On Judaism

Moishe3rd
I want to thank you for your most enlightening and thorughly enjoyable posts. You have managed to wake up some of my long dormant brain cells at least in regard to my religion.
I sent your post, {Daf Yomi} to my son who is having to some extent a religious reawaking.

Moishe,

thank you for all of your help. After Shabbos I'm probably going to head down to the local Jewish bookstore and pick up that volume. And I just found a livejournal community that's been created just to study the daf yomi!

But something the guy said in the video I really needed to hear about commitment and how inspiration will only take us so far. This isn't just in reference to daf yomi but to a lot of things. So thanks again.

Dauer

Meanwhile, back at the synagogue...
One - Dauer and AU,
You all have validated my existence. Thank you.
I showed your posts to my "woman of valor," my wife, who believes that the time I spend on the internet writing is pure narashkeit - foolishness.
Thank you again.

Two - Doin' the Daf. I have managed thus far to get only two days behind and I am hoping to catch up by the end of today.
I gloss through the incomprensible parts (I listen and read, but do not ponder), but I am fascinated by the parts that cover things I find fascinating. I did not expect that. The speed at which I must go enables me to hit new, interesting points several times a day, as opposed to my normal course of Torah (and Talmud) study, which is to learn a certain part of one thing each night. Sometimes it is interesting, sometimes it puts me to sleep.
I am liking Daf Yomi.
I highly reccomend it - even to those who might be less learned or so inclined (as I am, compared to most of my companions and my children).

A Frelichin Purim!
We learn in the Zohar, the 2,000 year old mystical commentary on the Torah (the five books of Moses), that the nations of the world are judged on the Jewish holiday known as Hoshana Raba.

On the Jewish holiday of Purim, we read in the Book of Esther, the Megillah, that the ten wicked sons of Haman were hung. On the Megillah scroll itself, one letter is written smaller than all of the others in three of the ten son's names: the sav of Parshandasa, the mem of Parmashasa and the zayin of Vayzasa. The combination of these three letters is the designation of the Jewish year 5707.
The Jewish year 5707 began on Rosh Hoshana, September 25, 1946.
The Nuremberg trials took place in that secular year of 1946. At the end of those trials, 11 German war criminals were convicted to be sentenced to death by hanging. Hermann Goring committed suicide, and so, on October 16, 1946 , which was the date that year of the Jewish holiday of Hoshana Raba, where G-d judges the nations of the world, ten of the worst Nazi war criminals were hanged.
The last one to be hung, Julius Schtreicher - editor of Der Sturmer, the Nazi propaganda newspaper, shouted out, with the rope literally around his neck, "Dies ist mein Purimfest 1946!" "This is my Purimfest, 1946!"

Purim is the hidden holiday of the Jews. It is a story where everything means something else. It is a story where everything seems to happen by chance but, in reality, everything is totally controlled by G-d.
It is the only book in Judaism where G-d's Name is never written; never mentioned.
It is a peculiar holiday. It is not a major festival such as Rosh Hashanah or Passover and, it happened a long time after these festivals were established in the Torah. But, nonetheless, it is a time of wonders and miracles where the presence of G-d remains totally hidden.
Purim is the only Jewish holiday where we are commanded to get drunk enough that we can't tell the difference between "Blessed be Mordechai" and "Cursed be Haman!"
It is a story where the villain, Haman, plots the total annihilation of the Jews, gets the King's approval and sends irreversible decrees throughout the land guaranteeing that the Jews will, in fact, all be destroyed - only to see his plans totally overturned and it is Haman and his ten sons who are annihilated.

One more story before the story 
Josef Stalin, the mad dictator of the Soviet Union, was a vicious anti-Semite. In the Party Congress of October, 1952, he made it clear that he planned to "cleanse the party" of all those that he felt were disloyal. In November, high Kremlin officials and all of the doctors who served Stalin were arrested and forced to confess to a plethora of bizarre crimes. The majority of these doctors and officials were Jewish and it became clear that a massive anti-Jewish reign of terror was planned. Stalin even believed that Beria, the murderous thug who head his secret police, was Jewish, and Stalin planned to have him killed also.
However, four months later, on March 1st, 1953, Stalin suffered a stroke and died as a result, before he could institute his nefarious plans.
March 1st was the Jewish holiday of Purim.

