For the vast majority of Americans who join a religious community, they do so to nurture their inner spirits. To know GOD is to be inspired to be GOOD.
Though I know not the Torah, I would suggest that rather than Abraham finding and acknowledging God, the most amazing and wondrous thing was the fact that God reached out to Abraham, as found in Genesis 12:1-9, where “God said to Abraham, “Leave the land you have always known. Go from your homeland to a new land that I will show you. I will make you and your people a great nation”. Amazing that Abraham did not refuse to go, nor argue with God, but simply pulled up stakes and went. Out of all human beings on the planet at that time, God chose the one man Abraham.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, and obviously, it is subject to personal beliefs, but may I suggest that out of all the human beings in the world, Abraham was the only one who responded...
For starters, God's/Yahveh's Word comprises all 66 books of the Bible! This is by design and not by chance or accident, since the Dead Sea Scrolls were found to include fragments of nearly every book of the Bible! Including some of the ancient books of the prophets, as a modern day (1947) verification, and perfectly preserved in clay pots, stored in the Qumran Caves adjacent to the Dead Sea and the Essene community!
Jacobus, while I share your belief in the full 66 Books of our Bible, the 27 Books of the New Testament (Brit Hadasha) didn’t exist at the time of the Essenes, so they weren’t part of that invaluable discovery.
Yes, God is involved. Nothing philosophical about Amalek—we were to destroy him. That is not delicate. Because we did not, we got Haman, Hitler and Hamas. Murderers of the weak and unarmed. Nothing philosophical about Hamas. It is the word used first in the Noah Parsha for violence of which God said He was going to destroy all mankind. Then He took a second look at Noah and showed Grace. We seemed to have left out holding up the arms of Netanyahu during this very real and Biblical war with Gaza. Completely described in Zephaniah 2, thousands of years ago but only being fulfilled today . . . “For Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon and Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast . . . And I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant.” Nothing mushy huggy about that statement. From God. “And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will pasture on it . . . They will lie down at evening; for the Lord their God will care for them and restore their fortune.” God is involved.
Regarding “The people inhabiting it ought to treat it as such. The covenant that God made with the Children of Israel was clear: As long as you follow my statutes, you will remain in the land, but if not, the land will “spit you out.”
—this feels like a Parent warning his children. Respect Laws.
In a way, it was. I have been brought up to believe that there are several relationships one can have with God. One of which is that we are all (not only the Jewish people), Gods children. Like our parents, we don't always agree, and parents can be awful at times, but we're still here because of them. If I believe in God and trust that God's word is true, then the statutes he set out are to be respected. Today, in modern times, there are so many definitions, but I think one of the most important is that we need to respect each other, not necessarily agree.
Pretty much. One of the fundamental beliefs we have is that the entire world belongs to God, it is our responsibility to treat it well, and make it a better place. (Again, I have been taught that this applies to all humankind.)
The government has done everything it can imagine to get the hostages home. It is now at its wits' end.
I was thinking about when the Judeans were besieged by the Assyrians, and they too were at their wits' end, and G-d struck down the Assyrians with disease and the Judeans were released.
That's the kind of thing that happens when a solution is out of our hands. When it's up to G-d. It could be that G-d needs those hostages killed for the sake of a larger plan. It could be that G-d will find a way to rescue them. But with each one heavily guarded by psychopaths ready to kill them at the first sound of Israeli approach and with the West assuring Hamas that they will not let them lose, Israel is running out of options. This is a G-d thing now.
Your picture of gd’s image is extremely unjewish. Jews do not say gd’s name nor make an image… your opening art is perplexing as you seem to quote Torah often. 😶🌫️🤯
fer gawdsakes....am I the only joo here scritchin' mah head an' goin' why in HECK there's an illustration containin' not one but TWO depictions of G-d?!
As in "our" Jewish G-d not just any ol' God (i.e. Greek Gods, Egyptian Gods)... I mean I'm assumin' that if the IDF is bein' blessed it ain't by a Christian God, no? Growin' up the only books I sawr that depicted God as an alte-cocher in sandals (ok, barefoot here) with long beard, long robes an' a goyishe punim were Christian books--not jooish!
