British and weather

This article in the metro newspaper was soooo true LOL! [Click here to read]

Remembering the Jewish refuges

On 30 November, the new date to mark the Annual Commemoration of the Exodus of Jewish Refugees from Arab countries and Iran, over 100 people came to the Jewish Museum in London. The event was organised by the Board of Deputies and Harif, the UK Association of Jews from the Middle East and North Africa.

It is important to remember this event, both from a family perspective and because we are constantly bombarded with the messages about Palestinian refugees. This is just one side of the story: almost 1,000,000 Jews were forced from Arab and Islamic  lands with an estimated $4.4 billion of wealth confiscated and over 100,000 square kilometres of Jewish owned land seizes by the governments of these countries (roughly 5 times the size of Israel), the refugees allowed only one suitcase each when leaving. And all of this happened after the world was realing from the events of the holocaust.

Note: I wanted to put up a brief clip about this, but you tube doesn't seem to want me to find it, so I've put it in the comments section below.

A knock at the door

This was a story I've shared before, but felt like reposting it again:

Yesterday, as I was giving the house a thorough clean in time for Passover, there was a knock at the door. Who could this be, at 11 in the morning? It turned out to be two old ladies from the local C of E Church. Me being the good Jewish girl that I am, decided to invite them into the home and offer them a cup of tea or coffee. One we'd settled down, they came to the purpose of their visit. They were collecting throughout the Parish for.... a donation to their Church, specifically to repair their organ (that is the musical instrument). Whilst I knew that there was going to be a campaign to repair the Church organ, I politely declined the offer, explaining that as a Jew I did not feel that I could donate money which  was for the specific benefit of another religion and its worship. That didn't go down well, 'but' spluttered one of them 'the Church is the centre of the community and a beautiful building; it benefitseveryone in the Parish' .

I've got to admit at that point, I sort of saw of red mist. You see I do, as a way of helping a friend in our town, who is also the Secretary of the Church, type up the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting of the Church (I do have sympathy, you see for a Mrs Hubbard type,  70 year old woman with chronic arthritis).   I couldn't quite see the logic here given that the membership of said Church is all of  50 people (out of a population of 3,000). And this is where I kinda lost it and told them that  if they had more members then they might be able to afford the repair themselves or perhaps if their own relatively affluent membership donated more than 50p per week per head to the Church, then they wouldn't need to beg off others. Needless to say they made a quick exit from my house soon after. I do feel guilty in some ways, but then I do think my point was a fair one. 

Shortly after there was another knock on the door. Oy, what is going on. This time a young women in her twenties and a middle aged women, I noticed they'd got Bibles & leaflets in their hands. At this rate I thought, I'll need another kettle. But, I thought it is raining and it wouldn't be very Jewish to slam the door in their faces. So much to their surprised and I think delight they got ushered in to our living room. So what were they knocking my door for? They were Bible believing Christians from a growing (200 members plus) Church from the bigger town by us, from something along the lines of the ' free evangelist church of Jesus the risen saviour'. They were in the neighbourhood, to invite people to a  Passover meal & presentation of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Great. 

I said, well I am a Jew, who is going to be celebrating the start of Passover next Monday evening, in my own home and therefore had the real deal .I was hoping they'd be a bit more clued to the fact that they were coming to a Jewish household as I deliberately put my Menorah in the window and of course we have a mezuzah right by the door bell (!). I guess they don't teach that at Bible school, I mused. Their eyes lit up and they asked if I had ever considered learning about Jesus in the Old Testament and how he fulfilled all of the Jewish prophecies ? I said that I had no idea why they were knocking on my door, but even if I had of know I would still have let them into my house, because  it was cold, wet and windy outside and as they looked like they had already had several doors slammed in their faces , that I should do the Jewish thing and welcome them into my house for a bit of refreshment. I pointed to their Bibles and said that this was as Biblical as they were, in Leviticus 19, 33 to 34  & as to why I could not be a Christian, Deuteronomy 10, 17 to 19 among other places. I did say to them I would be happy to discuss with them at length an essay I had written a couple of years ago whist I was reading my  MA : why I am a Jew and not a Christian. Needless to say, we got into a bit of a heated discussion. They couldn't quite grasp the fact that I had as much knowledge about their Bible as they did, which  flummoxed them and they left the house as quickly as they could , which disappointed me as we'd only covered Isaiah 53,  let alone going on to a critique of 'Hebrews', salvation and St Paul, among other things.

