tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37841551497549532202024-03-05T14:39:33.128-05:00The Evolving JewPhilohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02077376696343791699noreply@blogger.comBlogger313125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-45657868915771676112023-07-26T18:38:00.001-04:002023-07-26T18:38:24.664-04:00Tisha B'Av post from 2015<p>http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-lesson-of-tisha-bav.html</p><p><br /></p><p>A separate thought - the loss of the Beit Hamikdash is very abstract. We mourn, but many of us who mourn struggle to feel it personally. But in this year of mourning for my father, I suddenly understand what loss is on a new level. </p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-91294164645684437152023-06-04T12:36:00.000-04:002023-06-04T12:36:09.329-04:00My Father, Yitzchak Staum<p>I just got up from sitting Shiva this morning. I will write more about my father when I have had time to process things more. But I want to share a picture of me and my father some years ago (before my beard grayed to match his).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIxOxtBlNVZbfxchxGozUlAwu4HuF0DyoHTsSeexTFo9C8FCn6SY_9CpHKl3vv7Hp_4lCLUU8g2txrtbO1i1BMssdLbIqo1uYDKjYo--YaJ0zzXIO7qfBNCjKbcdkxfGjpduqvH3saq99AwdL9NOOEKD3KyrJFedGDmchgnRhXKBXtm3XcpC8-9zQ/s2816/dl20080914%20176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2112" data-original-width="2816" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIxOxtBlNVZbfxchxGozUlAwu4HuF0DyoHTsSeexTFo9C8FCn6SY_9CpHKl3vv7Hp_4lCLUU8g2txrtbO1i1BMssdLbIqo1uYDKjYo--YaJ0zzXIO7qfBNCjKbcdkxfGjpduqvH3saq99AwdL9NOOEKD3KyrJFedGDmchgnRhXKBXtm3XcpC8-9zQ/s320/dl20080914%20176.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>I miss you, Abba.</p><p>May the neshama of Yitzchak ben Avraham Yosef Halevi have an aliyah.</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-15358292754206142272023-01-13T10:42:00.004-05:002023-01-16T09:06:11.234-05:00Israeli Democracy in Crisis<p>What's going on in Israel is extremely alarming. The fact that they could have a constitutional crisis where the judiciary and the Knesset are staring each other down is unprecedented, with the judiciary threatening to strike down the law that's intended to neuter the judiciary.</p><p>Mass protests, members of the government calling for the arrest of opposition leaders? Democracy there has never been more at risk. Of course it's easy for me to blame Bibi, and I do, for cozying up and elevating extreme elements.</p><p>But honestly, one can blame the center opposition parties as well. Was it worth rejecting Netanyahu so utterly that you end up with a coalition like this?</p><p>The only stable coalition that would govern from a normal center-right place, that would preserve democracy, is a national unity government with Likud, Yesh Atid, and a few others. That would be stable, would still lean to the right, as Likud voters obviously wished for. And you wouldn't have this moment of crisis.</p><p>Lapid, Gantz, Sa'ar, Lieberman, etc should have swallowed their pride and made a deal with the devil, being as careful as possible to cross all the T's and dot all the I's to make it as hard as possible for Netanyahu to double cross them. I know they hate the idea of Netanyahu as prime minister, but he's prime minister anyway now, so what has their principled stand accomplished?</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-12909558491543733372022-12-04T10:11:00.003-05:002022-12-04T10:11:57.272-05:00V'ten tal u'matar and the Jewish calendar <p>Interesting post from 2013. I had even forgotten some of this stuff myself:</p><p><b>V'ten Tal U'matar, Thanksgivikkah, and the slippage of the Hebrew calendar</b></p><p><a href="http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2013/12/vten-tal-umatar-thanksgivikkah-and.html">http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2013/12/vten-tal-umatar-thanksgivikkah-and.html</a></p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-83324177935056689172022-11-29T10:49:00.001-05:002022-11-29T10:49:26.225-05:00Prediction / aspiration from 2008<p>I've been looking through some of the saved drafts of posts imported from my old blog that I never published here, or never finished writing, so never published at all.</p><p>Here's one from 2008:<br /><br /></p><p><i><b>Title: I want to raise kids far away from NY</b></i></p><p><i>Even Modern Orthodox institutions in the NY area have elements like this:</i></p><p><i><a href="https://www.jta.org/2008/11/14/ny/racial-comments-shock-principals">Racial Comments ‘Shock’ Principals</a></i></p><p><i>Do I really want my kids hearing this racism from their classmates? In "out of town" schools, this is far less common.<br /><br /></i></p><p>Fast-forward 14 years, I <b>am</b> raising my kids "out of town" and the Modern Orthodox community here is by-and-large free of racism :-)</p><div><br /></div>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-64928153342627336332022-11-08T09:55:00.004-05:002022-11-08T09:55:36.448-05:00Today's headlines<p>Translation of every front page newspaper headline in America today:</p><p>"We still don't know anything because no votes have been counted, but here's yet <b>another</b> bunch of inane articles about the election to keep you reading and cover the fact that there won't be any real news till tomorrow"</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-67609068216344264612022-03-31T13:17:00.004-04:002022-03-31T13:17:48.480-04:0015th anniversary of this blog<p>Or more accurately, it was the 15th anniversary last month of the various iterations of my blog. I started out as the blogger "Yehudi Hilchati" just over 15 years ago - my first post was on February 28, 2007. Though along with the rest of the JBlogosphere, my blog is mostly silent these days, I happened to notice that I missed the anniversary and decided to mark it.