“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.” - A. Lincoln Aug 1, 1858

[morphing libertarian]

someone has been very busy

[Just mythoughts]

How many days of the year, does one, must, work to pay their masters, I mean taxes today? Calculate all taxes that are required to live in this nation... that is unless one is on some fake ‘faith based’ charity.

[Hieronymus]

You are right, it is a terribly American thing to say, and in the light of eternity, the portion of truth that it does not capture is of terribly great importance.

What can I say, but you are a messenger who brings a message of great importance?

One of the most important insights in my life along those lines came when I discovered the importance of Gamaliel in certain intellectual lines of Catholic Biblical interpretive tradition, the importance Gamaliel occupies in the lines of Jewish tradition that I admire most, and Gamaliel’s relation to Rabbi Hillel. I believe there is much in common, and I would certainly like to find time to learn more of Rabbi Hillel, though alas, there is only so much time in this life.

America is a wonderful country, may God bless America, but more importantly, may Americans glorify God.

In the end He is in control, and is weaving a wonderful tapestry.

[Hieronymus]

Thank you very much. While I was aware of the two rival schools, I was not aware of the personal background, which I agree is very interesting. The Almighty works through people whom He has shaped.

On a completely different subject (at least if one does not treat all of Jewish history as a single subject, which I don’t): is there evidence for (or against) the Hasmoneans being descended from Aaron through Phineas via a straight paternal line beyond what is contained in the death bed speech of Mattathias as recorded in the second chapter of I Maccabees?

This might seem like a completely random question, but I see it as crucial for understanding the next two centuries of history.

Since I finished university years ago, where this first struck me as an important question, my access to the wisdom and traditions of Jewish scholars has been virtually non-existent. The bulk of the time has been spent in a fairly rural portion of Ontario.