BPR Mailing List Digest: 02/29/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
February 29, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | February, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Symbols are key to Jerusalem deal
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 08:59:38 -0500

03:37 PM ET 02/28/00

Symbols Are Key to Jerusalem Deal

By SARI BASHI
Associated Press Writer

           ABU DIS, West Bank (AP) _ Hidden in a well-guarded construction
site on Jerusalem's outskirts, workers drill the finishing touches
on a four-story stone auditorium some say will one day be the
Palestinian parliament.
           But the gleaming hall is in Abu Dis, a West Bank suburb, and not
in Jerusalem, claimed by Israelis and Palestinians as a capital.
           Abu Dis may become part of the city in the future. Despite
public pledges by both sides never to compromise on Jerusalem,
negotiators have considered redrawing the city's borders in hopes
of finding a solution to the stickiest issue on the table.
           In the meantime, though, Abu Dis has emerged as more of an
obstacle than a solution. Peace treaty talks have collapsed _ and a
U.S. envoy failed to revive them in a weeklong shuttle that ended
Monday _ in part because of a dispute over the status of Abu Dis
and Jerusalem's two other Palestinian suburbs.
           The Palestinians complain that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
has reneged on a promise to give them control of the suburbs in an
upcoming troop withdrawal. Barak says he made no such commitment.
           ``The Palestinians feel that every time they negotiate an
agreement with the Israelis, the Israelis renegotiate it,'' said
Edward Abington, a former U.S. diplomat in Jerusalem and now a
Washington-based lobbyist for the Palestinian Authority.
           While Jerusalem is the most difficult issue on the table,
Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin says it may also be one of
the easiest.
           Five years ago, Beilin and Mahmoud Abbas, a deputy of
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, drafted a plan to expand
Jerusalem's borders to include Abu Dis and create two capitals in
the west and east, with areas of shared control in the middle.
           It was never adopted, but Israeli negotiators say they have
again raised the expand-and-share idea with their Palestinian
partners.
           Abu Dis, a neighborhood of about 13,000 Palestinians, straddles
the Jerusalem boundary, with 10 percent in the city and the rest in
the West Bank, under administrative control of the Palestinian
Authority.
           The Jordanians included Abu Dis in a 1965 plan for greater
Jerusalem that was never adopted because Israel seized the eastern
part of the city in the 1967 Middle East war. It was also part of a
U.N.-designated international zone for Jerusalem, proposed in 1947
but never implemented.
           In the 33 years since Israel captured east Jerusalem, Abu Dis
has grown from a sleepy agricultural village to a bustling
commercial hub.
           The four-story building under construction there is officially
designated an economic studies center. However, officials privately
admit it is the future Palestinian parliament.
           A rare look inside by an Associated Press reporter revealed an
amphitheater-like hall resplendent with skylight roof, about 500
seats in a semicircle overlooking a speaker's stand and stone
stairs snaking up the sides.
           The site is just yards from Jerusalem's boundary and two miles
from the Al Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site.
           But suggesting Abu Dis could _ or couldn't _ become a capital
raises hackles on both sides.
           Palestinian Parliament Speaker Ahmed Qureia, whose home is in
Abu Dis, said the neighborhood is a ``village of Jerusalem,'' but
cannot be an acceptable substitute for east Jerusalem proper.
           Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, who opposes granting the
Palestinians a foothold in the city, warned the Palestinians would
use Abu Dis ``for continuous sabotage activities'' aimed at
eventually winning control of east Jerusalem.
           The chief Israeli negotiator, Oded Eran, said that in light of
such opposition, Barak did not want to hand over Abu Dis and the
other suburbs now, but only as part of a full peace package.
``Right now, to raise it is not smart politically,'' Eran said.
           Jerusalem's current borders make little historic or demographic
sense.
           They were drawn after Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan
in 1967 and then added 28 square miles to the municipal area,
annexing West Bank land.
           The considerations were purely strategic.
           ``The principle was to annex maximum territory with minimum
(Arab) population,'' said Yisrael Kimchi, a researcher at the
Jerusalem Institute who helped draw the boundaries.
           The new border largely ignored the natural demography, cutting
Palestinian villages in half. It left Israel with a large
Palestinian minority in the city, now 200,000 compared to 430,000
Jews.
           Moussa Abu Hilal, an Abu Dis storekeeper, said that whatever the
outcome of peace talks, the gerrymandered borders of his
neighborhood will not remain as they are. ``These lines?'' he said.
``No. There will be negotiations.''