 I received visits from two different types of Christians. Musing about this is  important because I still live in what is overwhelming a white middle class 'christian' area. I live in what is still technically a national Christian state,so that will always be the predominate culture of the UK*. Therefore to a Jew,who will always be a minority in the UK, important to know what is going on within Christianity as this has an impact upon our faith and fortunes as well. To me I saw that one  group seemed to be entirely wrapped up in their own world, but entirely confident that someone else should be picking up the tab for their Church. The other group was outward looking, but again entirely confident that someone else would just automatically accept whatever they had to say at face value and without comment and getting a tad upset at the challenge. I'm not sure whether or not either approach was particularly effective. I do know that Christianity in all of its forms is certainly not dying in the UK. Rather, perhaps it is shifting and changing. As the C of E withers into discussions, often byzantine e.g. 'saving the organ' at a local level, or the obsessions with women Vicars and gay marriage at a national level, there are other, younger and confident denominations that are taking its place. So I don't buy this baloney about the Christian Church dying in the UK. It is merely a matter of change. 

*mythology about Islam aside- I doubt that the majority of the English would ever be truly comfortable ever adopting that religion, although I accept it will be a large minority of the population in years to come, which brings  problems and issues as well

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Today is the international day for the elimination of violence against women. The UN gives us the following harrowing statistics:

• 35% of women and girls globally experience some form of physical and or sexual violence in their lifetime with up to seven in ten women facing this abuse in some countries. 

• It is estimated that up to 30 million girls under the age of 15 remain at risk from FGM/C, and more than 130 million girls and women have undergone the procedure worldwide. 

• Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children, 250 million of whom were married before the age of 15. Girls who marry before the age of 18 are less likely to complete their education and more likely to experience domestic violence and complications in childbirth.

In Britain the charity shelter notes the following( NOTE: domestic abuse against men also occurs and this is equally unacceptable) :

• Metropolitan Police statistics show that male violence against women made up 85% of reported domestic violence incidents

• A 2009 study based on police reports, which accounted for the dynamics of domestic violence, found that only 5% of domestic violence incidents were perpetrated by women in heterosexual relationships

• Domestic violence is patterned, repeated behaviour intended to assert power and control over the victim. Of those who experience 4 or more incidents of domestic violence, 89% are women

• Four times as many women as men are killed by a current or former partner.

• Two women a week are killed as a result of domestic violence in England and Wales

So I think it's perfectly laudable that there is a day to raise awareness of these issues within our society,including our particular Jewish community. Yes it is true that Jewish women also suffer from domestic abuse and this is in NO WAY condoned in our religion. Jewish law expressly forbids personal violence and requires commitment to shalom bayit, a happy and peaceful family life. Jewish men who commit domestic violence, are destroying shalom bayit and breaking Jewish law.

Here are some Jewish sources in relation to this : 

• 'Do not stand idly by and see your neighbour’s blood spilled' – Leviticus 19:16

• 'A husband should love his wife as much as he does himself and should respect her even more than he respects himself' – Gemara Yevamot 62b

• 'Maintaining the dignity of a person is so great that it may override halacha' – Gemara Brachot 19b

• 'A man who strikes his wife commits a sin, just as if he were to strike anyone else' - Rama, Shulchan Aruch, Even HaEzer 154:3

We need to be unequivocally supportive of those who've and those who are suffering from these abuses & not to treat them as taboos. Here's a link to the charity I've just mentioned so people can  familiarise themselves with the issues and become more aware of how to help or if you need help to go to a website like the ones below (Please!) :

Jewish women's aid

Refuge

Jewish mother

No I'm not preggers!Just thought I'd say that.... I've not been posting because I'm a busy Jewish mom!

Remembrance Sunday

A traditional poem read today:

"They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam

Lest we forget"

Student politics-scoff contemptuously or cry?

Student politics was always something outlandish and bizzare to me, but when I read, courtesy of the Jewish news, that the NUS refused to pass a resolution condemning IS because this could be seen as islamophobic, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

Let's put aside the fact the argument that said boycotting Israel could be seen as antisemitism, didn't stop the same body from deciding to pass a boycott resolution or the fact that if one won't condemned IS because it is ialamophobic to do so, you are de facto admitting that IS is a legitimate expression of Islam (something which politicians have gone out of their way to deny).

