http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/judaism-religion/ en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:53:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417502/posts As a Jewish child, I never celebrated Christmas. I found out what I was missing on Christmas Eve, 1973. My high school boyfriend Brian invited me to join his family for their celebration. The event floored me. It wasn't just the illuminated tree, the music, and the pleasure of opening gifts. It was the power of the holiday to transform Brian's ordinary family. Laughing, singing hymns, praying -- they were absolutely radiant. I had never seen them so joyful. And in their presence, I felt joyful, too. That was my one and only Christmas experience, and it never occurred to... The American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417502/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:53:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417309/posts QuestionSince people can be saved only through Christ, how did the Old Testament saints get saved? AnswerThrough Christ. Through Jesus Christ. Question continuesBut, Christ did not die until after they died. AnswerOh, you mean, what did they have to do at the moment to be saved? Everyone is saved through Christ. He died for the sins of the world. For them, it was future. For us, it is past, but it was still through Christ. It was His death, His sacrifice. It atoned for the sins of the OT saints as well as the NT saints. And, every time they... Bible Bulletin Board http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2417309/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:47:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415679/posts A Pastor, a Rabbi and an Imam - It May Sound Like a Joke Setup, but the "Interfaith Amigos" are Serious about their Mission (CBS) As more details of an attempted Christmas terror attack emerge, it's clear that achieving peace on earth remains elusive. But three clerics of different faiths have teamed up to chase it, by provoking laughter and thought, as CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports. http://www.cbsnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415679/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:14:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415510/posts Sunday 12/27--`Asarah BeTevetMORNING Kohen--Exodus 32:11-14Levi--Exodus 34:1-3Yisra'el--Exodus 34:4-10 EVENING Kohen--Exodus 32:11-14Levi--Exodus 34:1-3Yisra'el/Maftir--Exodus 34:4-10Haftarah--Isaiah 55:6-56:8 Monday and Thrsday mornings, 12/28 and 31Kohen--Genesis 47:28-31Levi--48:1-3Yisra'el--48:4-9 Strday 1/2--Shabbat Parashat VaYechiMORNING Kohen--Genesis 47:28-48:9Levi--48:10-16Shelishi--48:17-22Revi`i--49:1-18Chamishi--49:19-26Shishi--49:27-50:20Shevi`i--50:21-26Maftir--50:23-26Haftarah--I Kings 2:1-12 EVENING Kohen--Exodus 1:1-7Levi--vs. 8-12Yisra'el--vs. 13-17 Bible, calendar, and prayerbooks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415510/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:40:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415503/posts Folks, I’ve really taken a long time to write this conclusion to the posts Can a Catholic Christian Pray Like a Jew parts I and II. The delay was due to various reasons, but the most important were that I wanted to reflect longer on the meaning of each post, as well as the review of an ever increasing stack of material that I’ve either discovered or that some of my correspondents have kindly referred me to. Therefore, please know that mine is not the last word on this subject. Nevertheless, what I’ve found fascinates me. There seems to be... Vivificat! - News, Opinion, Commentary & Reflections from a personal Catholic perspective http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415503/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:23:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415193/posts The Temple Institute in Jerusalem announced Friday the completion of a model of the biblical altar which G-d, through Moses, commanded the nation of Israel to build at the Mount of Eval (Ebal) overlooking Shechem: “And there you shall build an altar unto Hashem your God, an altar of stones: you shall lift up no iron tool upon them. You shall build the altar of Hashem your G-d of unhewn stones.” (Dvarim / Deuteronomy 27:5,6)... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415193/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 04:39:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415029/posts For them, it's wholly unholy By Shahar Ilan Christmas Eve is one of the few occasions when Hasidim refrain from Torah study, do not conduct weddings or go to the mikveh. But they do play chess and work on their bills On Christmas Eve, known in Jewish circles as Nitel Night, the klipot (shells) are in total control. The klipot are parasitical evil forces that attach themselves to the forces of good. According to kabbala (Jewish mysticism), on the night on which "that man" - a Jewish euphemism for Jesus - was born, not even a trace of holiness is... Haaretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2415029/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:54:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413243/posts In any human organization, the actions and attitudes of its leader color the image the organization has of itself and projects to those outside its membership. The stronger the leader, in his vested authority and in his person, the more firmly will this image be molded in his form. This truism is particularly applicable to the Roman Catholic Church. Men speak of "good" popes and "bad", and of "good" and "bad" ages in the history of the Church. The judgments used to define these nebulous value words vary according to the judge's own culture, standards, faith or lack of it,... Jewish Virtual Library http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413243/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:15:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413186/posts It was a Vatican announcement guaranteed to spark controversy. "With this decree the Pope says that Pius XII is a person that we have to admire, recognize as a model of Christian virtues, and it is very, very important that the church gives officially this appreciation of this important pope that we know was guiding the church in very difficult times." said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi. The move by the sitting Pope, Benedict XVI, brings the controversial World War II pontiff, Pius XII, a step closer to sainthood, despite persistent allegations from historians and Jewish groups that he did... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413186/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:19:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413189/posts The founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center voiced dismay and disappointment Monday at weekend Vatican moves to raise controversial wartime pope Pius XII to sainthood. The Vatican sparked anger in Jewish communities worldwide with moves to nudge Pius -- whose beatification process was launched in 1967 -- closer to sainthood, its ultimate honor. The Catholic Church argues that Pius saved many Jews who were hidden away in religious institutions, and that his silence during the Holocaust -- when millions of Jews were exterminated by Germany's Nazi regime -- was born out of a wish to avoid aggravating their situation. But... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413189/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:22:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413139/posts ROME (JTA) – Despite renewed tensions over his decision to move a controversial wartime pope closer to sainthood, Pope Benedict XVI is still expected to make a historic visit to the main Rome synagogue. "For now, the visit is still on," the spokesperson for Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni told JTA on Tuesday. The visit is scheduled for Jan. 17, marked annually by the Italian Catholic Church as a day of dialogue with Judaism. Benedict provoked outrage in the Jewish world and cast a cloud over the visit when he signed a decree on Saturday certifying Pope Pius XII's... JTA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2413139/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 18:23:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2409408/posts Chanukah is incredibly pertinent to what we're going through right now in America. It's about winning a seemingly unwinnable culture war. In the second century B.C., the rulers of Israel -- the powerful Syrian empire -- had forced paganism on the country with a ruthless force. Pagan holidays, customs, and religious practices were imposed on the citizens of Israel, and statues of pagan gods were erected throughout the country. People who refused to bow down to idols, or make sacrifices to them, were tortured and killed. People were allowed to have some "private" religious beliefs, but no public acknowledgement of... massresistance.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2409408/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:53:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412365/posts JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the statement published today by the Hebrew-Speaking Catholic Vicariate in Israel (www.catholic.il) on the recent declaration of the virtues of Pius XII. The statement is signed by the vicar, Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, and priests of the vicariate. * * * On Saturday, December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the virtues of 21 men and women in the history of the Church who gave exemplary witness (albeit very diverse witness) to their Christian faith in their lives. Among the outstanding examples were also two popes, John Paul II and Pius XII. This... ZENIT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412365/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:24:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412326/posts The World Jewish Congress (WJC) Monday criticized the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to pave the way for the beatification of his controversial war-time predecessor Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli), who was pontiff of the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958. Benedict XVI's signature on the document certifying Eugenio Pacelli's (religiously defined) "heroic virtues" over the weekend came as a surprise since the pope's decision to move his World War II-era predecessor, Pius XII, a step nearer sainthood was taken less than a month before the pontiff's planned visit to Rome's main synagogue. "As long as the archives of Pope Pius... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412326/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:37:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412179/posts Garrison Keillor has always struck me as mean-spirited, wrapping a fundamentally smug and condescending world view in a fondant of cutesy-poo irony. Now, thanks to Glenn Reynolds‘ posting of Marissa Brostoff’s TABLET MAGAZINE column, “Garrison Keillor Doesn’t Like Jews Writing Christmas Songs,” others may also reassess their opinion of NPR’s favorite son. Brostoff describes Keillor’s recent Baltimore Sun column, in which he complains about “all those lousy holiday songs by Jewish guys that trash up the malls every year, Rudolph and the chestnuts and the rest of that dreck. Did one of our guys write ‘Grab your loafers, coma along... mADwoman Advertising http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412179/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:01:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412086/posts A prestigious Palestinian professor told WND that the Muslim denial of a Jewish connection to the Temple Mount is political and that historically Muslims did not dispute Jewish ties to the site. "If you went back a couple of hundred years, before the advent of the political form of Zionism, I think you will find that many Muslims would not have disputed the connection that Jews have toward [the Mount]," said Sari Nusseibeh, president of Al-Quds University in eastern Jerusalem... WND http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2412086/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:08:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2411390/posts Monday and Thrsday