</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-63605920086511116532022-01-12T22:38:00.002-05:002022-01-12T22:44:08.141-05:00Who is God?<p> Originally posted in 2017:</p><p>A friend wrote a piece about how Orthodox Jewry often has problems discussing God.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BmsDGr8E4SXBhDfpwCvLmzh9ZkzoYilIpejo7IBXmIY8pY39MybYPVj2Y6-BwHLKQ6Ma9KNj-wNPpJAVDsA2itGIte9vWUnzvHkdz_IGeyeeoXEanyGp4VNNaQUu8bKLxBIZa5pWzKY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2560" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BmsDGr8E4SXBhDfpwCvLmzh9ZkzoYilIpejo7IBXmIY8pY39MybYPVj2Y6-BwHLKQ6Ma9KNj-wNPpJAVDsA2itGIte9vWUnzvHkdz_IGeyeeoXEanyGp4VNNaQUu8bKLxBIZa5pWzKY/" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>My thoughts?</p><p>The Torah says that Hashem created us in his image, and there's been a lot of philosophical musings about the various meanings of that.</p><p>Ultimately, I think it's more accurate to say that we create God in our image. Not that God isn't real - I may doubt much of Jewish dogma, but I believe in Hashem. But part of what makes it difficult to speak about God communally in the Jewish community is that there are many Gods - or rather, many different perceptions of God. Hashem is an emotional concept. We each find our own path to him (or her) by perceiving God in a way that each of us can relate to - in our own image.</p><p>For some that's a grand king, though that concept is more difficult to relate to in a democratic age where people have the right of self-determination. For others it's a parent, sometimes loving, sometimes stern. For others Hashem is a friend, a confidante. Hashem is whatever your relationship with Him is.</p><p>For me, he's just an emotion, the connection I feel when I'm high on zmirot and spirituality - a partner in a feeling of something greater than just out humdrum lives. What Hashem really is, no one knows. So we are forced to relate in whatever way we can. But since there's less commonality in the perception of Hashem than ever, it's difficult to have a communal conversation when a common frame of reference is difficult to pin down.</p><p><br /></p><p>And a related post, also from 2017, a few months earlier than the one above:</p><p><b>Avinu Malkeinu? How do we relate to God with modern sensibilities?</b></p><p>Much of our liturgy and classical literature focuses on obedience and worship of God with the analogy of subjects relating to a king. This is often the case even when the analogy is not explicit.</p><p>Such analogies worked for most of Jewish history, when the prevailing cultural context was subservience to human rulers who were often believed to rule by divine right. Thus, a similar worship of God came more naturally.</p><p>But since the rise of the enlightenment, democracy, individual autonomy, it's harder to relate to God using the old ideas. And the more one is steeped in western ideas, the harder it is to profess utter subservience to another being, even if we fully believe in God. I for one, find many of the words in the long prayers of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur hard to relate to.</p><p>What's needed are new paradigms to relate to God that really resonate with a modern mind. But what would those paradigms be? Friend, Partner? How do we reconcile that with traditional ideas about God?</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-22206622858788918572021-09-12T20:32:00.006-04:002021-09-12T23:23:41.037-04:0020 years ago<p><a href="https://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-9-11-story.html">https://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-9-11-story.html</a></p><p><br /></p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-86135487448631716412021-06-10T08:40:00.004-04:002021-06-10T08:40:37.211-04:00Chodesh Tov<p> https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tammuz-Mesopotamian-god </p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">"Tammuz</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">, Sumerian </span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700;">Dumuzi</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">, in </span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mesopotamian-religion" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;">Mesopotamian religion</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;">, god of </span><span id="ref708548" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;"></span><a class="md-crosslink" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/fertility" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #14599d; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; text-decoration-line: none;">fertility</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px;"> embodying the powers for new life in nature in the spring."</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-46143095843127080882021-06-04T10:40:00.005-04:002021-06-04T10:41:56.223-04:00Why does Israel need coalitions?