Now… The story of Purim begins with King Achashverosh, the king of Persia, married to Vashti, his queen.
He throws a big party.
Everybody, including all of the Jews, gets to come.
After some drunken carousing and revelry, the king orders his wife to come before him and his guests, wearing nothing besides her royal crown. She refuses to come before him so, as all good Persian despots do, he has her executed.
Queen-less, the king calls out and sequesters all of the eligible women in the land. Esther, a Jew, gets herded in with the rest of them. No one knows she is Jewish and her uncle Mordechai tells her to keep her identity secret. And, of course, from among all the women taken to the palace, the king falls in love with her and Esther becomes Queen. (Hmmm… maybe the story is rigged?)
Then! The Plot thickens:
King Achashverosh's top minister is a man named Haman.
Haman becomes pathologically obsessed with Mordechai, the Jew, whom Haman believes is royally dissing him (Mordechai failed Groveling Obsequiously 101). So, Haman gets King Achashverosh to agree to issue a secret, irrevocable, decree to annihilate all of the Jews of Persia on the 13th day of the Hebrew month of Adar. Haman figures - one Jew; a million Jews. What's the difference? Kill ?'em all! He decides on the best date for genocide by chance, by throwing lots which are called "purim."
Because Haman believes that everything that happens on Earth is a random occurrence. He believes that everything happens by chance. The only fate Haman recognizes is the fate that Haman believes he is deciding to create. Haman believes that Haman is in control.
However, by casting lots, by creating Purim, Haman, who believes in the transcendent power of Chance, suddenly illustrates that, in fact -
Nothing happens by chance.
Because, from the point that Haman shakes the dice, everything begins to change; everything becomes topsy - turvy.
Things begin to go very bad for Haman.
First, Haman gets called to King Achashverosh and is asked how to honor someone whom the King wishes to honor. Expecting that these honors will be for himself, he lays out a fine set of accolades and laurels only to find he, himself, forced to bestow these honors on his arch-enemy Mordechai.
Then, Haman is overjoyed to be invited along with the King to a feast given by Queen Esther, believing that he is once more being honored above all others, only to discover that the Queen is Jewish.
Oops!
Big Oops for Haman!
Suddenly, Haman finds himself accused by the Queen of plotting to murder her along with her people.
Oops! Uh Oh.
Haman begs for mercy. Haman throws himself onto the queen's bed to beg; to plead for his life - only to be caught by the king in this rather precarious position.
Oops! Ouch!
Haman is accused of attempted rape.
Oh my goodness gracious!
How could things have possibly gotten this turned upside down, wonders Haman? But, wait, there's more!
Haman erected a giant gallows to hang Mordechai, whom he was just itching to kill. Unfortunately for Haman, King Achashverosh sentences Haman to die on this same gallows.
"So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordechai,"
(Megillah, The Book of Esther, VII, 10)

And, as for Queen Esther, Mordechai, and the Jews, whom Haman wanted to annihilate; to wipe off the face earth? Well, rather than being annihilated, they are given the king's permission to annihilate their enemies. And Mordechai is given Haman's place as Prime Minister.
"The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor." (Megillah, The Book of Esther, VIII, 16)

The Hebrew word that best describes Purim is venahafoch hu, meaning "flipped over story." Everything is upside down.
The things that look bad in the Purim story; that seemed to be happening by Chance were, in fact, intricately planned by G-d for the good. The lesson to be learned from Purim is that Nothing happens by accident. Nothing happens by Chance. G-d may conceal his presence in the world, but G-d is the hidden Master who puts everything into place.

And the Purim story continues to this day. Today's Purim story goes something like this:
In the year 1991, Saddam Hussein (like Haman, an evil dictator who wanted to wipe out the Jews), of Iraq (formerly know as Babylon and Persia where lived Mordechai and Esther and most of the Jewish people), was utterly defeated in war by a United States coalition, led by President George Bush (the father of today's President Bush).
Saddam Hussein periodically promised to wipe out Israel, both before and after this first Gulf War in 1991. During that Gulf War, Saddam Hussein attacked Israel with 39 missiles for no other purpose than to murder Israelis. He simply wanted to annihilate the Jews.
After being asked not to respond, Israel became the only nation in the modern history of the world to do absolutely nothing after being viciously attacked by another nation.
The first Gulf War was the only occurrence in Israel's history where Israel did not retaliate against an enemy that attacked them and who had sworn to destroy Israel.
As far as I know - this is the only instance in the history of the world where a nation was attacked and did not defend itself, even though it could have overwhelmingly destroyed the other nation...

