BPR Mailing List Digest: 09/02/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
September 2, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | September, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Elul
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2000 04:56:04 -0500

Elul

The month of Elul runs from September 1-29, 2000.

1.The name of the month of Elul is an acrostic in Hebrew -- ani ledodi
vedodi li, “I am my beloved´s and My beloved is mine.” (Song 6:3)

2. The shofar is sounded daily at the morning service (except on the
Sabbath and the last day of the month) and Psalm 27 is read (this
psalm
is said daily until the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles called
Hosanna Rabbah [Tishri 21]).

Psalm 27
1 <<A Psalm of David.>> The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom
shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be
afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me
to
eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp
against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against
me,
in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD,
that
will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the
days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in
his
temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion:
in
the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up
upon a
rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round
about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy;
I
will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when
I
cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou
saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD,
will I
seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in
anger:
thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my
salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD
will
take me up. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path,
because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine
enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as
breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the
goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be
of
good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the
LORD.

Penitential prayers are also said either the whole month (Sephardi) or
the last 4-9 days (Ashkenai).

3. Moses is said to have gone up to Mount Sinai (the second time) for
40
days commencing on the first of Elul and then coming down on the tenth
of Tishri (Yom Kippur).

4. There is a tradition that the seventh (Sept 7/8) or 17th (Sept
17/18) of Elul had once been observed as a fast, commemorating the
death
of those spies whom Moses had sent to Canaan and who brought back an
evil report of the land.

5. Everything in the book of Haggai happens between the first of Elul
and Kislev 24 (a three month time span ending with Hanukkah). The book
speaks of the rebuilding of the Temple.

6. Some Jewish sources state that Elul is the New Year for the tithing
of cattle.

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Righteousness, Righteousness You Shall Pursue
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Sat, 02 Sep 2000 06:16:09 -0500

Righteousness, Righteousness You Shall Pursue
by Russell L. Resnik

Parashat Shof'tim, Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9 September 2, 2000

Events in the United States over the past decade have left most people rather skeptical about the possibility of obtaining justice. Our legal system seems less concerned with righteous judgment than with providing a complex set of rules for a game that only a privileged few know how to play. Financial clout seems to count much more than the rightness of one's case. It may surprise us then to hear that one of the most impassioned phrases in Torah is about justice. In the midst of instructions on establishing a proper legal system, Moses cries out to Israel, Tsedek tsedek tirdof – "Justice, justice you shall pursue" (Deut. 16:20).

Tsedek, or justice, can also be translated as righteousness – the proper order of behavior, both public and private, that reflects the righteousness of God himself. Torah charged the judges of ancient Israel with establishing and maintaining righteousness among God's people, so that God would be honored. For emphasis and poetic impact, Moses repeats the word – Tsedek tsedek tirdof.

Since Torah is given by God, however, every word has its own weight and significance; none is wasted. If the word righteousness is repeated, it must be to emphasize two different aspects of righteousness. Ancient commentators said the word was repeated in this context to show that to pursue righteousness in general, one must pursue a righteous court.

We might add another interpretation; we are to pursue righteousness through our own deeds, and we are to pursue righteousness as a gift from God. Thus, Abraham believed the Lord and he counted it to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). This was a gift of righteousness that Abraham did not earn, but received from the Lord. Likewise, earlier in Deuteronomy, the Lord commands Israel to circumcise their hearts (10:16), that is, to cultivate a right attitude that will produce righteous behavior; toward the end of the book (30:6), he promises that he himself will circumcise their hearts, that is, provide a gift of righteousness.

The prophets also speak of righteousness as a gift. Isaiah (in 53:11) writes of Messiah the suffering servant, who will bring this gift.

He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall make many righteous, For he shall bear their iniquities.

We are to pursue this gift of righteousness through trusting in God as a merciful and forgiving master. At the same time, we are to pursue righteous behavior on our own. Messianic believers sometimes feel that since they have received righteousness as a gift through the sacrifice of Messiah, their deeds, whether good or bad, do not matter. Some even act as if any real effort toward righteousness would somehow diminish the gift of righteousness. But Scripture indicates that we are to do both, to receive the gift through trusting in God, and to pursue righteousness in all we do.

During Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which come at the same time of year as this parasha, we seek both forms of righteousness. We consider our deeds, make amends, and resolve to change our ways as needed. On Yom Kippur we fast and confess our sins. And we also pursue the gift of righteousness that God originally provided for Israel through the scapegoat on Yom Kippur, and that he provides now through the sacrifice of Messiah.

Tsedek tsedek tirdof – righteousness, righteousness, you are to pursue. This brings us to the third word, "pursue." In the Western world, Justice is often portrayed as a blindfolded woman, holding a balance scale in one hand. She awaits those who will appeal to her, and decides their case impartially by objective laws. Thus, someone can admit misleading the public and withholding truth, but still claim to be just according to the technicalities of law.

The Hebrew view of righteousness goes beyond legal correctness to a deep instinct for what is right. It not only declares what is right; it pursues it. A poor man once came before his rabbi to ask if it was acceptable to recite Kiddush, the blessing for Shabbat, over a cup of milk instead of wine. The rabbi reached into his pocket and gave the man two hundred dollars, telling him to go buy all that he needed for Shabbat. When the rabbi's students asked him why he had done so, he said, "The man had no money for wine; that is why he was asking about milk." "Yes," said the students, "but why so much money?" "If he was planning to drink milk on Shabbat," replied the rabbi, "he also had no money for meat. I gave him enough to celebrate Shabbat properly with his family." This rabbi was not sitting as a detached judge, deciding on technicalities, but was pursuing righteousness.

We also are to pursue righteousness. "Pursue" is a strong and active word in the Hebrew, implying that we are not just to avoid obvious wrongdoing, but to positively address wrong and suffering as we are able. So, Moses instructs us:

You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother's, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself. You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again (Deut. 22:1-4).

We are responsible for one another; righteousness means that we keep a look out for each other, and do what we can to help. We try to be fair, but we do not limit our behavior to what is fair. If we see those in our family, in our synagogue, or even out on the street, who are suffering, carrying a heavy burden, lost, or trying to find something that is lost, we are to come alongside to their aid. "You must not hide yourself."

Messiah himself provides the best example of pursuing righteousness. He is the righteous servant, and he makes many righteous. How? Isaiah said that he came among us, took on our sins, bore our iniquities. He is the great teacher, but he did not simply say, "If you are interested, come to me and I will teach you how to live." Instead, he saw us in need, and did not hide himself, but came to lift us up and return us to the Father.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Church to lure young with Harry Potter
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 11:51:13 -0400

September 1 2000
BRITAIN

Church to lure young with Harry Potter

BY RUTH GLEDHILL, RELIGION CORRESPONDENT

                      Links
  A VICAR in the Church of England is to hold a special
  "Harry Potter" family service this weekend, complete with
  wizards, pointy hats, broomsticks and a game of
  quidditch.

  The Hogwarts liturgy, posted on an Internet discussion
  site, was welcomed by other clergy who wish to adapt it
  for their churches as well. The service has aroused horror
  among evangelicals, who condemned it as "importing evil
  symbols into the Church".

  A banner featuring a serpent, representing the House of
  Slytherin in the best-selling books by J.K. Rowling, will
  adorn the 1960s church of All Saints in Guildford, Surrey,
  this Sunday. Banners of the other three Hogwarts houses
  will also be displayed.

  The church door will be re-ordered as the gateway to
  "platform 9*", the magical platform at King's Cross
  Station where children at the Hogwarts school of wizardry
  catch the Hogwarts Express.

  The Rev Brian Coleman, Vicar of All Saints, will don
  wizard's robes and hat to play the Hogwarts headmaster
  Albus Dumbledore to lead the special "service of the
  word".

