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| Volume 17 Number 9 | Wed Apr 16 23:50:02 2008 |
From: Alan Cohen <alanbcohen@gmail.com> Date: Tue, Apr 15, 2008 at 7:32 AM Subject: Re: Hagee A previous poster has commented on the apparent lack of Rabbi Yoffie's comments on whether Senator Obama is anti-semitic. Here is a link to Rabbi Yoffie's own video on the topic: http://shalomtv.org/EricYoffie.htm And here is the exact text of his comments on Rev. Hagee and other Christian Zionists. He makes a distinction between Hagee and some of the others, based on their actions and words about other non-Jews: http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=19553 Personally, I see his point; you may or may not. Alan B. Cohen AIM: alanbcohen GMT: alanbcohen ICQ: 49972123 YM: alanbcohen Skype: alanbcohen Phone:+1 443/451-5369 MSMess:alanbcohen Preferred email: alanbcohen@gmail.com
From: Shoshana L. Boublil <toramada@zahav.net.il> Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:23:47 +0300 Subject: Re: mail.liberal-judaism v17n8 From: Julian Yudelson <jeybbu@rit.edu> Date: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:01:16 -0400 Subject: What do we make of CUFICUFI [del] I am also puzzled about why the belief that God has a special, beneficial relationship with the Jewish nation and the land of Israel should be labeled "bizarre and bigoted." I know it is troubling to many Liberal Jews, and unclear in its implications but that does not make it "bizarre and bigoted." Christian Zionist do believe that God will punish and reward as expressed in Deuteronomy. Is that what the poster considers is "bizarre?" I've seen this many times, and what I've seen is that it comes with "baggage": If Jews are more special, they are "better" than others "superior" etc. with the conclusion of having more rights than others, leading down the slippery slope to racism. That is not the essence of the "special" relationship The Creator has with the Jewisn Nation. The relationship is about OBLIGATIONS and not rights. The Jewish Nation has more obligations, and as such they have a beneficial relationship with The Creator. One of those benefits is the Land of Israel, which is considered, in Jewish literature, to have a soul of its own, and to be a unique place on earth that The Creator decides who live there. When the Jewish nation lives in Israel and follows the Torah, it can create in Israel the closest thing to paradise here on earth. When that happens, all the nations of the world benefit as well, both from the example and from the general blessings. But being chosen isn't about benefits, it includes being under a closer microscope (someone quoted from Micha in a previous post) - we are punished more severely then other nations when doing the same bad things. That is also part of the meaning of being "chosen" and "special". It's like 2 students who cheat on an exam. The class president will probably get a harsher punishement than the kid who's been failing on every exam all semester. Another issue to remember is that being a member of the Jewish Nation is not only about who your parents are -- Judaism allows outsiders to join and become members of the same group, for better and for worse. Judaism also does not claim that everyone in the world has to be Jewish. As long as you keep the 7 mitzvot that include things like not killing and having a court system, you can be a wonderful non-Jew. So, please, let's not mix up modern day terminology loaded with specific meanings, with the historic Jewish terminology that has different specific meanings. Chag Sameach, Shoshana L. Boublil
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