Abigail

My cousin posted this article on Facebook and I thought it was worth sharing here. Keep in mind the reference to wearing tefillin would indicate this rabbi is pretty orthodox.

The article can be found HERE

Here are two parts I especially liked:

There are 613 commandments in the Torah. One is to refrain from gay sex. Another is for men and women to marry and have children. So when Jewish gay couples come to me for counselling and tell me they have never been attracted to the opposite sex in their entire lives and are desperately alone, I tell them, “You have 611 commandments left. That should keep you busy. Now, go create a kosher home with a mezuza on the door. Turn off the TV on the Sabbath and share your festive meal with many guests. Put on tefillin and pray to God three times a day, for you are His beloved children. He desires you and seeks you out.”

and

I have numerous gay friends whose greatest fear, like so many straight people, is to end up alone. Should we merely throw the book at these people? Does not the same book, the Bible, also say, “It is not good for man to be alone?” And all I’m asking from my religious brethren is this: Even as you oppose gay relationships because of your beliefs, please be tortured by your opposition. Understand that when our most deeply held beliefs conflict with our basic humanity, we should feel the tragedy of the conflict, rather than simply find convenient scapegoats upon whom to blame all of America’s ills.

Emphasis added by me.

ROFLMA - Ann Arbor! Seriously? I wish them all the luck (yes, I said luck) in the world (that evil, evil world) in Ann Arbor, they are going to need it! Lets see: Economy in Michigan, in the tank. No jobs to be found.

Cost of Living in Ann Arbor, very expensive college town, no cheap housing there.

General atmosphere of Ann Arbor, very liberal (i.e. not inclined to give the time of day to a fundy group).

College town to be sure and we know TWI likes to try to recruit those young college kids. But these aren't just any college kids. U of M is a very difficult school to get into. You have to maintain a pretty high GPA in high school and score high on the SATs to get into that school. This means these kids are no dummies! And, again I say liberal and not inclined toward the fundy mentality. The President of the student body is (gasp) a homosexual and the students are rallying behind him in the face of personal attacks from an nutjob who works for the State Attorney General. The college as a whole is rallying behind this kid and has banned said nutjob assistant AG from their campus.

Yeah, I wish them all the luck in Ann Arbor - roflmaopmp. They are going to be chased out of town so fast their heads will be spinning! ahahahahahahahahahhaaa

****newsflash*****

All WD of Ann Arbor have jobs and housing!!!

((((((whoot whoot)))))

Doing what? I want details on this one. I live near Ann Arbor and have family there. I'm dying to know what kind of work they found and if they will earn enough to cover the cost of food and housing. Or is TWI subsidising the disciples these days?

I think it is circular. When I look at Jewish history . . . periods of great love and enlightenment, followed by periods of pharisees seeking after the law and forgetting the reason for the law . . . back to periods of great love and enlightment and so forth. I suspect the same occurs in all religions. I like to hope, however, that with every cycle we grow a little better . . .a little closer to the light . . .even if we do take a half step backward for every step forward.

Not so different from the child who moves away from his parents, but must return to them again to reassure himself that they are still there . . . still holding the boundaries in place . . . but slowly moving the boundaries too, as the child grows older and needs fewer and fewer of them.

Very well said, Sir!

All this talk of Jesus and who is saved and who isn't. It is one of the reasons I ultimately rejected Christianity and returned to the religion of my heritage. Judaism has no such teachings. The basic principals of Judaism all come down to how do we make this world a better place. What do we do to contribute to our community and society. Some sects don't even believe the Messiah prophesies are literal. Rather, they believe God's Kingdom will reign on this earth when humantity has evolved to a point where WE bring it to pass on this earth by how we choose to conduct our lives.

There is only one sect of Judaism that seeks to "convert" on any level. And even they are really only asking non-observant Jews to become observant, although they will not reject a non-jew who wishes to make a covenant with God to follow the Jewish laws.

Yes, there are zealots among the Jewish people. Zealots who would reject all non-jews and zealots who would reject those Jewish people who observe differently than they. But, the vast majority of the Jewish people do not believe or practice such things. Judaism teaches that we are all God's children. While the OT does speak of conquering lands and killing its inhabitants, it also has passages that teach us how to love and honor the "stranger" among us. To every season a time (or however it goes).