http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564626125-9ff

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 09:03:14 -0500

*** Austria's Haider resigns

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Joerg Haider, whose anti-foreigner statements
and past praise of aspects of the Nazi regime brought international
condemnation on Austria's new government, resigned Monday as head of
the far-right Freedom Party, party officials said. The officials said
Haider made the announcement at a closed-door meeting of the group's
national leadership at a downtown hotel. The officials said a formal
announcement would be made at a news conference later Monday night.
Haider, who holds no post in the national government, is to stay on
as governor of Carinthia province. The move was seen as an attempt to
reduce international criticism of the new coalition government
between Haider's rightists and the center-right Austrian People's
Party. The Austria Press Agency quoted party sources as saying Haider
will be succeeded as party chief by his trusted lieutenant, Vice
Chancellor Susanne Riess-Passer, 39. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564634449-139

*** EU chooses German IMF candidate

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union took action Monday to
prevent a non-European from becoming the next head of the
International Monetary Fund, naming a German as its unanimous choice
to face rivals from the U.S. and Japan. Finance ministers from the 15
European Union nations backed Caio Koch-Weser after weeks of
wrangling over the German deputy finance minister's qualifications to
replace Michel Camdessus as IMF managing director. "Koch-Weser is a
strong candidate for the role and we ... support him," Britain's
Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said. Britain and France had
previously expressed reservations about his nomination. The job has
traditionally been reserved for the Europeans' chosen candidate, but
after the EU nations began bickering over Koch-Weser, other names
emerged. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564626397-c05

*** Italy court OKs surrogate motherhood

ROME (AP) - A court in Rome gave a childless couple permission Monday
to use a surrogate mother, a ruling that could set a precedent for
Italy and drew quick criticism from the health minister. Most
European countries either forbid surrogate motherhood or have left
the question in legal limbo - as does Italy, where lawmakers have yet
to settle on legal guidelines for basic modern fertility treatments.
"In any case, letting wombs go for rent constitutes a
commercialization of motherhood," said Health Minister Rosy Bindi,
whose government is backing stalled legislation that would ban
surrogate motherhood. Italy's medical code of ethics prohibits
doctors from assisting infertile couples in finding another woman to
bear their implanted embryo. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564626111-cf7

*** Update: Philippine volcano erupts again

LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) - Belching a column of ash and molten rock
four miles high, Mayon Volcano erupted again Monday, forcing scores
of nearby residents to grab their clothes and cooking pans and run
for their lives. Glowing red lava shot like fireworks into the sky.
There were no immediate reports of casualties after the explosion,
which experts said was the most powerful since Mayon began erupting
Thursday. The initial explosion Monday was followed by lightning and
continuous rumble, said Ernesto Corpuz of the Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology. Mayon also emitted pyroclastic flows -
superheated clouds of volcanic ash that travel up to 50 mph and can
instantly incinerate anything in their path. "People should not
venture back into the prescribed danger zones" near the volcano,
Corpuz said. The volcano is in Albay province, about 215 miles
southeast of Manila. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564626065-054

*** Update: Flood waters threaten Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) - Rescuers plucked thousands of people from
trees and rooftops Monday, but many others were left behind and
forced to spend another night on precarious perches above rising
flood waters in Mozambique. Officials say thousands have died in the
deluge. Maj. Louis Kirsten, a spokesman for the South African
military, said helicopters rescued more than 3,000 people Monday,
including everyone in immediate danger along a particularly hard-hit
area of the Limpopo River. But Michele Quintaglie, a spokeswoman for
the U.N. World Food Program, said thousands more were still at risk.
While there was no precise death toll, Quintaglie said it was certain
that the number of dead was in the thousands. Other aid workers said
the toll would continue to climb, especially as people begin dying of
flood-borne diseases over the next few weeks. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564634466-2cf

*** Update: Hundreds of ice-fishermen rescued

MOSCOW (AP) - Hundreds of anxious fishermen spent a night on
disintegrating ice floes in Europe's largest lake, waiting for
rescuers to arrive in helicopters and boats. Six people drowned as
the ice broke up, but some 900 others were rescued, officials said
Monday. The fishermen were trapped on Lake Ladoga, northeast of St.
Petersburg, when the ice started breaking up Sunday. The lake, which
covers 6,700 square miles, is a popular ice-fishing spot for Russians
who gather on its frozen surface every winter. The trapped fishermen
huddled in small groups on bobbing ice floes, some within inches of
frigid water that can kill a person in minutes. Villagers hurried to
bring boats out of winter storage, watched by nervous relatives on
shore. Helicopters circled over the lake, rescuing anglers, but also
kicking up sprays of numbing water with their rotors. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564626924-c07

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Daimler Chrysler uses flower power to clean up contaminated plant site
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 09:07:00 -0500

DaimlerChrysler Uses Flower Power to Clean Up Contaminated Plant Site

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 28 -/E-Wire/-- DaimlerChrysler Corporation
engineers put nature to work in the cleanup of an abandoned manufacturing
site in Detroit.