  Mike Truman, a lay member of the parish who is about to
  qualify as a reader and who has drawn up the new Harry
  Potter liturgy, a variation on an authorised Church of
  England service in the new Common Worship service
  book, will play a teacher at Hogwarts. His 11-year-old
  son, Mark, will play Harry Potter. A "sorting hat" will be
  used to enact a drama in which four new teachers are
  sorted into houses. The service will feature "Muggle
  songs" (hymns), and will end with a game of quidditch, in
  which worshippers will compete to capture a "snitch", a
  yellow rubber ball.

  This Sunday has been chosen because the New
  Testament reading in the liturgical calendar, James
  1:17-27, is considered particularly appropriate to the
  themes of Harry Potter. A broomstick, an "invisibility
  cloak" and "ton-tongue toffees" will be used to illustrate
  verse 17, about generous gifts coming from God.

  Mr Coleman conceded that the service might not receive
  universal approbation. "But if you look at the Narnia
  chronicles by C.S. Lewis, these are books that also use
  magic as the background to a story."

  He insisted that the Harry Potter books were highly moral.
  "They are about loyalty, standing up for friends, standing
  up for good against evil. That is exactly what the passage
  in James is about. Young folk are all very much into Harry
  Potter. We are using this interest."

  The service has dismayed the Evangelical Alliance, the
  umbrella group for evangelical Christians. The Rev Paul
  Harris, an Anglican clergyman who convenes the alliance's
  panel on cults and new spiritualities, said: "We do
  encourage clergy to connect with contemporary culture.
  But it is going too far to use images from Harry Potter.
  There is a risk that children are going to be very confused
  by the use of symbols associated with evil."

http://www.sunday-
times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/09/01/timnwsnws01005.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Spirits spook inmates
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 12:58:40 -0400

Published Wednesday, August 30, 2000, in the San Jose Mercury News

Spirits spook inmates

Ouija reaction draws priest and holy water

BY ROXANNE STITES
Mercury News

A circle of inmates set a Ouija board on the floor and gathered around. They
leaned in, and, together, prayed to the devil. At one point, inmates said, they
lightly placed their fingers on the board and called up the spirit of a woman.

They asked the spirit how she died, then followed the message indicator
around the handcrafted board as it spelled out: ``I was murdered.'' They
asked how, then watched the indicator move letter to letter, spelling out
``investigate.''

The inmates were spooked. But the game wasn't over.

According to Santa Clara County Jail officials, the inmates went from asking
a few questions to praying to Satan to three of them screaming out loud after
they thought they were possessed by demons.

Jail officials said correctional officers immediately called in a priest who
blessed 29 prisoners as he sprinkled them, and then the group's dormitory,
with holy water.

``We have never, ever had anything like this occur here,'' said Bryan Peretti,
county department of correction spokesman.

The Ouija board -- with the alphabet and words Yes, No and Goodbye printed
on it -- is said to have been around, in some variation, for hundreds of years.
Some sit down to the board out of curiosity, others seek spiritualistic or
telepathic messages.

The jail inmates, all documented gang members, said they spent an entire
night earlier this month crafting the board. They used the underside of a
Scrabble game as the base, fancily penciled in the alphabet, and shaped a
piece of cardboard into a teardrop to use as the ``message indicator,'' which,
in theory, mysteriously moves from letter to letter, spelling out messages,
after a question is asked.

Then, on three separate nights, four to five inmates gathered at one time in
the bathroom: It's the darkest place in the dorm, with just a flicker shining in
from afar. Before long, inmate Isaias Velasquez, 21, said he and others
thought they felt a presence in the bathroom. They asked the board if anyone
was in there, and the teardrop began spinning uncontrollably, he claimed.
Everyone bolted.

When they went back in, Marcos Vasquez, 29, said, he looked at the board
on the floor, then turned to face the others. ``I felt cold and bigger,'' he said.
``I was filled with anger and talked in this deeper voice I never had.''

Inmates thought Vasquez was acting, but the drama continued. By the third
day, three inmates, including Vasquez, feared they may be possessed. They
tore up the board and threw it away.

But, on the morning of Aug. 5, two correctional officers -- who never saw the
inmates toying with the Ouija board -- said they heard screams coming from
the inmates' dorm, 2-4.