Instead, let's note instead that the greatest victims, aside from Christians and  Yazidis are in fact fellow Muslims. IS are quite racist with an utter contempt for Kurds ( Jews share an affinity with the Kurdish people, in many ways, who are by and large very moderate and modern: as in Israel, men and women are defending their homes  together, during the recent is onslaught). 

I do wonder therefore why anyone wouldn't want to condemn IS and support Kurds, Christians, Yazidis and others in defeating this wicked menace.

HAve a sweet and happy new year!

Today is rosh Hashanah eve, the festival itself starts tonight at sunset. Every thing is prepared for tonight's meal and Seder. So all whilst I put my feet up for a couple of hours, I would wish everyone a shanah tova. 

Have a good one :)

Reflecting

That month leading up to rosh Hashanah is supposed to be reflective and about forgiveness. So I have been reflecting, using the daily psalm singing to help me focus. 

How do other people reflect on the almighty and what have you been reflecting on?

Scottish portent?

Oy vey, I know.

Scottish independence!!

The biggest political  issue in Britain at present, arguably  the biggest story in Britain. Whilst I'm trying to be a niche here, I feel compelled, moth to candle like to pass some form of comment. So I'm glad I've come across this picture(see below).

Well, it vaguely looks like the UK with Scotland drifting off towards the west. I wonder if this is a portent for Thursday's vote? I think that Scotland would be foolish to vote yes, but I guess we'll have to see how they vote. I also think the rest of the UK should have  had a say on this, but I guess that was never going to happen.

There will be more discussion, whatever the outcome . Vote yes and they'd be a divorce negotiations. Vote no and there will be discussion on the devo max  option Gordon Brown came up with at the last minute. It was an option Cameron refused to put on the ballot.... but that option comes with as much change and constitutional issues as independence does (well almost). Either way, the rest of the UK will get a say once the result is in.

substitution of the day...

This one is a laugh...not that I get my meat from Tesco, but I do get bread.  Never thought a loaf of bread would equal a whole octopus....

comparison of denominations

An ecumenical post.

Here is how I think Christian and Jewish denominations compare:

Anglican: Conservative Judaism

Charismatic: Hasidic Judaism

Evangelical/ protestant: Haredi Judaism

Liberal mainline protestant Christianity: Reform Judaism

Roman Catholicism: Orthodox Judaism/Sephardic Judaism

Orthodox Christianity: Sephardic Judaism

Are these approximate comparisons valid? If so why, if no why? Does anyone else have an alternative set of comparisons?

Thought for today

And do you agree with it or not ?

Knowing everything?

One thing I've noticed about blogging and the j blogosphere in particular is that people seem to think that we do or should know everything about our faith, the other that we should all be pigeon holed , so if you are orthodox and you say something controversial, then you are suddenly #gasp# conservative or reform.

I really do detest this idea that anyone can know everything about a faith system, Judaism included. Sure we should know the basics, but we are all surely learning more as we grow into our faith and as we get to know God more? We aren't God.

As for the labels. Who actually cares? What matters is finding the truth. And orthodox do not have a monopoly on that; there has been some good conservative and reform Rabbis who I've found helpful in the past. There is also the interesting matter of the internet and power of communication which seems to be shaking things up a bit. There is the phenomenon of the post denomination Jew, who takes bits of Judaism as their own without dogmatic adherence to all,for example-

I've known a few reform Jews who are inspired by the fire of Hasidic mysticism, but don't want to start adopting the full lifestyle of that tradition. Likewise I've met many Ashkenazi orthodox who prefer the relaxing intellectual and cultural atmosphere of Sephardic Judaism or haredi who like the practice of their tradition, but not the rigidity of its dogma. I could go on, but this is a new world for Judaism and we should welcome it. Barriers are being brought down. Perhaps this might lead to a more unified Judaism; when we agreed to accept the Torah at Sinai, we weren't Sephardic, Ashkenazi, orthodox, reform,conservative, but just the children of Israel. May we be so again and say:

Na 'ase ve-nishma

' We will do. We will hear'

The fight back begins

I've been on a bit of a blog break during August,for obvious reasons, namely because of having to look after my children, alongside the usual stuff that I do, whilst they were not at school due the summer holidays. Now that they are back at school, I have more time to write out blog posts.