Using a process called phytoremediation, they grew sunflowers and mustard
plants in a giant flower bed to remove lead contamination from soil on the
industrial site. They not only returned the soil to use, they also saved the
company about $1 million compared with the cost of landfilling the
contaminated soil, the usual method of disposal.

"We avoided the problems that go with hauling the waste to a landfill, we re-
used the soil on the site which is now safe and usable for future projects --
and we saved money," said Greg Rose, Senior Manager - Stationary
Environmental & Energy at DaimlerChrysler Corporation.

The contaminated soil was located within the site of the former Detroit Forge
plant and foundry, which had produced automotive crankshafts and other
forgings before being deactivated in the early 1990s. One area about the size
of a football field was contaminated with levels of lead high enough to require
action.

DaimlerChrysler engineers found that they had a good site to test use of
phytoremediation. The contaminated soil was located in an unused, open
area, so growing plants did not interrupt other operations on the site.

The contaminated soil was dug up and moved into large flower boxes,
designed to contain the contamination and provide irrigation. Sunflowers,
provided by Edenspace Systems Corporation in Virginia, were planted first,
drawing most of the lead out of the soil. A crop of mustard plants followed for
cleanup of the remaining contamination.

The lead was taken up through the roots and stored in the leaves of the
plants. Within one growing season, 5,750 cubic yards of contaminated soil
was reduced to a few yards of lead-contaminated plant material, which was
disposed of in a landfill.

The soil was returned to its original location, and with approval from the
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the site is now part of a
DaimlerChrysler axle plant.

SOURCE DaimlerChrysler Corporation

-0- 02/28/2000

/CONTACT: Max Gates, 202-414-6763, or Marianne Muerau, 49-71-117-
93039, both of DaimlerChrysler Corporation/ (DCX)

/Web site: http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/

http://ens.lycos.com/e-wire/Feb00/28Feb0005.html

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Edupage items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 09:11:27 -0500

AGENCY DEFENDS PLAN TO GATHER INFORMATION
The National Security Agency (NSA) recently defended itself in a
letter to Congress, claiming that all of its activities under the
Echelon satellite-surveillance program are conducted lawfully.
The agency has come under fire recently from the European
Parliament, which accused the NSA of using intelligence for the
benefit of American industry. The European Parliament also
contends that ordinary European and American citizens are being
spied upon. The American Civil Liberties Union has recently
requested congressional hearings on the matter.
(New York Times, 28 Feb 2000)

WHITE HOUSE Y2K COUNCIL TO OVERSEE LEAP-YEAR DAY, THEN
CLOSE DOWN
The White House Y2K center will oversee the leap-year day
tomorrow to ensure that no computer glitches arise, and the
center will then shut down permanently by the end of March.
Although some programmers might not have recognized 2000 as a
leap year, few problems are expected, says John Koskinen, head of
the President's Council on Y2K Conversion. Problems that do
occur will be minor disruptions rather than complete system
failures, and glitches will likely be limited to well-prepared
industrial nations, Koskinen says. The Y2K center will gather
reports from federal agencies, industry groups, and several other
nations, and will issue a final report before closing down
operations. (Wall Street Journal, 28 Feb 2000)

ISPS, TELCOS JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT WEB ATTACKS
Prompted by the recent string of denial-of-service attacks that
disabled several popular Web sites, ICSA.net has teamed various
ISPs and telecommunications companies together to form a group to
prevent future attacks. Known as the Alliance for Internet
Security, the group is dedicated to improving Internet security
technologies and practices through such means as reconfiguring
routers and denying IP-directed broadcasts on perimeter routers.
Alliance members are Cable One, Cable & Wireless, Digex, Global
Crossing, GlobalCenter, GTE Internetworking, Level 3
Communications, and Sprint Communications.
(Computer Reseller News Online, 25 Feb 2000)

Edupage, 28 February 2000
EDUPAGE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The Seventh Day
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 12:32:42 -0500

PARSHAT VAYAKHEL "And assembled …"
Exodus 35:1 to 38:20

"The Seventh Day"

Rabbi Ari Kahn

As the name of this Torah portion would indicate, the people gather
around Moses to begin learning the Torah which he received at Sinai.