Hey y'all whut gives? (OK mebbe I'mma crackpot an missed sumthin' but I larned from the time I wuz knee-high ta a grasshopper that ya don't depict OUR G-d)
Even in Reform nobuddy wuz makin' drawings of G-d with the crayolas let alone lettin' a MACHINE--AI (effin' AI! sorry I ain't a fan) draw "our" god. How is this not (dare I say it as a not-zo-frum person), anti-halachic?
Did I miss sumthin'? Am I the only one that noticed this not-zo-kosher irony? Pleeze instruct...
(Mit the essay I gots no problems but the illustrations just 'bout floored me! I don't keep kosher but I'd still be shocked ta sit down ta see a ham served at a seder...is the illustration...HAM?)
One of the most deeply myopic articles I’ve read. It’s like getting the opinion of a rain shaman on why the weather is the way it is. The idea that God’s will was for the deeply traditional religious Jews of Eastern Europe to be wiped out in the Holocaust while socialist secular nationalists go on to build His state works I suppose if you assume God has the sense of humour of an edgy standup comedian. Swifts maxim is more applicable than ever “You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.”
I don’t think this article is myopic. It was written by a person of faith within a particular tradition and filled with caveats of the very position taken. I didn’t read into the essay any “God’s will” argument, either.
Agree with it or disagree with it, but to call it myopic seems (perhaps) to reveal a myopic reading of it. It is something like saying everything is relative—except for the statement that everything is relative.
thanks for bring this up. As you say the Torah is our guide, and living up to it is a continuous challenge . for this very reason we must be reluctant to call Israel or the land holy . Our tradition teaches that nothing has intrinsinc holiness with the exception of God. we can set things apart and consecrate but attributing intrinsic holiness to people, a nation or land is a dangerous idea
For the vast majority of Americans who join a religious community, they do so to nurture their inner spirits. To know GOD is to be inspired to be GOOD.
Though I know not the Torah, I would suggest that rather than Abraham finding and acknowledging God, the most amazing and wondrous thing was the fact that God reached out to Abraham, as found in Genesis 12:1-9, where “God said to Abraham, “Leave the land you have always known. Go from your homeland to a new land that I will show you. I will make you and your people a great nation”. Amazing that Abraham did not refuse to go, nor argue with God, but simply pulled up stakes and went. Out of all human beings on the planet at that time, God chose the one man Abraham.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, and obviously, it is subject to personal beliefs, but may I suggest that out of all the human beings in the world, Abraham was the only one who responded...
Fair enough!
Agree and support this—“I believe God must be in the equation with everything we do.”
For starters, God's/Yahveh's Word comprises all 66 books of the Bible! This is by design and not by chance or accident, since the Dead Sea Scrolls were found to include fragments of nearly every book of the Bible! Including some of the ancient books of the prophets, as a modern day (1947) verification, and perfectly preserved in clay pots, stored in the Qumran Caves adjacent to the Dead Sea and the Essene community!
Jacobus, while I share your belief in the full 66 Books of our Bible, the 27 Books of the New Testament (Brit Hadasha) didn’t exist at the time of the Essenes, so they weren’t part of that invaluable discovery.
God bless, Mike
Yes, God is involved. Nothing philosophical about Amalek—we were to destroy him. That is not delicate. Because we did not, we got Haman, Hitler and Hamas. Murderers of the weak and unarmed. Nothing philosophical about Hamas. It is the word used first in the Noah Parsha for violence of which God said He was going to destroy all mankind. Then He took a second look at Noah and showed Grace. We seemed to have left out holding up the arms of Netanyahu during this very real and Biblical war with Gaza. Completely described in Zephaniah 2, thousands of years ago but only being fulfilled today . . . “For Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon a desolation; Ashdod will be driven out at noon and Ekron will be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast . . . And I will destroy you so that there will be no inhabitant.” Nothing mushy huggy about that statement. From God. “And the coast will be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they will pasture on it . . . They will lie down at evening; for the Lord their God will care for them and restore their fortune.” God is involved.
Regarding “The people inhabiting it ought to treat it as such. The covenant that God made with the Children of Israel was clear: As long as you follow my statutes, you will remain in the land, but if not, the land will “spit you out.”
—this feels like a Parent warning his children. Respect Laws.