They went inside and confronted a chaotic scene in which inmates were
crying and flailing their arms. Peretti, the corrections spokesman, said
officers soon realized the inmates ``seriously believed'' they were possessed.

After interviewing all the inmates involved, jail officials said they don't believe
the fear was feigned. They called the priest away from his other prayer duties
and asked that he bless and counsel the inmates. The clergyman then spent
two days counseling the three inmates most overpowered by fear.

Marilu Edder, who has been director of Detention Ministry of the Diocese of
San Jose for about 15 years, said this is the first time she has heard of the
county's jail inmates using a Ouija board. But it's not unusual, she said, for
some to pray to the devil.

She said she counseled one woman who contemplated praying to Satan
because someone told her it could get her out of jail faster. Some of the
incarcerated have asked to see a minister after claiming to have seen dead
loved ones.

Others, Edder said, want ministers to cleanse their cell after seeing or
hearing their cellmates pray to Satan. But, in all her years of working inside
jails and juvenile halls, this is the only Ouija board she has seen.

Most of the inmates involved were Hispanic, Catholic and probably overcome
by guilt, she said. ``They were doing something they weren't supposed to,''
Edder said, ``and they were probably fearful of what they might have done.''

Some did have a religious turnabout.

Vasquez said he was raised Christian, and before this incident, ``sort of''
believed in God. Now, there's no ``sort of'' about it. ``This was a sign to
believe.''

Both Vasquez and Velasquez are awaiting completion of their trials.
Vasquez is jailed on charges of being under the influence of drugs and willful
harm, injury or endangerment to a child, and a parole violation. Velasquez
faces charges of spousal abuse, false imprisonment and parole violation.

According to an internal memo about the incident, the priest told jail
administrators one thing that he neglected to tell the inmates: That the
Catholic Church doesn't believe a person can become possessed through
use of a Ouija board.

Edder declined to say whether she believed the board could evoke spirits.
``It's not for me to say whether they are or are not possessed. . . . We need
to honor whatever people think is going on with themselves,'' Edder said. The
board, she added, goes into the same grouping as tarot cards and
fortunetellers. ``It's nothing to play with.''

Vasquez now heeds that advice.

The inmate, who has tattoos that run up his arms and cover his chest and
neck, said last week that he was counseled twice, and still has a hard time
sleeping. He still can't explain what came over him, but said one thing's
certain. He's never touching a Ouija board again.

http://www.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/ouija30sf.htm

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (9/2/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 18:23:57 -0400

Jordan firms to abandon relations with Israel for Iraq

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: UPI

Sat Sep 2,2000 -- Business sources in Jordan said Saturday many of the
Jordanian firms that deal with Israel are ready to abandon their relations with
Israeli counterparts for Iraq. Sources at the industry and commerce
chambers in the Jordanian capital, Amman, said that dealing with Iraq was a
priority for most of the local companies that deal with Israel. One source who
sits on the Amman Chamber of Industry board said that its president,
Othman Budeir, will relay this position to Iraqi officials, starting with Iraq's
Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Saleh, who starts a visit to the kingdom
Saturday.

Budeir is expected to make a visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, next week to
tell the Iraqi government and firms that many of the Jordanian companies
expressed willingness to abandon dealing with Israel to trade with Iraq, which
bars ties with companies that have relations with the Jewish state. Iraq has
recently turned to Syrian and Turkish ports to import their products rather
than using Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba, and has also been giving priority
to other exporters after complaining that Jordan was moving closer to Israel
and the U.S., while turning a blind eye to the sanctions that have crippled the
Iraqi economy.

China and Russia praise Clinton's missile decision

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: UPI

Sat Sep 2,2000 -- Russia has praised President Clinton's decision to delay
deployment of a national missile defense system, saying he had acted
"courageously, reasonably and correctly." Russian President Vladimir Putin
said in a statement in Moscow that Clinton's decision "doubtless will lead to
strengthening strategic stability and security in the whole world, and will
raise the United States' authority in the eyes of the international community."
China also praised the move by Clinton, calling it "rational." In Brussels,
NATO welcomed Clinton's decision as a "prudent course of action that
balances the many factors involved in this issue."