That is what the Bible is . . . the story of the evolution of humanity. How we have grown from Adam and Eve, through child sacrifices, through animal sacrifices, to wherever we are here and now.

Whatever/Whoever Jesus was. . . man, messiah, great rabbi . . . he came to teach peace and love. Yet, even his teachings have been used to for war and hate. So too have the teachings of Mohammad and Moses been used.

I have never been able to quite figure out what that means or what that belief really looks like in the practical world. I.E. -How that belief specifically effects behaviour. Maybe it does but it seems more esoteric than affecting much of anything practically (I know I could be wrong on that..

It effects behavior the same way insisting that God be called Allah or Yahwah does. It is a way to cause division for those who choose to use it that way (believer v unbeliever). To many other people, it probably has little effect at all, on the grand scheme of thingss.

...There are more "down to earth" doctrines that are common to all three that would at least make for good common ground.

They all carry one form or another of "The Golden Rule"(I'd argue that to be a central tenet of christianity myself-but that's for somewhere else) an emphasis on compassion, caring for the poor, loving their neighbor, faith etc etc

In too many places those beliefs have obviously been forgotten, but they are still central points that the majorities in each religion strive toward.

Muslims , Christians and Jews may never believe exactly the same on the internal spiritual essence of Jesus (I barely know two christians who can agree on that), on the ins and outs of alot of doctrinal points that are peculiar to each religion, or on methods and traditions BUT having many of the same prophets, the same stories and the same lessons they have much more common ground than differences in my opinion.

Exactly. We do have more common ground than difference. Including the division that exists within our own religions about who God is and what His will is for us. And isn't it silly that even though we cannot agree with one another within our own relgion, we would still attack those who proclaim a different religion altogether!

So you're right that the three major religions share a common ancestry. And I believe most followers of Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed want to do good, love God/Allah/Jesus and live in peace. But the Fundamentalists among all the tribes won't accept anything but their vision of God's will. As long as there are Fundamentalists in these religions, there will be war, hatred, and strife.

Which is why my dad is an athiest and sees all religions as evil. Sad testimony on behalf of God, no? Regardless of what name one worships Him by.

Two of these groups will believe, when they see fire falling from the sky?

Will the Israelites have their land and rebuild their temple, before or after

the great fire event? The day of Yahweh will be a wake up call to a lot of

people; not knowledge, get tricked, don't get that number?

What if there is never a "great fire event?" What if there is no "wake up call?" What if the two groups you refer to are on the path that is right for them, even if it isn't God's plan for you? What if it is you who ends up having the wake up call?

I think it is a matter of perspective, Socks. We may have differing names for God, we may have differing rituatls for worship, but in the end we all want similar things.

I believe that the foundational thoughts put into our "Declaration of Independence" provide a good place to start - it gives the foundational logic and reasoning for why a people can and should exist in harmony while pursuing their own destinies. In it the basis for resisting a hierarchical rule of the individual is clearly stated. It assumes that those declaring independence will collectively govern themselves and that all will be represented.

There has to be agreement that this is needed and right. I'm not sure we're ever going to see that concensus though.

Many Christians agree with this idea. Yet, there are also those who would like to see their specific doctrinal beliefs made rule of law for this country. Issues such as abortion, pornography, the death pentaly, welfare, marriage and divorce - they would see their religious beliefs become the rule of law on these issues.

Similarly, there are many Jewish and Muslim people who would agree with foundational prinicipal of the Delcaration of Independence. Yet, there are also those Jews and Muslims who would like to see their particular doctrinal beliefs become the rule of law.

Still, we cannot paint all Christians, all Muslims, or all Jews with one brush based upon what some would want. Thanksfully, at least for now, those who would force all to live by their own doctrinal beliefs are still the minority here. How sad for those who are stuck in a country where the brutality and might of the few force all to live a certain way.

Shellon, most labs today can have test results within 24 to 48 hours, even for routine draws. Call them and harass them! ;)

Some would assume I should hate all Muslims. What people don't realize is that I grew up with many Muslims. They were my childhood friends and they were my neighbors. Some of them quite literally fed my family when we had no food to eat. I learned a tiny bit of their traditions. But what I learned mostly was that when it comes to what matters, they were not any different than the rest of us. They wanted food to eat, people to love, children to laugh with.