<p>Israel should reform its political system to eliminate the need for a coalition at all.</p><p>Step 1) hold an election for the Knesset</p><p>2) have a set number of ministerial posts, far fewer than they have now (a lot of them were created just to get parties into a coalition)</p><p>3) the Knesset as a whole votes for who they would like to fill each ministerial position, including prime minister, using ranked choice voting or runoffs</p><p>And there you have a functioning government in place. Individual Knesset members are free to vote however they want on any particular issue. Not perfect, but better than what they have now.</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-46232764241919087442021-01-19T13:36:00.000-05:002021-01-19T13:36:40.068-05:00Is Donald Trump the worst president ever?I've seen that assertion quite a bit lately.<div><br /></div><div>No question, Donald Trump is a despicable human being and was a horrible president.</div><div><br /></div><div>But worst president ever? Here are some worse ones:</div><div><br /></div><div>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves</div><div><br /></div><div>That list includes George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.</div><div><br /></div><div>No matter their accomplishments, no matter their leadership, THEY OWNED SLAVES! They kept other human beings as personal property! They treated black human beings like we treat cattle today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, I know times were different. I know it was accepted then. That's not an excuse. There were already American abolitionists in colonial times.</div><div><br /></div><div>Donald Trump is many terrible things, including a racist. But he's never owned slaves.</div><div><br /></div><div>A little historical perspective, please.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-79375810270814170722020-12-24T17:35:00.001-05:002020-12-24T17:35:24.164-05:00Nittel Nacht again!<p>And also the night before a fast day, this year, so don't forget to fill up on chinese food tonight!</p><p>http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2012/12/silent-nacht-holy-nacht.html</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-12245211255973325742020-11-04T13:06:00.007-05:002020-11-04T13:06:59.526-05:00How could they vote for him??<p> I have a question that I'm sure many of us have. I can't imagine how anyone could vote for the other guy. (In my case, the other guy is Trump). And not only vote for him, but do so enthusiastically?? In the abstract, I have to question what kind of people those voters are, that their judgement is so deeply impaired.</p><p>And yet many of those voters are friends and relatives of mine. People who I know to be kind and generous, and deeply good to the core. How could they possibly vote for someone who I feel is a deranged, racist demagogue?</p><p>But I put those questions aside. Because I won't let politics, even a year as extreme as this, get between me and the people I care about. I hope the people on the other side of the political divide feel the same way about me.</p>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-90379889390022968852020-07-29T16:31:00.001-04:002020-07-29T16:32:35.475-04:00Tisha B'Av<a href="http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-lesson-of-tisha-bav.html">http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2015/07/a-lesson-of-tisha-bav.html</a>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-54512405113789278552020-07-01T11:15:00.001-04:002020-07-01T11:15:44.986-04:00The sources of our diseasesNew York Times, January 8th, 2020 (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/08/health/china-pneumonia-outbreak-virus.html">link</a>):<br />
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<h1 class="css-rsa88z e1h9rw200" data-test-id="headline" id="link-785e94e2" itemprop="headline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #121212; font-family: nyt-cheltenham, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 3rem; margin: 0px auto 1rem calc((100% - 600px) / 2); max-width: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 660px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">China Identifies New Virus Causing Pneumonialike Illness</span></h1>
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While a great deal of blame can go around for how COVID-19 was handled and the subsequent deaths and upending of our lives, no one can be blamed for not being aware of this virus strain before January.<br />
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The same can't be said of the other (social) pandemic roiling our country. Racism and police brutality didn't first appear in a New York Times article 6 months ago. It's been with us for a long, long, long time, hundreds of years. There are no excuses.<br />
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<img alt="In The 19th Century Were Spread Posters Communicating Auctions Sales Of American Slaves And This Is Unbelievable To Have Happened" height="320" src="https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/In-the-19th-century-were-spread-posters-communicating-auctions-sales-of-American-slaves-and-this-is-unbelievable-to-have-happened-5ae2359cf004f__605.jpg" width="257" /><br />
