Posted on 10/31/2012 10:31:16 AM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
If you allow your kids to participate in the pagan rites of a gentile culture, they are likely to grow up with pumpkin heads instead of Jewish heads.
Tonight, Jewish youth all over the world – except in Israel– will celebrate the pagan holiday of Halloween.
Halloween is also called All Hallows’ Eve, because, for the gentiles, it is a hallowed evening, the eve of All Saints’ Day, a day which honors all Christian saints.
The Encyclopedia Britannica explains that in ancient Britain and Ireland, the Festival of Halloween was also celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic goddess, Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle, the worlds of the dead and the living intertwine. This supposedly happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria, who, like most Celtic gods, does not wish to be seen by human eyes. This is one of the reason behind Halloween costumes and for the holiday’s omens, spirits, demons, and witches.
This date was also New Year’s Eve in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times, and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons said to be roaming about.
It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divination concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes. These pagan observances also influenced the Christian festival of All Hallows’ Eve, celebrated on the same date.
Jewish Law states:
A Jew should not follow the customs of the gentiles, nor imitate them in dress, or in their way of trimming their hair, as it says, ‘You shall not walk in the customs of the nation which I cast out before you’ (Lev. 20:23), and ‘Neither shall you walk in their statutes’ (Lev. 18:3). These verses all refer to one and the same matter of not imitating them. A Jew, on the contrary, should be distinguished from them and recognizable by the way he dresses, and in his other activities, just as he is distinguished from them in his knowledge and his beliefs, as it is said, ‘I have set you apart from the peoples’ (Lev. 20:26). (See, Rambam, Laws Regarding Idol Worship and the Ordinances of the Gentiles, 11:1).
When it comes to the question whether Jews can take part in gentile holidays, the halachic discussion differs between clearly religious holidays like Xmas, which are forbidden, and purely secular holidays like Labor Day, which are permissible. Halloween’s religious origins and pagan history place it in the category of gentile holidays that are forbidden to celebrate.
Though Halloween in America has been secularized and commercialized to the point where it is now a frivolous time of costumes, candy, and pranks, it is still celebrated in places like Scotland and Ireland as a Celtic festival of the spirits, and in other places as a holiday honoring the Christian saints. Therefore, there is good reason for telling the kids that “Trick or Treating” is a no-no for Jewish children.
The law prohibiting our participation in gentile holidays and customs comes to protect our special Jewish holiness and cultural distinction. If you allow your kids to participate in the pagan rites of a gentile culture, they are likely to grow up with pumpkin heads instead of Jewish heads.
On the other hand, if you try to safeguard our distinction as Jews and not let your children go “Trick or Treating” with all the other kids in the neighborhood, there’s a good chance that they will grow up hating both you and Judaism for turning them into freaks in the eyes of their friends. Either way, as a Jewish parent, you lose.
What’s the solution? Move to Israel. The only place you will see a pumpkin here is in the supermarket (a small yellow one that looks more like a squash). If you truly love your children and don’t want them growing up with pumpkin heads, then the only solution is to bring them to Israel where they will grow up with Jewish holidays like we’re supposed to.
For example, my 12-year-old son doesn’t know anything about Halloween. He probably has heard about Xmas, but he’s never heard any “Silent Night, Holy Night” carols or seen mangers, or Santa Claus decorations on the street. He’s never heard of Ground Hound Day, and he couldn’t tell you what color is associated with St. Patrick. If you told him that Americans eat gefilta fish on Thanksgiving, he wouldn’t know you were pulling his leg. He’s totally ignorant when it comes to Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and I doubt that he’s heard of Columbus. I can bet he’s never seen an Easter egg, and to him, the Fourth of July doesn’t mean a thing. For him, Memorial Day honors Israel’s fallen soldiers and not department stores sales. His official school holidays fall on the Days of Awe, Sukkot, Chanukah, and Pesach, and not on the Xmas and Easter celebration of Jezeus.