Pretty Ironic, if you think about it. One of my best friends was raised Christian. Her mother used to call me that dirty jew girl. Should I then paint all Christians with the hurt and anger those terrible words created within me?

Remeber too, even during WWII in Nazi Germany, there were Germans who opposed the regime. Germans who risked their lives to save a few of the Jews. What the Nazi's did to the Jews was a tragety to be remembered. But also to be remembered is that not all Germans were Nazis. Likewise, not all Muslims are terrorists.

And we do share common history . . . Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Do we not all three worship the God of Abraham? Why then, would we have more fear of each other than even those who worship other gods? (And I am NOT suggesting we should fear them, either.) Did not God promise Hagar's son that like Isaac, he would be a great nation? Why then, do we fight, when we are brother nations?

Should we be like Cain and Abel on a national level?

So the Quoran has stories and passages that advocate violence. Well, the God of Abraham, in His Bible, also has stories and passages that advocate violence. Sometimes violence is a necessary evil. But most rational people (whether Muslim, Jew, or Christian) recognize violence should only be used as an absolute last resort in self defense.

And, there are irrational Muslims, Christians, and Jews, who would advocate violence even when violence is not necessary.

I think it is a tragedy that there is so much anger and fear between these groups. They all have their foundation in the same place. I have a childhood friend who is Muslim. We went to middle school together while our parents attended college. He is now a surgeon living in Egypt. We talk about the current events and the tensions that have continued to rise since 9/11 via facebook.

He said to me last night: "You remember the old days in Michigan, and how life was just nice and compare to now. There is recent mutation in thought in the last 20 years, but believe it is never Islam what you see or talk about, it is circle of misunderstanding as a result of some terrorists showed up I don't know where they came from. I feel down sad about what is going on, and dream things could return to the previous point one day, which I doubt!"

The foundation of the conversation was a video clip he posted of a man he calls insane, who is a Jihadist. I responded by saying to him that what scares me more than anything about people like the man in the video is not so much what he has to say, but how allegedly rational people will react to him. How they will fear, hate and blame millions of people because of what a small percentage say and do. Then, the young Muslim men feel discrimated against and it just pushes them to join up with the insane people like the man in the video. It becomes a viscious cycle.

All three of these religions are bound together by a common history. They are also bound together by a number of common doctrinal beliefs. Yet, we allow fear to rule and divide.

Would like to do a chat meet up tomorrow (Saturday) around 9 EST. I think Hap will be there and Sushi too if he can stay up that late. :) Maybe try to talk Shellon into coming if I can get in touch with her. Anyone interested?

Hi Linda!!! It is too soon to know about the Topomax. I wanted to make sure the Amytriptalin was out of his system before I started him on it, so he only started taking it Saturday. We have to titrate him up, so I probably won't know if it works for another week or two. The Midrin, however, is working very well to get rid of the headaches when he has them.

thanks for posting that. It was absolutely beautiful!!! I think such counter protests should be staged everywhere they go!

I really liked the neurologist yesterday! She does think the headaches are migraines, but agreed the Amitryptalin is not working out for him. We are taking him off that and are going to try Topomax. If it works we will see her again in 4 months, if it doesn't work, we will see her sooner.

It was really interesting. She reviewed the MRI and could see areas of his brian that are not as well developed as they normally would be in a child his age. This, she said, is why he was a late walker, a late talker, has trouble with fine motor skills and lags some socially. Basically, he is just something of a "late bloomer." She could also tell from the way he walks that he was a "toe walker" (even though he isn't anymore). And she picked up on the hint of lisp he has, which most people never notice. So, she is definitely knowledgeable and observant.

Thanks, Mike and it is good to see you!!! Jacob finally has an appointment with a neurologist at the University of Michigan. They called this morning and said they wanted to see him right away, so he will be there first thing tomorrow morning at 7:45 a.m.! Just knowing he is finally going to be seen by the proper specialist is a tremendous relief!

Tom, of course you can call me Abi, just don't call me late to dinner!!!

Scholarly input is most definitely valid! When I made reference to the scholars who think the feminine references indicate that goddess worship made it's way into Judaism, I guess I was just trying to present all the possibilities, not downgrade the validity of scholars. Contextually I was thinking more of those who simply see the Bible as something of a historical document and not so much the story of humanity and our relationship with God. In the end, it comes down to deciding which scholars make sense to you and which ones do not.

