.  And
guess what?  They messed up again.  They were who they were, just as I am who
I am.  And that's ok; God doesn't expect us to be something we are not.

For me to go without daily prayer and meditation would like trying to go
without oxygen.  It just doesn't work.  I don't get caught up in the "theology
of prayer;" I just do it.  At times when I'm in too much pain or I'm too sick
to pray in my own words, the traditional prayers come from within in Hebrew.
I won't accept any barrier between me and Hashem--there is no need, anymore
than there is a need for an intercessor, as Jesus is in Christianity.  Belief
and faith are individual choices--they cannot be inherited, nor can they be
forced on any one.  I am willing to listen to another's belief and thinking,
but it does not mean I have to accept it.  I know what I believe and what my
faith is.  I do not rely on another human being to define it or limit it for
me.  I practice Judaism in a vacuum by myself most of the time.  I am the only
Jew in my family, and I am house bound most of the time, and can't get to
shul.  I also live alone.  Perhaps that is why I don't let another's need to
practice his or her faith in their way, stop me from practicing my faith in
mine.

Shalom
Peggy J. Knox  

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From: BerRotm@aol.com 
Date: 
Subject: Infinite recursion loop for replacing the name of G-d

The reason that I always use the hyphen in the word G-d is based on the search
for a pure and unadulterated monotheism which has always been the hallmark of
Judaism.

Archeology in Israel has revealed ancient stone altars which ostensibly were
religious and which omitted any name of the deity worshipped. Instead there is
an empty space topped by a square stone. The omission of any name of the
Judaic divinity goes to the very heart of Judaism and its "raison d'etre" In
pure monotheism G-d is a thought of infinite and enormous power which renders
its naming offensive to the very thought of it being associated with the
imperfect humans that we are. Once you give it a name you are onto the first
step towards idolatry. Once you name a deity then the next step is to make a
representatiion of it as an icon in order to better worship it and ultimately
incarnate the thought which in our tenets is a blasphemy. There are crucial
reasons for the Judaic insistence of the unmentionability of G-d which are at
the very core of who we are. If it is a thought then it originates from you
and not some preacher or priest or church edict. In other words, it means that
the G-dly Temple resides within you and there is the reason why the rabbinical
injunction against rebuilding the Holy of Holies.That will be done at the
coming of Meshiach. You were born as a human with all the imperfection but you
started out without any sin of omission or commission which at the end of your
life will be less than pure because life at times is ugly and G-d is
compassionate. Of course that places the onus of your action on you as the
individual and our literature and rabbinical guidance are essential but it is
up to you to understand and get to the crux of your humanity in order to lead
a good and ethical life. The fact that Islam chose to name its deity Allah
proved to me that they are just one step removed from that Judaic ideal of
pure monotheism. This is confirmed by the fact of the requirement that every
Moslem make a pilgrimage to Mecca in order to worship a meteoric stone (The
Kabaa). Even less can be said of Christianity whose trinitarian doctrine
fractures even further the pure notion of Judaic monotheism. One can see its
excesses in Marian worship and the representaion of a hierachy of saints which
are worshipped in Churches and which betray its pagan Celtic origins. Some, by
their many statues, remind one of the Roman temples where myriad sculptures of
their gods (notice no hyphen or cap) were displayed. Even in our own faith
there are the extreme fundamentalist who, blinded by their zeal, have sunk
into idolatry. The elevation of Rebbe Schneerson to Messiach status is one
example. The elevation of the Kotel beyond its primary historic role in the
Judaic evolutiion to make it an object of worship in which women must be
excluded.is another of many. I realize that I am making a big deal in this
apparently innocuous means of expressing the divine thought -- and by all
means for those who wish to continue not to do so, don't -- I just thought
that I would provide the ratinale for its hyphenation because I will continue
to do so.  If you don't mind

Bernard Rotmil     

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From: Paul Shaviv <pshaviv@chattc.org>
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 09:12:09 -0500
Subject: Isaac and Ishmael

There are striking linguistic and structural parallels between the two
stories.  I'll be happy to send a Word-format table summarizing the most
obvious to anyone who sends me an email (just mark the subject-line "Akedah
request").  The parallels are rarely, if at all, discussed in Rabbinic
literature, and I have spent many years, on and off, trying to find one. A
friend of mine with whom I discussed this made the suggestion that as many of
the classic Rabbinic commentators were Sephardim, the parallel with Ishamel
was too 'hot' a topic for them to deal with.  However, there is one part of
the puzzle to which I cannot find an answer.  On Rosh Hashanah, we read of the
two sons of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, one of whom is sacrificed (almost) on
Mt Moriah, and the other of whom is sent into the desert. On Yom Kippur, we
read of the two goats (se'irim) -- one of whom is to be sacrificed on
Mt. Moriah, and the other of whom is to be sent into the desert.........  What
is the link, and what is the meaning of this intriguing parallel?

Paul J. Shaviv
Headmaster

CHAT - Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto.

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"It is not our task as liberal Jews to complain about the Orthodox attitude or to be bullied by it, but rather to choose our legitimate path according to the inner logic and development of liberal Judaism" (Rabbi Walter Jacob)

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