The first lesson consists of the laws of Shabbat.

This should come as no surprise; we know that Shabbat is among
the most "important" of the commandments, a cornerstone of
Judaism.

Some commentaries highlight the juxtaposition of this teaching with
the sin of the golden calf. The golden calf was surely idolatry on
some level. Shabbat, as testimony to God's having created the world
in six days, serves as a spiritual antidote to idolatry in the future.

How so? If we say that the golden calf was an attempt to "know
God," Shabbat is offered by Moses as the correct method to achieve
this goal. If you seek God and wish to know Him, observe Shabbat.
This is the proper way to experience the Divine.

OVEREMPHASIS ON SHABBAT

What is striking is that the Jews have already been commanded to
keep Shabbat, the idea of Shabbat having been mentioned on four
different occasions in the Book of Exodus [16:23, 20:7-10,
23:12,31:13-17] in addition to the teaching at Marah [15:25] where
traditionally we learn that the Jews were also commanded to keep
Shabbat. [See Sanhedrin 56a, Rashi 24:3.] Why would a fifth (or
sixth) time be necessary?

A closer look at the specific teachings in this Torah portion may be
enlightening:

"Six days do melacha (work) and the seventh day shall be for you
holy, a Shabbat Shabbaton for God; whoever does melacha (work)
shall be put to death. Do not burn fire in all your habitations on the
Shabbat day." [Exodus 35:2-3]

We may reduce these verses to two central ideas:
1) a prohibition against a certain type of work, called melacha,
and
2) a prohibition against the use of fire.

Some questions arise immediately: What is "melacha"? Why is fire
excluded from the category of "melacha" and mentioned separately?

These questions are treated extensively in the Talmud, and surely no
laws of Shabbat may be understood without halacha -- that is,
without specific definitions of work on the one hand, and the unique
category of fire on the other.

The general framework of this section is built upon placing it into the
context of the building of the Miskhan, the Tabernacle. The word
melacha is the key to the section describing the work for the
Mishkan [for example 35:21, 35:31, 35:33, 35:35, 36:1, 36:2,
36:3, 36:4, 36:5, 36:6, 36:7, 36:8], as well as the key to our Torah
portion, where Moses teaches the laws of Shabbat observance.

Our Sages therefore deduce that the types of work described in the
instructions for building the Mishkan are the same types of work
prohibited where the Torah prohibits melacha on the Seventh Day. In
a word, the melacha prohibited on Shabbat is the very same melacha
used in constructing the Mishkan.

That said, a more basic question now replaces our previous
questions: Why are the laws of Shabbat derived from the section
dealing with the building of the Mishkan?

CONSTRUCTION OF THE TABERNACLE

In a literal and literary sense, one might say that we have already
answered this question: The same word, melacha is utilized in both
sections. But in a larger sense, this answer begs the question.
Surely God is creative enough to have provided a "word play" in any
section of the Torah that He so chose, which would have elicited any
number of alternative definitions for the key word melacha. Why
specifically here, in the section which describes the building of the
Mishkan, are the laws of Shabbat derived? There must be some
intrinsic relationship between Shabbat and the Mishkan.

Of the two concepts, the Mishkan seems more difficult for us to
grasp. Why would God need an earthly "home"? This question was
posed in the Midrash. (Note that the term Mishkan refers to the
Tabernacle, the term Mikdash refers to the Sanctuary or Holy of
Holies within the Tabernacle):

When the Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses "Make for Me a
Mikdash" [Exodus 25:8] Moses said in front of the Holy One Blessed
be, "Master of the Universe, the heavens and beyond cannot contain
You, and You say "Make for Me a Mikdash!" The Holy One Blessed
be He said to him, "Moses, not as you think I think, rather twenty
boards to the north, and twenty boards to the south, and eight to the
west, and I will descend and mitzamtzem (contract) My Shechina
(Divine presence) among you below." [Pesikta D'rav Kahana Parsha
2:10, also see Shmot Rabbah 34:1]

The need is evidently not God's but man's. For God to allow His
presence to dwell in this sanctuary, some type of contraction, as it
were, is necessary on God's part.