In the year 1991, Saddam Hussein, this evil dictator of Iraq, was utterly defeated in the first Gulf War - on Purim.
His generals signed a treaty with the coalition force that defeated him, in a tent somewhere outside of Basra. According to the Jewish Calendar, that day was the 14th of Adar, 5751 - Purim.

Now, as I have noted, this area that encompasses part of modern day Iraq was formerly known as Babylon. Babylon was the kingdom that destroyed the First Temple; conquered Israel; and took the Jews back to their land as slaves. Persia in turn conquered Babylon. And, it is that Persia where King Achashverosh ruled over the former Babylonian Jews at the time of the original Purim, 2500 years ago.
In the Book of Esther, it says that from the beginning of King Achashverosh's reign to the time that that Haman took a "chance" and plotted to annihilate the Jews was a period of twelve years.
"In the twelfth year of King Achashverosh, in the first month, Nisan, they cast lots, Pur as it is called, in the presence of Haman, taking day by day and month by month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar."
(Megillah, The Book of Esther, III, 7)

Twelve years after President George Bush accepted Saddam Hussein's surrender in 1991, another President George Bush announced the start of a new war against Saddam Hussein.
This President Bush said "Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing."
President George Bush declared war on Saddam Hussein in March of 2003, 12 years after his father made peace. This day was the 14th of Adar, 5763 - Purim.
The entire twelve years, from the time President George Bush Sr. signed a treaty on Purim with the evil dictator, Saddam Hussein, who wanted to annihilate the Jews, to the time his son, President George Bush, declared war on Purim with the evil dictator, Saddam Hussein, who still wanted to annihilate the Jews, a new "flipped over" story was created. It was a modern Purim story where nothing was what it seemed.
This new Purim story said that Saddam Hussein was utterly defeated.
This new Purim story said Saddam Hussein was a dangerous maniac.
This new Purim story encouraged Iraqis to rebel and overthrow their dictator.
This new Purim story let the defeated Saddam Hussein defeat his rebellious subjects.
This new Purim story had the defeated, dangerous, peaceful, maniacal Saddam Hussein paying terrorists to try to annihilate Israel and attack the "victorious" United States aircraft.
This new Purim story saw an "insignificant," "defeated" Saddam Hussein bribe the major powers of the world, including the United Nations, into doing whatever he wished to do, even though the major powers of the world and the United Nations had declared Saddam Hussein an outlaw; a criminal; a thoroughly dangerous man.
This new Purim story saw Saddam Hussein grow and prosper as the evil dictator of Iraq while his nemesis, President George Bush, was removed from office.
This new Purim story saw a new President George Bush elected, ostensibly by "confused, elderly, Jewish voters" living in Florida.
This new Purim story saw every single major power in the world, including the United Nations, agree that the evil dictator, Saddam Hussein, was a threat to the world because he had Weapons of Mass Destruction.
And, this new Purim story saw that the only item that the world could agree upon regarding Saddam Hussein, apparently did not exist.
On March 18th, 2003, President George Bush declared war on Saddam Hussein. The United States declared war on the only country that ever attacked Israel where Israel did not retaliate.
And, we saw that in the twelfth year this Purim story, Saddam Hussein and his evil sons were annihilated.
Just as in Megillas Esther, in the twelfth year, Haman and his evil sons were annihilated.

The story doesn't end there.
On the thirteenth year of the Purim story in the Book of Esther - the Megillah tells us that the Jewish holiday of Purim was established by the authority of Queen Esther and the Prime Minister, Mordechai.
A decree of Law obligated the all Jews to remember this holiday forever.
"That is why they called these days ?'Purim' from the word 'pur'. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and because of what they had experienced, and what had happened to them, the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselves and their descendants, and upon all who might join them, to observe these two days, without fail, in the manner prescribed, and at the proper time each year. Consequently, these days should be remembered and celebrated by every single generation, family, province, and city. And these days of Purim should never cease among the Jews, nor shall their remembrance perish from their descendants." (Megillah, the Book of Esther, IX, 26-28)