The summer months have been difficult for Jews in Europe, as they always are whenever the middle east Arab- Israeli conflict spills over into open conflict. We have the sights of mass rallies directed not just against Israel, but seemingly against Jews as well(or at least that is how it feels) . In France there was more or less several pogroms and in Britain we even had kosher food being removed from a supermarket shelf because of the fear the store would be trashed otherwise. This may sound minor, except this is liberal, tolerant, multicultural Britain we are talking about, a country which has always been tolerant towards Jews, at least since the 17th century when we returned to this country( it was the Sephardi who first settled here). 

Then there have been the increasing antisemitism, the verbal and physical abuse, the intellectual attacks on Israel, the lack of appreciation as to what and why Israel has to fight. There was also a feeling that our community leaders were not speaking out more and when they did, they messed up(as in the recent furore over the board of deputies / Muslims council joint statement).

I was therefore relived to hear that there was going to be a demo against antisemitism in London last Sunday. Representatives of the whole British Jewish community attended the rally, which about 5,000 attended, Jews of various stripes, differences temporarily forgotten, as well as Christians & non Jews. I am glad we are starting to fight back against this antisemitism, which is simply not acceptable. I'm saddened that we even have to do this nowadays.

I have put a video of the rally which includes highlights of the speeches given, including  the Azshkenazi chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis,Senior Reform Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner & most passionately,the new Senior Sephardi Rabbi Joseph Dweck .

Kol hakavod

Oy, Oy, My Boy Is Goy

Via the Times of Israel, the fashion designer, Risk, has made a range of Jewish-themed clothes, including a  t-shirt: 'Oy, Oy, My Boy Is Goy'…- I needed that with some of the boyfriends I had in days gone by- but the aim is to make Jewish clothing 'more sexy'. 

Hmmm this will  go down well with the Haredi. 

Zionist enemies of religion strike again...

An absolute scandal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  is this :



You might ask what is wrong with a well groomed, modestly dressed & attractive young woman a cause for scandal ? The answer is not that she is the first woman news presenter, which surprisingly she is not. No the answer is that she ISN'T wearing a veil!  (being able to do so, because the TV station is located in the UK).

What is the response to this? Why it is all part of Zionist plot  of course :

"Many praised the move as a step forward for women’s rights in the strict Islamic country.But others branded the move as a step too far and Twitter hashtag #newsencouragesadornments was widely circulated.One user..., called the channel’s producers ‘zionist enemies of religion’.Most remarked on how shocked they were at the newsreader’s bare-headed appearance."

But people in the Kingdom need not worry. They have promised that this WON'T happen again. Great to see human rights and women's feminism  is progressing extremely well....Oh and should anyone wish to point out about Jewish modesty laws, the differences are :

1. Wearing a hat, a wig or bandanna is only applicable to married women, not all.
2. The modesty laws apply to men and women in equal measure
3. It is something which no-one can force you to do, by power of the state.
4. Women have always had far more minimum rights under Jewish law & culture, than under either Islam or Western culture (sex, food, clothing, right to own property, education to name but a few).
5. Personally I do not cover my head in the house, only when I am out. My husband has taken to wearing a Kippah, inside and outside of the house... except when we are making love.

Tisha B' Av (9th Av)

Today is  a fast day in Judaism, where we refrain from eating, drinking, washing, bathing, applying creams or oils to our bodies, no wearing of leather shoes, no sex or other  pleasurable activities & no Torah study (deemed to be a pleasure, except for certain specific texts). This fast is in order to remember the destruction of both Temples and the many catastrophes that have happened to the Jewish people, including the many expulsions of Jews from Europe, the first crusade,which decimated  the German and French Jewish communities, & the Shoah. We read through the book of Lamentations, the book of Job and Kinnot (Jewish liturgical poems). 

Here is one written by Sephardi Rabbi Judah Ha-Levi: 

Tzion, halo tishali leshalom asira'ich, 

dorshey shlomech vehem yeter idra'ich?

Miyam umuzrach umetzafon veteyman shalom

rachok vekarov se'i michol avraich.

Veshalom asir tikvah noten dim'av k'tal chermon

venichsaf leridatam al hararaich!

Livkot anotech ani tanim, ve'et echlom

shivat shvutech - ani kinor leshiraich.

Tzion, halo tishali leshalom asiraich, 

dorshey shlomech vehem yeter idraich?