In a way, it was. I have been brought up to believe that there are several relationships one can have with God. One of which is that we are all (not only the Jewish people), Gods children. Like our parents, we don't always agree, and parents can be awful at times, but we're still here because of them. If I believe in God and trust that God's word is true, then the statutes he set out are to be respected. Today, in modern times, there are so many definitions, but I think one of the most important is that we need to respect each other, not necessarily agree.
Like a renter, “The Land is Mine,” said G*D, “and you are renting from Me.”
When one owns his home he can paint it, etc., but if one rents, one needs permission to make a change.
Pretty much. One of the fundamental beliefs we have is that the entire world belongs to God, it is our responsibility to treat it well, and make it a better place. (Again, I have been taught that this applies to all humankind.)
How astounding, the way religious people can justify their awful behavior.
And frankly, any religious tradition that says you shouldn’t eat pepperoni pizza is just nuts.
I have come to the same conclusions too.
The government has done everything it can imagine to get the hostages home. It is now at its wits' end.
I was thinking about when the Judeans were besieged by the Assyrians, and they too were at their wits' end, and G-d struck down the Assyrians with disease and the Judeans were released.
That's the kind of thing that happens when a solution is out of our hands. When it's up to G-d. It could be that G-d needs those hostages killed for the sake of a larger plan. It could be that G-d will find a way to rescue them. But with each one heavily guarded by psychopaths ready to kill them at the first sound of Israeli approach and with the West assuring Hamas that they will not let them lose, Israel is running out of options. This is a G-d thing now.
Your picture of gd’s image is extremely unjewish. Jews do not say gd’s name nor make an image… your opening art is perplexing as you seem to quote Torah often. 😶🌫️🤯
I did not submit an article with any pictures. Your point is taken
You mean someone added the artwork?
yeah. maybe its standard.
fer gawdsakes....am I the only joo here scritchin' mah head an' goin' why in HECK there's an illustration containin' not one but TWO depictions of G-d?!
As in "our" Jewish G-d not just any ol' God (i.e. Greek Gods, Egyptian Gods)... I mean I'm assumin' that if the IDF is bein' blessed it ain't by a Christian God, no? Growin' up the only books I sawr that depicted God as an alte-cocher in sandals (ok, barefoot here) with long beard, long robes an' a goyishe punim were Christian books--not jooish!
Hey y'all whut gives? (OK mebbe I'mma crackpot an missed sumthin' but I larned from the time I wuz knee-high ta a grasshopper that ya don't depict OUR G-d)
Even in Reform nobuddy wuz makin' drawings of G-d with the crayolas let alone lettin' a MACHINE--AI (effin' AI! sorry I ain't a fan) draw "our" god. How is this not (dare I say it as a not-zo-frum person), anti-halachic?
Did I miss sumthin'? Am I the only one that noticed this not-zo-kosher irony? Pleeze instruct...
(Mit the essay I gots no problems but the illustrations just 'bout floored me! I don't keep kosher but I'd still be shocked ta sit down ta see a ham served at a seder...is the illustration...HAM?)
I appreciate your position and learned quite a bit from the post. Thank you.
Thank you, and I appreciate your response.
One of the most deeply myopic articles I’ve read. It’s like getting the opinion of a rain shaman on why the weather is the way it is. The idea that God’s will was for the deeply traditional religious Jews of Eastern Europe to be wiped out in the Holocaust while socialist secular nationalists go on to build His state works I suppose if you assume God has the sense of humour of an edgy standup comedian. Swifts maxim is more applicable than ever “You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place.”
I don’t think this article is myopic. It was written by a person of faith within a particular tradition and filled with caveats of the very position taken. I didn’t read into the essay any “God’s will” argument, either.
Agree with it or disagree with it, but to call it myopic seems (perhaps) to reveal a myopic reading of it. It is something like saying everything is relative—except for the statement that everything is relative.
thanks for bring this up. As you say the Torah is our guide, and living up to it is a continuous challenge . for this very reason we must be reluctant to call Israel or the land holy . Our tradition teaches that nothing has intrinsinc holiness with the exception of God. we can set things apart and consecrate but attributing intrinsic holiness to people, a nation or land is a dangerous idea