I am not sure if I will make it back here in the next few days (maybe) - Shana Tova.

What's the most offended you've ever been as a person of the Jewish persuasion?

Good lord, what a question, Will!

Jeez, I dunno....

Getting checked for horns once, as a kid, was offensive, although more surprising than offensive. Having a delegation of church ladies tour my father's synagogue, and ask where we did the sacrificing, like it says in the Bible, was again, offensive, but more surprising than offensive. Having an anti-Semitic kid in fifth grade tell me that he didn't like Jews, and I should "get lost, kite!" (not knowing the word was actually "kike,") was offensive, but mostly pathetic.

But the first time I heard someone use the phrase "He jewed me out of fifty cents," and "He wanted five bucks for it, but I jewed him down," (both in the same five-minute conversation I overheard) was pretty offensive. I still remember the sick feeling it gave me, and how my face got hot, I was so angry.

When I got into it with Patrick Finn, in eighth grade, and he went from calling me "nerd boy," and so forth to calling me kike, Jew-boy, and telling me Hitler should've finished us all off, and it's too bad my grandma didn't end up someone's lampshade, I was more than offended. I got in one of the only fights I've ever been in, and Patrick ended up bloody and walking funny.

When I accidentally got a neo-Nazi Holocaust denier for a college roommate, I was pretty offended. Once I was moved to my own room, I mostly got over it. And once he proved to be a paranoid schizophrenic speed-head, I got over it the rest of the way.

The thing of it is, a lot of stuff like this tends to blend together, and even out. Whenever I hear the Holocaust denied, or Nazi sympathies echoed, or virulently anti-Israel rhetoric employing foul names and disgusting accusations, or so on, I am offended. A lot. At this point, it all offends me about the same, I don't know what would push something out as much more offensive. Anti-Semitism all sucks. Frankly, I guess what really offends me most is that I've lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Los Angeles, California; Santa Cruz, California; and Jerusalem; and I found at least some anti-Semitism in every one of those places. At every age I have been, in every year I have lived, there it is. It's not even seventy years after the Holocaust, and there is anti-Semitism still to be found, even in some of the most progressive, Jew-friendly places on earth. And then all of my left-liberal friends (given that I am politically left-liberal, but differ with them in a couple of issues) express surprise when I bring up anti-Semitism in our debates, and tell me they thought that all that was history, ended with the Holocaust....

Have you ever looked for Patrick on Facebook to see what Walmart he's greeting at?

As a former Christian and current atheist, I never really experienced anything like antisemitism. It wasn't until I had a conversation with a Jewish friend of mine that I realized it's still quite prevalent. It blew my mind. Sorry for rehashing those memories for you, but when I was reading this thread I was reminded of how dumbstruck I was and felt more people needed to know. Antisemitism is alive and well and needs to be confronted and brought into the light.

Morning Mr levite :)

I presume the hate against Jews comes from the fact that they are not fools and do not act like slaves competing with each other, they are more like a tribe / giant family organization / mafia and also have that money thing, like banking it their natural occupation.

Do Jews compete against another the same way I compete against another from my own country to serve a slave master ? And if one wins, f..k the loser, forget him, dead or alive who cares. Or do they care also about the loser, even if they own capitalist enterprises ?

Is there a sense of "us" ? Even if one Jew hires another ?

I have been called a kike before, I have met holacaust deniers, people who assume Jews are all cheap, I have heard you jewed me. But most of these might upset me for their ignorance they rarely offend me, it is when I try to bargain at a store (once at circuit city where I got a receiver for 200 off the listed price) and someone made jewed me comment that bothered me, of course the person who made that comment then wanted the same price I got.

Antisemitism is not just around it seems to be growing.

I think that is a stereotype about Jews which might not be negative but it is still a stereotype. Jews in general (least orthodox ones for sure) since we require the religeous study, and educational is so important tend to be well educated, since we all go to Yeshiva, then do secular studies. I found college easy after all I did in high school. However I would not say we have banking is our natural profession.

With Jews there is always a sense of us, I can travel anywhere in the world meet another Jew and conversation automatically will start up (and we probably know someone who knows someone who knows the other).

