Just for Fellowship Thread

[GinooKo]

Lanie, I think you're off to a good start. I've made so many nice friends here.

Thanks Dawn and good evening to you!! I really enjoy the fellowship here and I'm glad to meet you.

 

[Lbiagm]

hi lane.

 

[GinooKo]

Hi Lbiagm. good evening!!!

 

[Lbiagm]

what up Lane

 

[GinooKo]

I just ordered pizza. Hubby's turn to cook is on Sundays but I guess he doesn't feel like having hamburgers so we are having pizza instead. How is you evening going so far?

 

[hope21]

Hi. I've been posting on Emma's Drive By Repuation thread for awhile. I've made some really great friends there. But I don't need anymore rep points. I thought that maybe some people would like a thread just to talk without the points.

So, if you're like me and just want to catch up with people. Make some friends. Talk about your day. Tell a joke. Support and edify each other in the spirit of fellowship for fellowships sake. I hope you'll join me here.

hey how are u/? im awsoem i ahve no diea how thi spoint system works. all i wnana do is meet and chat to pople.

so ya. whyats been ahppening....

 

[Lbiagm]

my evening is fine lane.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

Thank you all for the Happy Birthday wishes! My comment upon reaching the grand & noble age of 41 is that aging & getting old are 2 entirely different things. Our bodies will age, God wrote that into the hardware & there's absolutely nothing that we can do about it. But getting old? That's all in the mind & is entirely up to us! I want to be young-at-heart always!

Welcome to the newbies (jp, cia & Lanie)!

I got off the bus from Jerusalem in our neighborhood last Thursday afternoon/evening & spied Wendy & Naor (3.5) a good way down the street. Wendy saw me & took Naor & pointed him in my direction. I saw this & said to a neighbor (who happened to be getting out of her car at that moment, next to where I was), "Here comes the highlight of my day." She didn't know what I meant until she heard Naor shout, "Daddy!" and come charging up the street into my outstretched arms. She smiled & said, "That's a good highlight." Mmmm, indeed it was!

This past Saturday, we (Jews all over the world) read the weekly Torah portion (actually, it's 2 portions that are read together this year) of Leviticus 16:1-20:27 in synagogue. Leviticus 19:18 tells us (inter alia):

...but you shall love your neighbor as yourself...

This, of course, is the famous "Golden Rule". But the (original) Hebrew presents us with a grammatical anomaly. The (original) Hebrew is:

v'ahavta lere'acha cmocha

The use of the preposition/prefix "le..." goes against the standard rules of Hebrew grammar. Normally, the preposition/prefix "et..." would be used.

It is a principle of Jewish Biblical exegesis that there is no wasted or redundant ink in the scriptures, that every word and every letter of the Torah are full of meaning & are there to teach us something, and that we can learn much from seemingly trivial turns of phrase, subtle differences in the text, grammatical anomalies, the seeming repetitions of accounts, etc. The late Prof. Nechama Leibovitz cited this principle when she noted, "how the slightest variation in phraseology, and addition or omission, may contain a world of significance." I quote from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin's column on the weekly Torah portion from last Friday's Jerusalem Post:

Martin Buber utilizes the unusual prefix form of the biblical text to establish a fundamental principle of human relationships - and at the same time strengthen the theological underpinning with which we began our discussion (Buber, I and Thou). We would have expected to find the phrase "You shall love et re'acha" - rather than what actually appears, lere'acha - because the conjunctive et always appears before an objective case; in this case, "your friend" is the object.

A human being is never to be seen as an object, thunders Buber. A fellow human being is never acted upon; he must always be related to (lere'acha). When we use another human being as merely a means to our end, not recognizing him/her as a child of God in the fullness of being, we are establishing an illegitimate "I-it" relationship rather than the biblically mandated "I-thou" relationship. Using another, taking advantage of another, robbing another of his/her freedom of choice - even if they be family members or students - are all forms of slavery, which must be prohibited.

"You must act with love toward your neighbor in the fullness of a relationship of equals because he/she is like you under God the Creator, who demands universal freedom."

From this perspective, I would insist - along with the Tosafot Yom Tov, 1579-1654 (ad loc), and Rabbi Hayim Vital, 1542-1620 (Gate of Holiness) - that "your neighbor" in this context includes gentiles. After all, the text does not read "your brother" or "your colleague."

Moreover, the etymology of re'a (neighbor or friend) seems to include even someone who may be evil (ra)...

Link: http://tinyurl.com/257mh

See? The moral is in the grammar!

Attached is a photo of us from last August (I can't remember if I've posted it here before or not).
Be well!

ssv

 

[dsdumpling]

ssv, that is a nice photo, where are you and your family in it?

Thank you for sharing your Torah reading.

It is a principle of Jewish Biblical exegesis that there is no wasted or redundant ink in the scriptures, that every word and every letter of the Torah are full of meaning & are there to teach us something, and that we can learn much from seemingly trivial turns of phrase, subtle differences in the text, grammatical anomalies, the seeming repetitions of accounts, etc.

We should all feel the scriptures are just this special.

 

[Lbiagm]

hi friends.

 

[stillsmallvoice]

Hi all!

Dsdumpling, we're standing in the estuary of a stream that comes down from the Golan Heights, just before it empties into the Sea of Galilee (which is a freshwater lake), just north of the site of the Biblical Kursi (see http://tinyurl.com/2djqp).

As a birthday present from Wendy, I'm getting a Hebrew edition of the Book of Daniel, with our Sages' commentaries. I have never read or studied Daniel & can't wait to delve into it.

Be well!

ssv

 

[dsdumpling]

ssv, I attended a Bible study on Daniel, it is very interesting. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[Lbiagm]

hi ssv and dawn.

 

[mle]

ds
are you studying Daniel and Revelation or just Daniel?

 

[dsdumpling]

mle, we had Revelation at church as a Sunday school bible study. I went to another Methodist church for the Daniel. Both are over. I think I enjoyed Daniel the most because the minister that was conducting it really got into detail.

Hi LB

 

[Lbiagm]

what up ds.

 

[dsdumpling]

Hey cutie pie LB, not much with me...you?

 

[bonniea84]

Hi. My name is Bonnie. Like many others in this forum, I'm looking forward to making new friends. It's been a really strange year for me, but the Lord has really blessed me in so many ways. Take care.

 

[dsdumpling]

Hi Bonnie welcome to CF. Hope to see you around!

 

[Lbiagm]

hi bonnie and not much here beautiful dawn.