Personally, I think there is validity to "goddess worship" in the sense that we recognize the feminine characteristics of God, although I am monotheistic. (I find it difficult enough to comprehend one God, trying to sort out multiple ones is just too confusing for me.) :D And I agree with you, God is probably neither male nor female but something that transcends gender.

I too would be interested in what our Aramaic scholars have to say on the subject. I would guess that James Trimm is not hanging out here much anymore and that Robert has simply been busy with other things. But, that is just speculation on my part.

Jacob did fantastic through the MRI, was very still so they didn't need to sedate him. We got the results today and they were normal. This means odds are good that these are migraines, which sucks but is better than most alternatives.

So, I will be working my way through the links one of you was kind enough to send me, and we will go back to working on dietary triggers. In the meantime, it would appear that we finally found a dose of Amitryptalin that reduces the number of headaches without making him too emotional or groggy. Still waiting to get in with a neurologist.

In Judaism, there is definite and necessary references to the feminine. It is found in reference to holy spirit. It is recognized every sabbath as the sabbath bride is welcomed in, it is most definitely recognized within the Jewish kaballah, which teaches of both the masculine and femine sides of God.

Now, some scholars would say that those references simply indicate that paganism and the worship of a goddess or multiple gods made its way into Judaism. But, those who focus on the religious aspect (as opposed to merely a scholarly one) would say that is not so. In order for God to be complete, in order for man and woman to have been made in God's image, there has to be characteristics of both the masculine and feminine.

I am by no means a scholar in Aramaic, but James would be correct. From the Jewish perspective the holy spirit is referenced as a she.

Well, still no word on the neurology appointment, although I do know my pediatrician is working on it. But, she did get Jacob scheduled for an MRI this Saturday, so at least we will be able to definitively rule out anything truly serious. That will give me tremendous peace of mind.

In the meantime, the increased dose of Amitryptalin does appear to be helping with the headaches, but it is leaving him very tired and lethargic. We started cutting the pill in half, so hopefully in a day or two he will perk back up.

Hi Dooj, Jacob is 11 so he may be hitting the early stages of puberty. Aaron sure hit it early. And it has been hot, hot, hot, here.

I am not at all happy about giving him antidepressants, but I do recognize it is a common treatment for migraines. I guess I just don't know very much about them and medications that mess with his brain chemistry make me uncomfortable. But more than that, I want confirmation that these headaches are migraines and not something else.

I think I am basically asking this question about non- believers whether or not if you think they have any good left in their hearts or not. I think that is probably why these people commit the act of murder anyway because they are not of God and can't know how to behave like a person of God.

Are their hearts able to recover any ounce of what they were before they committed this act of violence?

I would start by asking you to define your terms. What is a non-believer? Is it someone whose doctrine differs from TWIs? differs from yours? Is non=Christian?

How do you know if someone is "of God" or not? Does not God condone violence at times in the Bible? There were most certainly wars and the such documented there. David committed murder did he not? Was he a non-believer then?

Thanks. We went back to the pediatrician last Thursday and she increased his dose of Amatriptalyn (or however that is spelled). He actually had two headache free days in a row! YEAH!! But then he had another one last night that just didn't want to go away.

In the meantime we are trying to get him in to a pediatric neurologist either at the University of Michigan Medical Center or Voss Children's Hospital (whoever can see him first). I am hoping to hear back Tuesday or Wed. with an appointment.

The pediatrician thinks these are migraine headaches, but we are all at a loss as to why they have gone from 1 or 2 a month to 4 or 5 a week. We've looked at food triggers and eliminated the most common ones but that hasn't helped.

Thanks. I called the neurologist this morning to see if they could get him in sooner and it turns out the neurologist has developed an unexpected medical condition and they actually pushed Jacob's appointment back to September. I called University of Michigan and they faxed me over a referral for the pediatrician and said they could get him in this month. My boss also called his brother (who is an ER doc) and he recommended a place in Grand Rapids.

So, in about an hour we go to see the pediatrician. I am going to ask her to do referrals to both places and go with whoever can get him in the fastest.

Dooj I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot even begin to fathom what you and the rest of RumRunner's family must be going through.