In the year 2004, which would be the thirteenth year of this Purim story, on Sunday, March 7th, a curious thing happened.
The Iraqis did not sign a new constitution.
They were supposed to sign on new constitution on that day, but they put it off for one day. Their chief religious cleric, Sistani, deliberately postponed the signing of the new Iraqi constitution for one day.
Their new constitution, their new decree of Law that could establish a new era of peace for Iraq, was signed the following day. That date was the 15th of Adar, 5764, on day following Purim, the day called Shushan Purim.
"But the Jews in Shushan mustered on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and so rested on the fifteenth, and made it a day of feasting and merrymaking. That is why village Jews, who live in unwalled towns, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and make it a day of merrymaking and feasting, and as a holiday and an occasion for sending gifts to one another." (Megillah, the Book of Esther, IX, 18)
The Jews who live in walled cities celebrate Purim on the 15th of Adar, not the 14th. This day is called Shushan Purim.
Shushan was a walled city.
Babylon was a walled city.
And Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, is a walled city. The new Iraqi constitution was signed in Baghdad on Shusan Purim, the Purim of walled cities.
In this 13th year of this Purim story, we have seen the Iraqis sign a new Constitution; hold elections and attempt to establish Law for perhaps the first time in modern history.

Purim is a time when the Name of G-d is hidden. When even the Hand of G-d is not revealed. But Purim is a time nothing is what it seems. Purim is a time when, in reality, Everything is manipulated for G-d's purposes.
It is a time when G-d reveals that He is the only one in control.

After the Megillah ends, we learn that King Achashverosh dies and Esther's son, who the world called Darius, ruled in Persia. He was a friend to the Jews and allowed the Jewish people to continue rebuilding the Second Temple.
That would have been the Fourteenth year of the original Purim story.
Purim this year the 15th of Adar II, 5765 starts on the evening of March 24, 2005.
Perhaps we can look forward to the new King of Persia becoming a friend to the Jewish People….

A Frelichan Purim!!
(Freilich is a Yiddish word meaning overwhelmingly joyous)

Nicely thought out. I'm not going to engage you in a political discussion but a minor counterpoint; scholars are in general agreement that the Zohar is a later work and even just after the time it was first "discovered" there have been people who doubted its authenticity in whole or part like Isaac of Acre and Joseph ibn Wakkar of Toledo.

But modern scholarship has shown the inferior nature of the aramaic and the contemporary influences on the text itself.

I know you'll probably disagree with me. That's fine. Just want the information available for those who might desire it.

Dauer

No problemo.
Whether the Zohar was written 2000 years ago or 200 years ago, it was still written before WW II.
And that still makes "Purimfest" on Hoshana Rabah among the things that make you go "Hmmmm?"

Well I think there are many coincidences and also many zealously applied models that can be stretched to make a person go hmmm like the writings of Joseph Campbell, the predictions of Nostradamus, the dating of the creation of the world by the Hindus.

Ahh, but it ees Pureem. And on Purim all things should make you go Hmmm?
Campbell is a piker.
The Hindus are descended from the Jews.
And, Nostradamus was working on some heavy hallucinogens.
Nonetheless, Life IS beautiful all the time. And it makes me go hmmm?

(And I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats...)

Well, no face for Nostradamus though I don't see how his use of drugs discredits any similarity his believers find between his prophecy and reality.



We're all mad. Baruch Hashem for humor.

Dauer

Oops, I'm late, but I hope a good Purim was had by all. I always loved Esther, she's got cojones, whereas a lot of the other women in the Old Testament, etc. are mainly around to produce sons.

The most stereotype-breaking biblical woman of all is Jael:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=15812

Vicious.

From Shlock Rock album "Sgt. Shlocker's Magical History Tour" - sung to the tune of "Pretty Woman"

Aishet Chayil, Devorah's bravery.
Aishet Chayil, Prophet and Judge was she.
Aishet Chayil, Barak we need you, to save the Jews
Because you asked I will come too.
Devorah

Aishet Chayil, Sisra said I'll hide.
Aishet Chayil, Yael said come inside.
Aishet Chayil, Now here's a drink, Now go to sleep,
And you will pay for your bad deeds.
Yael

Aishet Chayil, Chana had no one.
Aishet Chayil,she prayed for a son.
Aishet Chayil,she was sent home by Eli.
Aishet Chayil, do not fear,
Hashem will answer you and it is clear,
Aishet Chayil, had Shmuel Hanavi.
He led the people to do what's right,
Found Saul and David two kings of might.