Ashrei mechakeh veyagi'a veyir'eh alut

oech veyivke'u alav shacharaich -

lir'ot betovat bechiraich

vela'aloz besimchatech

beshuvech elai kidmat neuraich!

Livkot anotech ani tanim, ve'et echlom

shivat shvutech - ani kinor leshiraich.

Great War Remembrance thread

I have been watching some of the commemorations today and I was going to put up a remembrance thread but my brother Sam has already beaten me to it here. 

[I may comment on this subject in more detail, though, later on in the week].

Hippocratic Oath Revisited

This is a story that I picked up on the Jerusalem post, allegedly a medical professional in Belgium refused to treat an elderly Jewish patient because of Gaza. The situation is being formally investigated by the authorities, so I won't comment on the specifics of this one.

In general I hope everyone agrees that clearly a medical professional refusing to help someone who is Jewish (or any other group for that matter) because of their political dislike of the  actions of a state [Israel], is morally and (hopefully) legally wrong in most western countries. 'Period', as the Americans would say. We shall see what happens in this case, but  more generally, shall we not remind ourselves of what the  [modern] Hippocratic Oath say about patient welfare ? 

Oh, let's see :

"I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help".  

Shark in the clouds ?

About the left...

One thing that our family have always found frustrating is that the left are highly critical of Israel and in a strange coalition with an ideology which in theory should be antithetical  to their own. I've come across this excellent article here, an extract is below: 

"To my former friends on the left who see themselves as champions of progressive values while criticizing Israel’s attempts at self-defense I have this to say: You have already chosen. You’re all right-wingers now. You would probably want to cancel that monthly contribution to Planned Parenthood; the Gazan maniacs you tolerate don’t really go for that kind of stuff. And go ahead and give the membership department of the National Rifle Association a call, as you are now putting up with an organization whose passion for bearing arms at all costs far exceeds even that of the most fervent American survivalist. So please: Stop whining about the Koch brothers or the Tea Party or the Hobby Lobby ruling. In making excuses for Hamas, you’re endorsing a force of religious intolerance and a purveyor of oppression far, far more demonic than those benign forces at home you characterize as the destroyers of civil liberties and human rights."

Exactly. So if you are left wing, what DO you have to say for yourself?

Too sexy for a Jew?

Oooooh, 

Quite literally ! Today is apparently 'National Orgasm Day'.  Apparently Ann Summers (the sex shop) has seen a surge in sales. Yeah, you got that right, the prudish Brits do have a day which celebrates sex. It seems rather odd and perhaps an indication of our strange cultural times, that on the one hand we don't normally talk about sexual intercourse, but on the other there is a huge growth of the porn industry and what I take to be the over sexualisation of society, especially young teenage girls. It is true that when I was a teenager I always wanted to look 'sexy' and older than I actually was. But to be honest, I never really pushed the boundaries that some girls seem to do today (my skirts were never and still are knee length). 

The strange thing is that as a far as Judaism is concerned, sex within the context of heterosexual married life is a good thing ( I believe that my sister has explained our family's approach to homosexual activity before, in her post here, so I don't want this to turn into another rant against the gay). We are actively encouraged to -put it crudely - shag on the Shabbat. We are also to have at least 2 children, if we can, but sex isn't just about pro-creation, but an enjoyment in its own right. Indeed I'm supposed to have sex even after I've lost the ability to have children. Sex in Judaism is also controlled by the woman and not the man. So sex in itself isn't a bad thing; it is in fact a wonderful thing. I enjoy sex. I really do. But the downside is that outside of its proper place and context sex can be a dangerous thing. Which is sad because that is not they way it is supposed to be. 

No true atheists ?

Over at the Cranmer blog, I have been involved in a discussion. I thought I'd put this up here so people can offer their own thoughts.

 To summarise :

I. No true atheists. 

The Christians on the blog have been arguing with an atheist & the claim is that this atheist is in denial about God's existence; i.e. an atheist really knows that God exists, but wilfully chooses not to acknowledge this fact.This stems from an idea of Christian theologian John Calvin, called 'sensus divinitas'. This Calvinistic idea states that we all have a knowledge of God, but then at the same time in denial of him. Furthermore this idea isn't just that man is in denial of a classical theist God, but the specific Christian God. The argument for this proof that God exists is by the creation & therefore nature itself. So for want of a better word, as far as this argument goes, there are no true atheists. My position was to dispute this claim (more below on that later). The proof from the Christian Bible for this argument was given to me as  Romans Chapter 1 verses 18 to 20, where Paul states : 

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

II. My response & the counter

Because I questioned this idea , a sub-thread developed, as to whether or not my faith, Rabbinic Orthodox Judaism, holds to a similar concept or not & various arguments have been put forward to this effect. The key idea here was the concept of the 7 laws of Noah.