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<img height="244" src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52b91b2de4b0749228be9f0e/t/54010148e4b0c1ca4c4f7931/1409352010352/" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="192" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2013/5/6/1367846464418/Civil-rights-protestors-a-010.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<img height="180" src="https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2020/5/29/187d4fb6a7c6459e8256afd01df59e68_18.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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Enough.<br />
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<br />David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-11995429407192119702020-06-11T17:08:00.004-04:002020-06-11T17:10:39.774-04:00I stand with Black Lives Matter<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>BLACK</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>LIVES</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>MATTER</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Things need to change in this country. Now.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I say this despite the fact that I have deep reservations about the lack of social distancing at the protests. And am deeply frustrated, even angry, at the hypocrisy of public officials and politicians who look the other way at the crowds gathering in a time of pandemic while still keeping our kids home from school and out of the playgrounds. It's a mockery of those of us who have meticulously socially distanced for months at the expense of our children's emotional health and development.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But none of that should obscure the fact that the cause is deeply just. George Floyd's death (and the death of far, far too many black men and women) should not be in vain. I hope that this moment in America brings about real and lasting change.</span></div>
David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-32621253942058656362020-03-31T13:26:00.001-04:002020-03-31T13:27:04.420-04:00CoronavirusWith everything that's going on, it seemed inappropriate for the top post on my blog to have been about the Israeli election results (and that post was out-of-date anyway).<br />
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Like everyone else, we are surviving, dealing with the challenge that everyone has right now, of having the kids home from preschool 24/7. But thank G-d we are healthy.<br />
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May Hashem heal all who are sick and may this pass swiftly.David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-81234603401541292112020-03-03T11:31:00.001-05:002020-03-08T10:30:36.381-04:00Israeli election resultsI'm deeply disappointed by yesterday's election results. I'm not a fan of Netanyahu (to put it mildly) nor of the right wing in Israel.<br />
<br />
But the people have spoken. There have been enough elections already. Some party or faction on the center or left should just swallow their pride and join a coalition led by Bibi. Israel needs a functioning government and maybe a center-left element might moderate it slightly.<br />
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Enough elections.<br />
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Update Mar 8: The above was written when it looked like the right-wing bloc had 60 seats. With only 58, it's anyone's guess what will be.David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-85552398140916356562019-09-23T09:49:00.002-04:002019-09-23T12:35:12.122-04:00Charedim aren't an ethnic group<span style="font-family: inherit;">United Torah Judaism's Rabbi Yaakov Litzman (<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/police-recommend-litzman-stand-trial-for-bribery-aiding-alleged-pedophiles/">protector of child abusers</a>) said, regarding Lapid:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I have never seen such a campaign of hatred against the ultra-Orthodox. If you, Mr. President, saw a campaign ad on the street of one of the candidates saying he was boycotting Ethiopians or Druze, you would be enraged: We do not know why we and the citizens of this state are punished like this.”</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 18px;">Disingenuous, to say the least. Charedim aren't an ethnic group. They are people who have chosen a certain lifestyle. A million people (including myself) share some elements of that lifestyle, such as halachic observance. But the draft avoidance? The lack of educating children for jobs? The erasure of women? The dependence on welfare without giving anything in return? Those are choices, and choices, whether by individuals or groups are valid targets for criticism.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shame on Litzman for comparing Charedim to ethnic groups who have encountered deep discrimination just because of what ethnic group they were born into.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ref: </span></span><a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/yamina-united-torah-judaism-back-netanyahu-for-pm-confirming-55-mk-bloc/">https://www.timesofisrael.com/yamina-united-torah-judaism-back-netanyahu-for-pm-confirming-55-mk-bloc/</a>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-80449868763204285712019-09-10T10:53:00.001-04:002019-09-10T10:53:27.607-04:009/11 - 18 years ago18 years ago<br />