Xazy, that is good to hear. Still one kind of community in this crazy world. Yes it's bad news for the slaves that hate Jews instead of copying them. No more mindless competition.

People will compete for "fame" - the more they bring to the community the more respected they are, not for food. Like slaves. Worse in fact. Slaves at least did not compete among themselves and knew their situation.

Every nation - working as confederacy of tribes / extended family. Not necessarily at war with other nations. And in the end - one big tribe. On the entire planet. But not as slaves competing - for what ?

To all k'siva v'chasimah tova - a year of gezundt, panassah, yidush nachas and simchas

ive never heard of the term kike until now.


on the topic of capitalism..

in islam usury is forbidden. dealing in it, profitting from it, trading it, or anything associated with it. from what i understand and heard, that usury is also forbidden in judaism. however, what i have heard is that usury between jews is forbidden, but usury between jews and non-jews is acceptabe.

ive never understood this notion. is this even correct? if so, why is it ok to deal in usury with one person and not another? is there any other similar rules that judaism has?

You can not charge interest on a loan to another jew, correct. There are a number of organizations that work as a bank where people put their money in (some are for wedding dresses, baby stuff, and other things people need), and it is borrowed by people who need it for free and then loaned out to others etc...

I can not accept a loan from another Jew either that has interest it is a sin for me to take it as well as to give it.

Torah gives equality since there is no such law for non-Jews, and they would charge Jews interest on their loans, I can take an interest loan from them or give to them. However I can not give a loan with a higher interest rate then they can legally, so if in New York the usury rate is 30% then I can not give or take a 30% loan.

You can charge interest to anyone on a business loan.

Yeah, just to expand very slightly on Xazy's excellent answer about usury, we are permitted to charge non-Jews interest, but in addition to having to follow secular law in regard to maximums and prohibitions of usury, the trend in halakhic literature has been to encourage Jews in the business of moneylending to non-Jews to charge fair rates in general, so that non-Jews will never have cause to accuse Jews of unfair practices in business, and minimal rates to poorer non-Jews, so that they will not associate Jews with increasing their poverty. Those halakhot have never changed, so one hopes that Jews in finance are still following them, although I suppose one never knows....

Since the rise of complex capitalism, the halakhot of business have been interpreted in such ways as to establish loopholes for Jews to own stock in banks and financial agencies and institutions that make loans at interest, some of which may go to Jews, and many of which go to non-Jews. It was deemed that otherwise, Jews in finance would simply be unable to make a living. But Jews are still prohibited from charging interest to one another on personal loans.

since im not familiar with the jewish vocab, can someone list out the meanings of the jewish words used? at least in future

for example, i have no idea what halakhot means. i can assume it mean 'rules' but am not sure. in my muslim thread, whenever i used an arabic term i would always try and translate it, so non muslims would understand it.

it would make this place a little more user friendly

Halakha = jewish religious law.

thanks will!

will why dont you go though 2 pages of posts and pull out all the jewish words out and post their meanings for us

Sorry, Dlish! I usually try to translate as I go, if I use any Hebrew/Aramaic/Yiddish words. I must have missed that. I took a quick skim back through the threads, and I think I got everything in context. But if anyone wants to point out something I missed, I will of course translate.

Mea culpa....

That's not Hebrew! :orly:

...rabbi-in-training, graduate in irony....

Probably won't get a chance to post again for a few days.

Shanah tovah to all of you. Which is to say, "May you have a good year," since tomorrow night through Sunday night is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and one of the High Holidays.

She'yehi lachem shanah melei'ah bi'vrachot, semachot, parnassah vehatzlachah, siyata d'shamaya, u'devekut ha-Boreih (BHuB"Sh). Which is to say, may you all have a year filled with blessings, joyful occasions, prosperity and success, the guardianship of Heaven, and increased closeness to the Creator (blessed is he, and blessed is his name).

Likewise, levite!

Any recommendations for good deli's in the Raleigh, NC area?

Wishing you a most Holy Roshashanah. Shalom to you & your family.

hunnychile

Thanks, all! Goodbye, 5769, hello 5770! It's a brand spanking new year! Now just days left until Yom Kippur, and a buttload of repentance....