Aishet Chayil, Rachav's alibi,
Aishet Chayil, I didn't know they're spies,
Aishet Chayil, they went away hey,
Ok, now you must wait three days Ok,
I'll be in my home it's safe.
When you come back just wait,
What will you see.
The ribbon you gave me,
yeah will protect my family,
Oh Oh Aishet Chayil

That is just awful! Where did you dig that up? No, wait, Jewish humor. It must have come from "the source." No no. I've said too much. Not a good idea to speak of this here...

der oylem iz a goylem...


So what is everyone planning for Pesach/Passover? Anyone hosting?

Friday evening before bed I read the standard hagadah for the first time as one would read anything else instead of at the seder. Not bad. I hope, before Passover, to also read the Breslover Hagadah and maybe the Artscroll Hagadah of the hasidic masters. But I don't know if I can do both. I'll probably pick one. At the seder I go to we use Waskow's Freedom Hagadah, I think is what he called it. And for the second seder it will probably be Maxwell House hagadot all around.

But both will be with family. And my girlfriend will be going to her first seders which is going to be nice.

Back to Moishe:

I dropped Daf Yomi after reading a few discouraging statements from some people dropping out (and a rather negative review of daf yomi as a course of study for beginners) but this Shabbat I worked on catching up and I'm still working at it. I have to say this is some colorful material we've been treading through.

Dauer

Judaism
hi. i am jewish, but i don't really believe in a god. i believe god exits, but the stories in the bible are NOT TRUE! i like the holidays and have had my bat mitzvah, but i honestly don't really care about religious topics.

So, sure, why don't you stop by for the second seder?
We are going out to friends for the first night, but we are hosting other friends on the second night.
And, OY, this is one of those times that I contemplate becoming irreligious.
We have to daven shacharis on Shabbos starting around 6:30 AM, so we can finish eating the Shabbos meal, bread by 10:27 AM so that we can have the third meal (without bread - no chometz after 10:27 AM) a long time before Passover begins after Shabbos on Saturday night, because you can't eat a meal too close to the Seder, for which we will probably not start eating until about 11:30 Pm anyway for Criminy's sake!! Oy.
Oy.
Anyway, we use whatever Hagadah is handy. I buy a new one each year. I am currently learning from the Artscroll Hagadah, but I haven't bought my new one yet. One of my favorites is the Hagadah Beruah by the Chofetz Chaim.
Chag Sameach when you get there...

And, animalover 18, welcome.
hi. i am jewish, but i don't really believe in a god. i believe god exits, but the stories in the bible are NOT TRUE! i like the holidays and have had my bat mitzvah, but i honestly don't really care about religious topics.

So, sure, why don't you stop by for the second seder?
We are going out to friends for the first night, but we are hosting other friends on the second night.
And, OY, this is one of those times that I contemplate becoming irreligious.
We have to daven shacharis on Shabbos starting around 6:30 AM, so we can finish eating the Shabbos meal, bread by 10:27 AM so that we can have the third meal (without bread - no chometz after 10:27 AM) a long time before Passover begins after Shabbos on Saturday night, because you can't eat a meal too close to the Seder, for which we will probably not start eating until about 11:30 Pm anyway for Criminy's sake!! Oy.
Oy.
Anyway, we use whatever Hagadah is handy. I buy a new one each year. I am currently learning from the Artscroll Hagadah, but I haven't bought my new one yet. One of my favorites is the Hagadah Beruah by the Chofetz Chaim.
Chag Sameach when you get there...

And, animalover 18, welcome.

I assume that you are probably in your teens, if you are mentioning your bas mitzvah.
If you do have any particular questions about Judaism, or about G-d, or about my opinion that religious topics are about the most fun a person could possibly have (Yippee! ), feel free to ask.

Just your friendly neighborhood goy dropping by to wish you a happy Pesach / Passover.

Sorry if that's not the way to express it, but you know what I mean.

~George

At one time passover was a very happy time in my home. We always had at least 20 people at the seder. However, in the last few years it has been a little empty and sad. Those who usually came have either passed on or are scattered all over the country and in the case of my older son lives in Europe. Well there is always plenty to eat. My wife still cooks for 20.

In any event good yontiff to all.

...and good yontiff to you.