This same question may be posed about Shabbat. Does God need a
"day of rest" or does man?

In one sense, the idea of Shabbat seems simple -- God worked
creating the world for six days, and rested on the seventh. But upon
critical analysis it seems absurd -- as absurd as God having a
"home."

ABSURDITIES UNRAVELED

Let us reconsider the idea of Creation. There was nothing, and then
God created heaven and earth. This creation process continued for
six days; at its completion God "rested."

This description contains a number of deeply embedded
anthropomorphisms: God's "rest" as well as God's "creation."

While our idea of work (melacha) is to effect change in existing
material, this is the perspective of a finite being utilizing creativity
within a finite scheme. God, however, is infinite. The very notion of
creation includes time, space and matter, all concepts which God
transcends. His creation is described as yesh me'ayin, "something
(matter) from nothing."

At times Kabbalistic writings offer an alternative understanding of
creation as yesh m'ein -- ein referring to the Ein Sof, the "Infinite."
That is, something finite emerging from the infinite.

Consider the problem mathematically: any value added to infinity
necessarily yields a sum which is infinite. When God who is infinite
creates a finite value -- i.e. the world -- the sum total of reality should
remain infinite. How can something finite be added to infinite?

The Kabbalistic response to this question is a term known as
tzimtzum, "contraction."

Creation is not the result of God adding something finite; rather, it is
the result of God holding back infinity, as it were.

We may now see creation, and therefore Shabbat, from a different
perspective.

On the first day, God holds back infinity; likewise on the second
through sixth days. Finally, at the end of the sixth day, the world is
complete and God rests. In other words, God reverts back to a non-
contraction mode, back to infinity.

Shabbat is therefore the day that represents infinity, the one day
which relates to and reflects God on His terms, not via the tzimtzum.

THE KABBALISTIC IDEA OF SHABBAT

This concept of tzimtzum may give us further insight into Shabbat.

As stated earlier, God exits outside of time; therefore creation marks
the beginning of time. Shabbat alternatively represents the infinite.
What time was it prior to creation? It was a time of "infinity" or, in
other words, it was Shabbat!

This means that creation took place on "the first day," the day after
Shabbat.

Creation is in the evening: "It was evening, it was morning, one day."
Therefore, it can be said that creation takes place the very moment
that Shabbat is over. The moment prior to creation is infinity/Shabbat,
and the moment after the six days of creation is Shabbat, our own
avenue to infinity. Both points indicate the same moment from
God's perspective, though separated by a world of difference from our
perspective.

We have noted that man has the opportunity to touch infinity by
partaking of Shabbat. This observation may help us understand the
exclusion of fire from the other melachot.

When the Talmud takes up a question regarding certain details of
Havdalah -- the ritual at the end of Shabbat which separates the
sacred and the secular, during which a multi-wick candle is lit -- the
verse brought as substantiation is taken from Genesis:

One should not bless the candles until they give proper light. This
was expounded by Rebbi Zeira the son of Rebbi Abahu: "God saw
that the light was good," and afterward it states, "God separated
(vayavdil) between light and darkness." [Jerusalem Talmud, B'rachot,
Ch. 8, p. 12b, Halacha 3]

When we appreciate that the first day is the moment after Shabbat,
this teaching takes on more meaning. Our Havdalah mirrors this first,
essential vayavdil made by God with the act of creation.

Rabbenu B'chaye, commenting on this week's Torah portion makes
this connection very clear. He explains that fire is separated from the
other melachot in Moses' teaching because, just as God began the
creation with fire by saying "Let there be light," so man begins the
week with the fire of Havdalah.

AN INVERSE RELATIONSHIP

Let us now return to the laws of Shabbat which are derived from the
melachot of the Mishkan.

Being that we are finite beings, our creation is necessarily different
from God's. Our creativity is made manifest when an existing object
is changed or transformed or improved by our actions. In other
words, our creativity involves making "something from something"
while God's work involved "something from nothing."

While God "held back" in order to create, man must do the opposite -
- go forward. While God went into His "infinite mode" on Shabbat,
transcending the tzimtzum He employed in creating the world, man
must again do the opposite -- hold back his creative energies.

What we have described is an inverse relationship, due to the
fundamental difference between man and God.

One may describe the relationship in the following terms: Man is said
to be made in the image of God; we are, in fact, the mirror image of
God, reversed so to speak. We are opposites. Therefore on Shabbat
we "hold back" while trying to be like God in the only way which we
can -- by imitating God's tzimtzum. Perhaps that is what we mean
when we describe our rest on Shabbat as "a commemoration of the
act of creation." We do on Shabbat what God did in creation.