My critique of 'No true atheists'. 

To deal with each of these issues in turn. Firstly 'sensus divinitas' would make sense if

1) It was trying to explain why there are multiple different religions in the world.

2) the world was 100% Christian & it was atheist vs Christian with no other religions.

From what I've got on this subject the theory is not attempting to explain the divine in all religions, but Christianity on its own; i.e. we are all somehow born with this idea of the divine nature of the Christian God, so point 1 becomes irrelevant. 

As for point 2, the world clearly isn't divided between atheist or Christianity, but these 2 groups alongside multiple other faiths. I cannot see how, say, a Hindu in India is born with a sense of the divine Christian God. That doesn't make any sense to me.

As for the argument from creation and or nature, my problem with this was  twofold. It is not that there is anything wrong with these classic theistic arguments. But for a start an argument for a God from creation doesn't necessarily in and of itself point to a Christian God or for that matter a Jewish or Islamic one. Therefore it doesn't push sensus devinitas  very far. Secondly an argument from nature does not get us very far when one thinks that the Christian God claims to be above all a God of love (John 3: 16 being the most famous). Look at nature and you will find some terrible stuff; black holes which stuck in all matter, black widow spiders and of course mankind itself is a part of nature : war, death, famine, hate, pride, lust are but a few examples of the downside to humanity. 

[Now I will say, I was surprised that this wasn't mentioned on the thread in response :  the concept of the Christian Devil and the fall of man in the Genesis creation account. I won't elaborate much on this, but from previous Christian encounters this has often been a fall back position].

A third idea to me is that Judaism has the proof that not only does a God exist, but we can grasp, however, shallow, what God is like. We have the concept 'Ana nafshi ketavit yehavit': I have invested my very essence in writing [The Torah], so when someone asks about God it is there in the words of our Bible. Of course that does not mean we can completely understand the divine will, which is why atheists have a greater luxury than those who do believe, as Sephardi Rabbi Judah Ha-Levi said " If I understood Him I would be Him" .Hence the real question for a Jew or for anyone of faith,is who is God? What is he like? What is his will? These questions are in part, for a Jew & the thinking person of faith generally, answered in the Torah,the remainder of the Hebrew Bible & the works of our Chazal, Sages & Rabbis.

One final point that I would like to make is that I noted during the  course of the discussion that Judaism is not a proselytising faith. In other words we do not actively seek to convert people, unlike Christianity or Islam, but we do suggest that Gentiles follow 7 basic laws as these are applicable to all of humanity. I noted, therefore that I felt relaxed about wanting to convince or convert an atheist to my faith. This leads us nicely to the counter argument put to me, which I outline below. 

The counter argument to me  : 

1. Do you believe knowledge of God is restricted to Jews alone and that gentiles can have no insight into the Divine? According to your faith, following the Seven Laws of Noah is a prerequisite for a gentile to share in the life to come. If he's never told this, how does he know other than instinctively i.e. the knowledge is implanted by God?

2. One of the laws proscribes Idolatry, therefore this implies to a gentile that one must follow God or believe in him in order to fulfil this commandment   

3.How can there be prohibitions against idolatry and blasphemy in the Noahide laws if we all don't know (even without necessarily consciously knowing) there is a Creator God? And the other laws indicate a inbuilt sense of right and wrong.

My response 

Judaism itself and the 7 laws are to do with implementing the divine will. That is it is about action and deed, not an abstract belief and creed, which is the point you haven't grasped & which is what the God of Judaism requires of a human being, unlike Christianity which is a full worship and belief in Jesus as the penal sacrifice for all of mankind's sins, past, present and future in order to obtain passage into heaven. 

The belief in a God isn't "implied" by these laws because the Rabbis of the Talmud who taught the 7 laws did, of course, believe in God and not only that they would say these laws came from God. But it is a slightly different matter for a Jew to demand that a gentile -atheist or not- follow God. Otherwise you'd all have to convert and as you know we don't evangelize as Christianity or Islam do.