The towers came down<br />
Thousands died<br />
The sky rained paper in Brooklyn.<br />
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<a href="https://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-9-11-story.html">https://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-9-11-story.html</a>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-68608976970366357282019-08-12T09:02:00.000-04:002019-08-12T09:02:58.230-04:00Modern Orthodox Siyum HaShas 2020?I attended the Modern Orthodox Dad Yomi siuym event in 2012, which was held as an alternative to the massive Charedi-run event, for those who preferred a more MO style. Here's my write-up of the last one:<br />
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http://evolvingjew.blogspot.com/2012/08/modern-orthodox-siyum-hashas.html<br />
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I haven't heard anything yet about a similar event this year, though tickets are already being sold to the big, Charedi-style Siyum in Giants Stadium. Does anyone know if they're holding a MO version this time around? I would love to go again.David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-68560050520940710022019-08-08T13:05:00.001-04:002019-08-08T13:05:29.486-04:00Why do we still fast on Tisha B'Av?<div class="date-posts" style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px;">
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From 2010 (slightly edited):<br /><br />There are voices that assert that we should no longer fast on Tisha B'Av, that if we wanted to rebuild the temple, we could simply do so, and that with a rebuilt Israel and a rebuilt Jerusalem, Tisha B'Av should be obsolete.<br /><br />These people certainly have a point. It’s ironic to see people who live in fancy houses in Flatbush, travel to Israel on El Al several times a year, and have full religious freedoms in America begging Hashem to “end the terrible golus!”<br /><br />But there’s another way of looking at it, and it’s the way I choose to look at many of our traditions. What we commemorate on Tisha B’Av isn’t just the loss of the Temple. It isn’t just a yearning for the Beit HaMikdash to be rebuilt and for sacrifices and a monarchy to be reinstituted. To tell the truth, how likely, practical, or even desirable does that really seem?<br /><br />Instead, it's about something much bigger. We fast because we’ve fasted for 2,000 years. We mourn for the very real people who died for being Jews throughout our long history. We fast because our parents, their parents, and their parents fasted. Looking at the tragedies of Judaism, we also gaze at our rich and varied history.<br /><br />There’s a myopia sometimes, in the way that many frum people look at Judaism. It’s a focus on a history that ended 2,000 years ago, and a focus on a future that has not yet come. There’s a lack of internalizing the richness of our history and of how Judaism (and Jews) changed and evolved and grew for millennia. It’s as if all of that time was just a holding pattern and is only religiously significant in terms of what came before and the hope of what will come.<br /><br />The exile created the Judaism we have today. It’s a far different religion, and we’re a far different people, than what we were in the year 70 AD. Part and parcel of that religion is fasting on Tisha B’Av. It’s not just about the destruction, it’s about who we are now, who we were 100, 500, and 1,000 years ago. The kinot we read aren’t just about the destruction. They’re also about the time they were written in, the beautiful poetry of Eliezer HaKalir in the early medieval period or the ones written in the wake of the tragedy of our times, the Shoah.<br /><br />It’s also about hope. People claim that since Eretz Yisrael is under Jewish control and we could rebuild the Temple should we choose, there’s no need to fast. But as I wrote above, yearning for the redemption isn’t just about the Temple and the monarchy. Instead, it’s about yearning and hoping for a world at peace, where war and hate are no more. It’s a vision that can transcend sectarian differences and is unencumbered by petty differences of theology. Instead it’s about hope.<br /><br />And that’s why we fast.</div>
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David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-20410281387199292232019-03-14T23:20:00.001-04:002019-03-14T23:20:45.196-04:00Who is Achashveirosh?<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-size: 15.4px;"><i>Originally posted in March 2014</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-size: 15.4px;"><i>----------------------------------------</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">And now for a different take on Achachveirosh.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><a href="http://w1.chabad.org/media/images/2795.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #fff9ee; clear: right; color: #888888; float: right; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgsWqJU890NQFWXvhuMJpJfHgRFbbER-MOqEbc557Eyf5fKzcu3N7ioXaeITWMQO-atkb12UcTxAEzuZfCA33LxtobBCMSHfGLTw5ZY4fOasFG0BMC0g9nSfzeBdWJjlxVkbvCIvsOUzoCt=s0-d" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="176" /></a><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Achashveirosh is most often seen as a bit of a bumbling fool. He is easily manipulated by his advisors, as is seen in his impetuous decision to banish Vashti, and in Haman's easily won decree to kill all the Jews.