mornings, 12/21 and 24Kohen--Genesis 44:18-20Levi--vs. 21-24Yisra'el--vs. 25-30 Strday 12/26--Shabbat Parashat VayiggashMORNING Kohen--Genesis 44:18-30Levi--44:31-45:7Shelishi--45:8-18Revi`i--45:19-27Chamishi--45:28-46:27Shishi--46:28-47:10Shevi`i--47:11-27Maftir--47:25-27Haftarah--Ezekiel 37:15-28 EVENING Kohen--Genesis 47:28-31Levi--48:1-3Yisra'el--48:4-9 Bible, calendar, and prayerbooks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2411390/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:36:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2409053/posts “We killed Jesus” and “Christians out”, extremists write. Urinating on the door has become an almost daily event. Graffiti are linked to a statement made by an Israeli deputy ministry claiming that the Vatican wants to claim sovereignty on Mount Zion. A further outrage was committed last night against the Franciscan church adjoining the Cenacle on Mount Zion, next to the Room of the Last Supper. Obscene graffiti on the doors leading to the church read “We killed Jesus", "Christians out" (in English and Hebrew) and "F... off", which were adorned with a "Star of David", apparently so as to... Asia News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2409053/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:49:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2407495/posts <p>CHISINAU, Moldova — Dozens of people led by an Orthodox priest smashed a menorah in Moldova's capital, using hammers and iron bars to remove the candelabra during Hanukkah, officials said.</p> <p>The 1.5 meter(5-foot)-tall ceremonial candelabrum was retrieved, reinstalled and is now under police guard.</p> Associated Press/Google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2407495/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 23:31:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2406866/posts NORFOLKCommodore Uriah P. Levy He left home when he was 10, running away to become a cabin boy, and eventually became the first Jewish commodore in the Navy, the highest rank available at the time. On Sunday, the Jewish chapel at Naval Station Norfolk – the oldest land-based Jewish chapel in the Navy – was rededicated to Commodore Uriah P. Levy, 50 years to the day after it was first named after him. Born in Philadelphia in 1792, Levy had a career that spanned pirate-chasing to authorship – he wrote “A Manual of Internal Rules and Regulations for Men-of-War.” It... The Virginian-Pilot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2406866/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:32:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2406330/posts Sunday 12/13--Second Day ChanukkahKohen--Numbers 7:18-20Levi--vs. 21-23Yisra'el--vs. 24-29 Monday 12/14--Third Day ChanukkahKohen--Numbers 7: 24-26Levi--vs. 27-29Yisra'el--vs. 30-35 Tusday 12/15--Fourth Day ChanukkahKohen--Numbers 7:30-32Levi--vs. 33-35Yisra'el--36-41 Wdnsday 12/16--Fifth Day ChanukkahKohen--Numbers 7:36-38Levi--vs. 39-41Yisra'el--vs. 42-47 Thrsday 12/17--First Day Ro'sh Chodesh Tevet/Sixth Day ChanukkahKohen--Numbers 28:1-5Levi--Numbers 28:6-10Shelishi--Numbers 28:11-15Revi`i--Numbers 7:42-47 Frday 12/18--Second Day Ro'sh Chodesh Tevet/Seventh Day ChanukkahKohen--Numbers 28:1-5Levi--Numbers 28:6-10Shelishi--Numbers 28:11-15Revi`i--Numbers 7:48-53 Strday 12/19--Second Shabbat Chanukkah/Eighth Day Chanukkah/Shabbat Parashat MiQetzMORNING Kohen--Genesis 41:1-14Levi--41:15-38Shelishi--41:39-52Revi`i--41:53-42:18Chamishi--42:19-43:15Shishi--43:16-29Shevi`i--43:30-44:17Maftir--Numbers 7:54-8:4Haftarah--I Kings 7:40-50 EVENING Kohen--Genesis 44:18-20Levi--vs. 21-24Yisra'el--vs. 25-30 Bible, calendar, and prayerbooks http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2406330/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:41:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404625/posts An East Tennessee woman recently took a trip to Jerusalem with her church group, and she came back with a picture of Jesus. Judy Mayes believes she captured an image of Jesus when she took a snapshot inside a tunnel near the Western Wall. When she flipped through the digital pictures, she saw a white figure on the tunnel image. She shared it with her pastor, who told her he thought it was Jesus. From the white robe, to blood trickling from the face to a crown of thorns. While skeptics will certainly disagree with its authenticity, the Jesus photo... StarNews Online Blogs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404625/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:13:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404488/posts A top Israeli official was headed to the Vatican on Wednesday for a new round of talks on long-standing disputes over Church property in the Holy Land and other issues that have marred ties. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon will head an Israeli delegation at the plenary meeting of the joint economic commission starting Thursday, according to a ministry statement, which sounded an upbeat note despite the continuing, deep-rooted disagreements. The negotiations "are in their final stages after reaching significant understandings in recent months," mainly on issues of taxation and the legal status of Vatican personnel, it said. But senior... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404488/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:20:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404459/posts Hanukkah is sited in the Gospel of John 10:22 as the "feast of the dedication." TownHall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404459/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:36:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404454/posts A Jewish bride and her father were arrested on the Temple Mount the day before her wedding, after an Arab policeman claimed he saw the father muttering prayers and the bride nodding her head. The father and daughter were being taken around the site on Wednesday morning by her brother Eli, a volunteer who conducts regular tours at the Temple Mount, when suddenly they were accosted by the Jerusalem policeman. Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2404454/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:23:37 GMT