Well, what do people here think of this issue?

NB- I agree that my response could have been more robust, but I didn't have a lot of time to go through in depth. That is the problem with the google blogging comment section, which is why I use discus . 

Scary dragonfly in Bucks

Apparently this was what flew into someone's home in Bucks,according to the Metro :

The eight-inch Jurassic-sized beast was photographed as it rested on a window blind inside 53-year-old Rowena Wilkinson’s home in Weston Turville.The black and grey coloured dragonfly was apparently whizzing around her kitchen as her daughter Molly, 24, prepared to say goodbye to her three-year-old goddaughter Isla Parkin and isla’s mother Ellie Shelby, 24.

 Ow, good job it wasn't my home  (:



Dragonfly facts

• The insect has existed for 325million years but is now threatened by insecticide use, water pollution and the draining of wetlands for housing.
• In Great Britain there are about 30 species - one has become extinct
• The largest in the UK are Demoiselles, which have a body length of about 50 mm and a wingspan of about 60mm

Hobbit 3 - battle of the five armies, first trailer

OOOH ! ! !

The trailer for the third and final part of the Hobbit film. Whilst I'm not particularly into science fiction, I do like films or books like the Hobbit, which are basically fantasy films. It looks fanastic! 

Battle Of The Five Armies, which once again stars Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch and Evangeline Lilly, will be released in cinemas on December 12.

Is Rabbi Sacks right about cyber space?

There is an interesting news item at the Jewish news, regarding Rabbi Lord Sack's recent intervention on social media/the Internet that threatens to return humanity “back to the dark ages”, the article continues :

Citing attacks against the Jewish community in France and Germany, he added: “Forgive me if I say that I did not expect, 120 years after the Dreyfus case and 70 years after the Holocaust, that the cry of ‘Death to the Jews’ would be heard again in the streets of France and Germany.”Lord Sacks added that while the recent violence carried echoes of the past, it is being spread faster by modern social media sites such as Twitter.

I agree with Lord Sacks that modern social media has made us more globally aware and that communications are such that anyone can have a voice; I also agree that the surge in anti-semitism is alarming and that some reports seem to want to explain that when Germans are pro-Israel it is because of holocaust guilt, rather than genuine support (see this BBC article). 

This democratisation of the political process is positive, in so much as the ordinary people have a forum for their opinions. The negative side is that social media can and does attract the cyber fanatics who are like a baying mob, especially toward Jews and Israel at present. The one thing that we must remember is that we Jews have often had to defend ourselves and our religion, when we had no Israel and no IDF. We did so on the back of our wits, belief & sheer courage : does anyone remember the disputation of Barcelona? 

So today there is an Internet and yes it can be full of disturbing messages and arguments. We must regain that voice quickly and win the argument .It is not social media that is the problem, rather we must remind ourselves that we are Jews and we have never been afraid of defending our faith when necessary, often with the most powerful weapon of all: words, writing and debate. So today we must remember that whilst opponents have a voice so do we. Let us make them hear us. Let us win the argument once more. 

The staying power of Orthodoxy in religion

This is a question I've been racking my brains about recently : why is it that as the world becomes more secularised & some religions wish to adapt to this zeitgeist, the religions which are surviving and growing are the ones who are decidedly not going along 'with the programme as David Cameron once said about the Church of England women Bishops issue. I wonder why that this the case, because the rationale for religions to move with the times is (so I understand) to help religion 'survive' current times. Yet in our own faith the liberal-reform movement is not doing well, but the other extreme, Haredi Judaism is growing the fastest. It is not just the Jewish religion, for example,  Evangelical & non denominational  Christianity, all sorts of non established movements, such as new age, paganism etc, last but not least the growth of -for want of a better word- Islamic fundamentalism.Are all doing well. 

My own immediate answer is that when people follow a religion, they want fire in their belly, not doubt; certainty, not confusion. They want answers, not a load of difficult questions as to whether or not things really happened in the way their texts say they did. They want community, not isolation, in so much as I think human beings will on the most part always follow the crowd. They will thrive under real or perceived persecution. Such as the rational reasons. Others would invoke their god. But then the problem with that is it doesn't explain why someone else's god is also seemingly making their religion grow as well (although of course you can invent the devil to explain these things).

Discuss.