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">He seems entirely oblivious when Haman comes to the royal chambers late at night. He already KNOWS that Haman plans to kill the Jews. He KNOWS Mordechai is a Jew. and yet, before Haman has a chance to speak, he cluelessly tells Haman to lead Mordechai around on a horse in honor! Is it any wonder that we see him as buffoonish character?</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Jan_Victors_-_The_Banquet_of_Esther_and_Ahasuerus_-_WGA25059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #888888; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiqjp5HwfqcNo3tmBB-otrepkgib2jf-Czrljs7oRZkEiVTNQTDBs3epKnPaRs35Wr4GOWdEnhQUEJuDR-P27yL4S8aFx6DymkcKbcyYM6huw4CCpqyV2JMDmmx1H3An-cOhbQt9ISmUN2YDoLszWPFJ84HApmfzNbo6l7hSN2X9WC51GpKckUMmKW9lDjPMuCKFAkwnkoNMpiq-Cs_MKC4hSm7H2BkY-8hf8CuZmY4FUOflg=s0-d" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="200" /></a>And yet, there's another possible way to view Achashveirosh - that of a shrewd politician.</div>
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The best (read: most successful in maintaining power) kings in history are often the ones that can play to the masses, and though they have absolute power, still maintain a popular base with the people. But, being kings, they still use their dictatorial powers strategically, when they need to.</div>
<br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Let's look at Achashveirosh and reinterpret his actions assuming he was that kind of king.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">The first incident is obvious. Vashti disobeyed him. He needed to show his empire that he could not be disobeyed. So he follows the advice to send her away and confiscate her estate for the next queen.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">But that left a vacuum. Think of the role of the First Lady in America. She humanizes the President, and often helps with his popularity. Achashveirosh knows he needs a queen. So, again with advice of his counsel, he immediately launches a search for a new one. And not just from among the aristocracy, but among the population at large. Any supporters of Vashti would likely have been pacified by the excitement of the possibility that </span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">their</b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> daughters might become queen. The year-long search distracts and entertains the empire. And the search itself humanizes and makes the king seem more accessible to the people. He's looking for his queen. That's something that the people can find relateable.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">But here things go slightly awry. Perhaps the king planned to pick a young woman from a prestigious family. But he was smitten with Esther. In this case, the story doesn't really differ from our traditional understanding. God's hand is hidden, but guides the king's heart towards Esther.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">That's all preface. Then the action picks up pace. The Jews are pretty numerous in the kingdom. So are Haman's people, the Agagites, and his allies. These are two power bases, both potentially supportive of the king. Achashveirosh decides to promote Haman to be his second in command, an extremely powerful position. By doing so, he's also symbolically showing favor to the Agagites and their supporters. This is a clear move to show them that they are in his favor. And in return, Achashveirosh hopes for their support. There are no polls, but a partisan base doesn't hurt. Plus, they are well-off, and some "campaign contributions" to the royal coffers certainly won't hurt either.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Achashveirosh has made his choice between these two groups and makes it clear that everyone else knows it too. The Agagites are the winners, the Jews are the losers, and he hopes that the Jews will know their place and stay subservient.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Haman's thrilled, except for one thing. Mordechai doesn't seem to understand that the political sands have shifted. He's not acting subservient and doesn't seem to know his place. We know this part of the story. Haman devises his plan.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Achashveirosh grudgingly goes along with the plan. He was hoping the Jews would know their place, but since that's not happening, well, best to go along with Haman and eliminate them completely. He can't have a "third column" undermining his authority. Plus, Haman's "campaign contribution" is very appreciated.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Here's where the politics really start. One night, Achashveirosh can't sleep. He's tossing and turning. Perhaps he drank too much at Esther's banquet that day. But he's also preoccupied with the decree to kill the Jews. It's certainly not pangs of conscience. Like most rulers in the ancient world, Achashveirosh is pretty ruthless when he needs to be, and genocide doesn't really bother him.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">But it's a shame to let a perfectly good power base go to waste. The Jews are smart, well connected, and, as he was just reminded by the story of how Mordechai foiled the plot against him, potentially loyal. If they could become part of king's power base too, he would truly be secure on his throne.