We may now understand the intrinsic relationship between the laws
of Shabbat and the building of the Mishkan. Both represent the idea
of God holding back.

CONTRACTION AS STRENGTH

I once heard Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zatz"al, explain that for a
Jew, philosophical understanding leads to moral imperative. The Jew
must emulate God, and practice tzimtzum in various relationships.
This is the idea of gevurah, "strength," as the Mishna states:

Who is strong? The person who practices self control. [Avot 4:1]

This idea arguably stands at the core of all Jewish ethics, and marks
a radical departure in the way man sees his responsibilities viz a viz
his fellow man.

It is noteworthy that the Torah begins with Breishit bara Elohim -- the
name Elokim being associated with the mystical realm of gevurah.

God practices "self -control" by limiting the infinite in the process of
creation. Therefore we may view Shabbat as a one-day adventure in
self-control often involving even the most mundane, arguably trivial
activities, only because they are defined as creative activity,
melacha.

It is hoped that such self-control will "spill over" into the week,
elevating all our actions and thoughts.

Both Shabbat and the Mishkan are about God dwelling in this world.
By virtue of our incorporating Godliness into our lives we redeem the
world -- and establish a channel to the Infinite God.

This was the great message imparted to the Children of Israel by
Moses upon his descent from Sinai.

Rabbi Ari Kahn's Parsha List <mi-Oray-ha-Aish@Aish.edu>

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - A Twisted Tale of Sunspots
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 19:03:02 -0500

Space Science News for February 29, 2000

A Twisted Tale of Sunspots: Like a double-barreled ray gun,
two magnetically complex sunspots near the Sun's central
meridian are pointed toward our planet. If solar flares erupt
from these regions, Earth could be in for stormy space weather.
FULL STORY at

http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast29feb_1.htm

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Religion Today items (2/29/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 19:55:25 -0500

U.S. congressmen are defending the Vatican's status in the United
Nations. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), with the support of other
lawmakers, introduced a nonbinding resolution criticizing efforts
to weaken the Vatican's influence, Conservative News Service
said.
...Reducing the Vatican's status "would seriously damage the
credibility of the United Nations by demonstrating that its rules
of participation are manipulable for ideological reasons," the
resolution says. Catholic representatives Henry Hyde (R-Ill.),
Ileana RosLehtinen (R-Fla.), and James Barcia (R-Mich.) are
supporting the measure.
...Catholics for Free Choice and other pro-choice and
population-control groups want to reduce the Vatican's status
from Permanent Observer to Non-Governmental Organization,
limiting its ability to affect policy. The groups say the Vatican
has opposed proposals that the international body increase
funding for abortion and sex education in developing nations, CNS
said.

Pope John Paul II's visit to Egypt is the first stage in his
journey to Holy Land sites in 2000. The 79-year-old pontiff spent
three days in the country where the children of Israel were
enslaved and led out of bondage by Moses, and where the Holy
Family fled to protect Jesus from Herod's soldiers.
...The pope prayed at the site where tradition says Moses first
met God, news reports said. St. Catherine's Monastery in the
Sinai Desert is at the foot of a bare, rocky mountain called
Mount Sinai and some believe it is the site of the burning bush
where God called Moses. The bush still lives, its roots extending
down into the Chapel of the Burning Bush, Orthodox tradition
says.
...In the chapel John Paul fell to his knees and quoted
Scripture. He also viewed religious relics including chalices,
manuscripts, and vestments ranging from the 14th to 17th
centuries, and attended a prayer service and a liturgy with the
Greek Orthodox monks who run the monastery.
...The mountain is believed by some to be the site where God gave
Moses the Ten Commandments. Those laws "provide the only true
basis for the lives of individuals, societies, and nations" and
are "the only future for the human family," the pope said.
Although they are written in stone they exist in the hearts of
every human being as the "universal moral law, valid in every
time and place," and save man from "the destructive force of
egoism, hatred, and falsehood," he said.
...The pope called for greater Christian unity and better
interfaith relations. He met with Shenouda III, leader of the
Coptic Catholic Church, which does not recognize the Vatican's
authority, and with the highest-ranking Muslim leader in Egypt.
John Paul will continue his 2000 Holy Year trek when he visits
Israel, Jordan, and Palestinian-controlled areas in March.

via: Crosswalk.com <editor@crosswalk.com>

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