Cravings when Preggers

Oy,  as I'm sure people are aware that most pregnant women have strange cravings and desires for foods which are decidedly odd. This is perfectly natural and normal with hormones going all over place (although I seemed to take quite a long time to get over mine, but I say I'm SPECIAL , so that's OK).

So to share and  get rid of any stigma I will share with you the cravings and foods I had during pregnancy : 

• Fried Banana with chili and ice cream
• Cold beef burgers & custard 
• Hard boiled eggs 
• Lot's of ginger beer ( I normally can't stand the stuff!)

If anyone else wants to share, please feel free to do so.

Darling, people in THIS VILLAGE ....

....Don't shop at TESCO!!

Via the Metro newspaper -

"A worried resident called police to report a ‘suspicious’Tesco van parked in the street.But when he was told by the emergency operator that it was most probably a delivery being made, the caller snapped: ‘People in this village don’t shop at Tesco.’ "

This tells you all you need to know about Britain's class system, as does this one about those who shop at a certain posh super market : [if the concept of a 'super market' can really be thought of as classy].

 Hilarious quotes from Waitrose shoppers collected on Facebook page. 'Overheard In Waitrose' is a collection of gems from UK's smartest shoppers Members of the public submit them to Facebook page for others' amusement. Highlights include: 

• 'Don't rummage in the reduced bin, someone from the golf club might see you': 

• 'Mummy, are we shopping for the boat as well?'

• Another customer asked: 'Darling, do we need parmesan for both houses?' 

• A woman told butcher: 'Topside for the dog? We're not TRYING to kill her'

• Another said: 'There are no pine nuts in Tesco, it's like the Third World'

• And another: 'Lucas, put the falafel down, you already chose olives as treat'

Thankfully being a daughter of working class Jews made good, I simply don't go into this sort of snobbery. I go to a local Kosher butcher and a Greengrocer instead. And  thinking you've got money and telling everyone else is vulgar, not classy or posh.  It would appear that having money is also no guarantee of politeness or etiquette. 

No More JW encounters?

Oy, apparently- and I have seen this at the train station when I go commuting- the Jehavoah's Witness's are changing tactic to do their 'mission' at train stations.  As people will know from my musings at my brother's blog, I do get a knock on the door every Friday morning from our local JW group. Even though they know we are a Jewish house hold and there is  my Mezuzah celebrating this fact, they STILL want to say hello. This is of course, not because they engage in religious dialogue (that stopped many months ago, because I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to debating theology ), but because

• I'm the only person in the  village who isn't a JW who didn't slam the door in their faces and debated them. 

• They like my selection of my FREE  herbal teas and strong Turkish coffee. 

Of course being kind to the stranger was the Jewish thing to do. I think I'm too kind. I will miss the encounters, although it looks like it will be just  the Anglicans trying to sell me a copy of the Parish Magazine from now on ( which is really the way for their Church to make money, which I don't object to , although reading through their lady Vicar's incoherent ramblings over 2 pages to me isn't worth £5 a year).

Strangely Placed restaurants?

I was reading the Metro on a train journey from London a couple of days ago and there was an article on the following ITHAA restaurant in the Maldives... part of a luxury hotel chain experience. Not that I or my husband would be able to afford a £190 meal per person-besides which  it wouldn't be Kosher & children aren't allowed for evening meals-  but there does seem to be something of a pull eating in a water free water tank (personally I think the design as impressive as a roadside service station) with fish all around. 

I wonder what the first restaurant in a space station or another planet would be like & would anyone pay for this ? Time for the imagination to wonder; glass domes on Mars, lunar colonies with egg shaped habitats, space stations orbiting the earth; space stations inside the gas giants. Wonder what they would be like? Please share your ideas and also do readers know of any other strangely placed restaurants? 

New Tory women?

I've posted the following at my brother's blog :

New Tory women?

Basically discussing attitudes of  women in politics, following the reshuffle last week.

לְקַדֵם בִּבְרָכָה

Hello All,

Welcome to my new blog. Whilst I am a contributor to my brothers blog (here), I have decided that I also wish to blog full time  at my own place. I'm a 30 something Jewish girl in South West England. Join me here for my journey through life's trials and life's joy. My focus will be : 

• Judaism
• Food
• Philosophy
• History
• Life for a Jew in England 
• Christian -Jewish relations and theology
• Other notes which may be of interest to me

Enjoy the ride.