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Then Haman shows up, and the king has a brainstorm. How to convince Haman that the king also favored the Jews? How to make a public display that the Jews and the Agagites could work together? The answer? Send Haman out leading Mordechai's honor guard! This would make it clear to Haman that he wants Jews and Agagites to work together and support the king together. It would also show the public that it was a new day.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Unfortunately, Haman's anger burns too bright. The king is a pragmatist, (albeit a ruthless one). Haman is not. He hates the Jews as deeply as any Anti-Semite in history. He's not willing to compromise.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">The next day, at the second wine party, Esther reveals all. She's a Jewess. And Haman wants to destroy her people. Upon this revelation, Achashveirosh storms out to the garden to think. According to one midrash, he's already decided to kill Esther and side with Haman. But when he comes back in, the pragmatism leaves him when he sees Haman seemingly assaulting </span><b style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">his</b><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;"> woman on the bed. And like Helen of Troy earlier, or Ann Boleyn later, the fates of empires often rested on love of a woman. That's the turning point, and Achashveirosh the politician is replaced by Achashveirosh the jealous monarch. So Haman's fate is sealed.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">But now the king as a problem. He was hoping to keep his monarchy shored up by the support of the powerful Agagites. Now he's had their leader executed, and they're sure to be very, very angry. So Achashveirosh does the only thing he can do. He pivots his favor towards the Jews, wholeheartedly. They're back in favor, and Mordechai is elevated to the top spot. He allows the Jews to defend themselves, and conveniently, this eliminates those now-furious Agagites.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: David; font-size: 26px; text-align: right;">וּמָרְדֳּכַי יָצָא מִלִּפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ, בִּלְבוּשׁ מַלְכוּת תְּכֵלֶת וָחוּר, וַעֲטֶרֶת זָהָב גְּדוֹלָה, וְתַכְרִיךְ בּוּץ וְאַרְגָּמָן; וְהָעִיר שׁוּשָׁן, צָהֲלָה וְשָׂמֵחָה.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: David; font-size: 26px; text-align: right;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;">And the rest, as they say, is history.</span><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: medium;">Happy Purim!</span>David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3784155149754953220.post-24838834128607858732019-01-04T01:20:00.002-05:002019-01-04T01:21:38.168-05:00What if Rome had adopted Judaism?<i>Originally posted in June 2014</i><br />
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A historical "what if" question.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIP4iyzrOUBbfZgi6jsMrEPTR5UGxGzULIGygu4GKo6L03l0zILkMBYxtqVjurniDc5Zk36GKlUOl-q58SrSJJF9qYOaeeMFQ3wM2vPrrhOxFq_cjVxuSsOaTSzVL6vgT13h7VgUX8lM/s1600/notredamejewish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="415" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHIP4iyzrOUBbfZgi6jsMrEPTR5UGxGzULIGygu4GKo6L03l0zILkMBYxtqVjurniDc5Zk36GKlUOl-q58SrSJJF9qYOaeeMFQ3wM2vPrrhOxFq_cjVxuSsOaTSzVL6vgT13h7VgUX8lM/s320/notredamejewish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Constantine adopted Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. But in prior centuries, Judaism was a massively proselytizing religion, in Rome and beyond. And though the historicity of this is doubtful, according to the Talmud the emperor "Antoninus" (identification uncertain) actually did embrace Judaism.<br />
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So here's the question. What if, instead of converting to Christianity, the Roman Empire had become Jewish?<br />
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What would the world look like today?<br />
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Would Judaism and Islam have been the great historical rivals, instead of Christianity and Islam? Would Islam even have existed?<br />
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What would Judaism look like?<br />
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Would a Jewish Rome have rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem? Or would they have shifted the centrality of the religion to Rome itself?<br />
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Would Judaism still be a religion of shuls and Torah learning? Or would it look very much like the Catholic Church, with grandiose Cathedrals and a pope-like figure in Rome, but with some version of halacha and a different dogma?<br />
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Would Hebrew still be our Lashon Kodesh? Or would it be Latin?<br />
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Would Judaism still exist?<br />
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It's impossible to know any of this, of course. But it's a fascinating thought experiment.David Staumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04092344925121412070noreply@blogger.com0