In other words, my son, thank G-d, is growing up to be a Jew without any foreign Xtian pollution, and without the schizophrenia of observing the holidays of gentile countries and cultures in foreign gentile lands.
Are you still going to let your kid go Trick-or-Treating tonight?
No they will not. Chrstianity's claims are not self-evidently true. The Torah was given at Sinai, and it is forbidden to create any new religion after that.
I pray they come to the knowledge of that saving grace of Jesus Christ and choose Him. Amen.
G-d forbid!
Why is a simple anti-"halloween" article arousing such angry reactions and theological arguments? It's an article against "halloween!"
?
“my son, thank G-d, is growing up to be a Jew without any foreign Xtian pollution”
To those Jews who believe they are better than every non-Jew, and do not want “Christian pollution”, I truly wish you would return to Isreal.
wait a minute - “personal” stance??? You truly don’t think this dude speaks for all of Judaism? Dang, I’m even afraid to type the vowels of his screen name he’s such an authority....
While I realize you mean well (and am grateful for the support on a thread where everyone is having a fit merely for saying the same thing about “halloween” that Fundamentalist Protestants do), I wish you people would realize that G-d spoke at Sinai for all time and that chrstianity is unnecessary and unauthorized.
Umm...I don't know....
The Answer is Ponies?
Or it could be our insidious plot to take over the world through Halloween and forcing all the Gentile Kids get pay homage to Baal and Asherah!
You should see we they do over in Sweden on Walpurgis Night.
Actually, they're a bunch of wimps. I much prefer Yehoshu`a Bin Nun hacking the heads off Canaanite idolators and burning their idolatrous "temples" into dust and ash.
Wait a minute . . . you're a "conservative," and yet you're against this???
Since chrstianity in every form is a false, idolatrous religion,
Thank you ... few folks have the guts or the intelligence to state their premises up front.
Now, your premise is false ... but at least it's not hidden.
Thank you again for demonstrating that arguments based on false premises lead to all manner of bizarre conclusions.
Was chrstianity given at Mt. Sinai? No? Then it's a false religion. What could be simpler or more logical than that?
I still say HaShem had it right to begin with, and inventing new holidays (or religions) was never called for.
I'm quite sure the Ponies actually celebrate Purim!
Sure! after all they invented the Dradle! 
Wow Zionist - were you the author of “How to make friends and influence people?”
I’m wondering if you’re posting from Isreal, trolling for anti-semitic remarks, or truly that arrogant and hypocritical that you would use an American site, polluted with Christians, to post anti-Christian remarks?
You're the one who framed it within a religious context, dear. What did you expect?
Voting for Virgil Goode...
If I happened to live in California, Romney can't possibly win that state...If I happened to live in Colorado, Romney's up by 4 pts in polling in Colorado...If 100% of Colorado FREEPERs voted for Virgil Goode, Colorado has just moved from swing state to Romney...Romney won't lose that state.
What Romney actually “does” politically is far more significant for America than what he may or may not religiously believe.
As if it ended with Romney's personal belief system...(or haven't you noticed that Romney has consecrated ALL he has to "Zion" -- the Mormon church -- and that the Lds "prophet" can direct their puppets to do what they want).
Beyond that, other posters have said "we're not voting for a 'pastor-in-chief' -- as if "gods-in-embryo" were divine only on Sundays...which is similar to your compartmentalization of "politics" vs. "religion"...
Since when is "faith" hermetically sealed?
YEP! lol.....
I think most of the Orthodox families that did participate in trick or treating, and celebrating Halloween did so because they did not recognize it as having religious origins.
But I suppose that it would be covered by Halacha, as was pointed out.
Mark
(Actually that deserves a new tagline)
In before the “No thanks”.
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I hope this does not get “No Thanks”d. It’s very unusual to see a Religion article that blasts away at Christians, Mormons, Jews, Muslims and Secular American traditions as well.
All we need now is a snipe at the Flying Spaghetti Monster and we’ll have insulted all the Worlds Great religions here.
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