Tokyo's Islands rattled by 70,000 quakes just this summer!

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Yahoo/ Reuters

Sat Sep 2,2000 -- Island Chain quakes make Tokyo think of the Big 1.When
the Prime Minister sounded the alarm for Japan's annual mock earthquake
drill Friday, more than usual listened. Some 70,000 quakes have rattled this
Izu islands chain about 120 miles south of Tokyo this summer and a volcano
on one of the isles has blown its top, prompting many to wonder if a major
quake is about to strike the capital. But, the scientific consensus says little
about whether or not Tokyo is poised for a rerun of the 1923 Great Kanto
Earthquake which left 140,000 dead in its wake. Friday marks the
anniversary of that temblor, one of the worst natural disasters to strike
anywhere in the 20th century. Major media have quoted experts, some with
impressive credentials, as saying the quakes jolting the Izu chain could
signal a big one is heading for Tokyo. Megumi Mizoue, head of a group of
professors who advises the Meteorological Agency on earthquake prediction.
was quoted as saying, ``The quake on the Izu island of Niijima (on July 15)
was a dangerous indicator of a Tokyo region quake," and that the Izu quakes
could trigger a Tokyo region earthquake ``if the epicenters shift in a
northwesterly direction.'' Then, you have the other experts, who dismiss a
scientific link between Izu's jolts and looming disaster in Tokyo. With experts
on both sides, who are they to believe?

Two major plates (the Philippine Sea plate and the Pacific plate) are trying to
force their way under the Eurasian and North American plates in the Japan
area. The plate movements are pulling Hawaiian islands toward Japan at a
rate of about three inches (seven cm) a year, some recent studies have
shown. The Philippine Sea plate is pulling down the lip of the Eurasian -- like
someone bending a plastic ruler by bending it over the edge of a table.
People in Japan know all too well that when the ``ruler'' bends too far it will
spring back, causing a massive earthquake. The whole nation is vulnerable,
but the possibility of a quake flattening the nation's economic, political and
population center of Tokyo causes the greatest anxiety. Though, the current
quakes are being mainly attributed to the recent volcanic activity loosening
bits of the plates under the island chain. Retired General Toshiyuki Shikata,
is advising Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara on the metropolis' own disaster
drill set for Sunday. He explained how not even the experts at the University
of Tokyo could predict whether or not an earthquake in Tokyo is imminent,
because "predicting quakes remains basically a guessing game."

http://www.upway.com/cgi/readnews.cgi?day=00_09_2&item=#967930913

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aide: Catholicism Is 'Mother' Church
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2000 18:25:42 -0400

Saturday September 2 12:37 PM ET

Aide: Catholicism Is 'Mother' Church

VATICAN CITY (AP) - One of Pope John Paul II's closest aides has written to
bishops worldwide declaring that the Catholic church is the ``mother'' of other
Christian churches, a move which could hurt Vatican efforts toward unity with
other believers.

The Vatican Saturday had no comment on the document, which was
reported on Friday by the Italian religious news agency Adista. In the
document, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told the bishops that it was incorrect
to refer to Christian churches, ranging from Orthodox to Protestant, as
``sister'' churches of the Catholic church.

``It must be always clear that the one, holy, catholic and apostolic universal
church is not the sister, but the mother of all the churches,'' Ratzinger was
quoted as saying.

The term ``sister churches'' often is used in dialogue aimed at fostering
closer ties among Christians. John Paul has made steps toward unity with
other Christians, a key goal of his papacy in Christianity's third millennium.
But Ratzinger, the Vatican official in charge of ensuring doctrinal
correctness, appeared to be putting the brakes on such expansive
terminology.

``It's evident that it would go against the faith to consider the (Catholic)
church as `one' way of salvation `alongside' those represented by other
religions,'' Ratzinger was quoted as saying.

The cardinal is scheduled to appear at a Vatican news conference next week
about the subject.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000902/wl/vatican_christians_1.html

via: Third_Watch@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

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