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Rather interestingly, when I discussed this whole scenario with my extended family at the shabbos table this Shabbos, they had a funny reaction. They were unfamiliar with the idea of buying aliyas, and they were very unhappy about the practice. They felt it could lead wealthier people to buying the honors, which wouldn’t be “fair” to those who have less. One even claimed it was proof that the rabbis who make these practices are out to harm their fellow Jews. Tough crowd.
But I think that it proves exactly the opposite. By awarding the preferred aliya to Shimon (who gave $36) instead of to Reuven (gave $360), it shows that the wealthy are not given preference over the non-wealthy.
In my own synagogue, we don't bid for aliyot, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing for other synagogues to do. It's my understanding that no-one is actually "buying" the honors – they're donating money as a mitzvah to help their shul and receiving in return the opportunity to ascend the bima. Especially for synagogues that don't charge membership fees, it's a means of getting much-needed funding to keep the synagogue going. The upkeep of buildings especially is expensive, as anyone knows.
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 12-01-2019 at 09:45 AM..
When Jews hear a fellow Jew has died, we say “Baruch dayan ha-emes,” (Blessed is Hashem, the ultimate judge of truth).
But I’ve seen where non Jews says “sorry for your loss, may you have a long life.” I wonder what the source is for what they say - have a long life? Could it be a Jewish source, like much of what they do?
When Jews hear a fellow Jew has died, we say “Baruch dayan ha-emes,” (Blessed is Hashem, the ultimate judge of truth).
But I’ve seen where non Jews says “sorry for your loss, may you have a long life.” I wonder what the source is for what they say - have a long life? Could it be a Jewish source, like much of what they do?
As someone who is not Jewish, I wondered about your observation that non Jews say "sorry for your loss, may you have a long life." I have never offered such a condolence, and I don't recall ever hearing one that included "may you have a long life."
Curious, I Googled for perhaps what I was missing, and I couldn't find that condolence when looking it up either...
Can't say this proves such a condolence has never been offered or that you didn't hear such a thing, but I don't think the "may you have a long life" part is at all common compared to the others I suspect we've all heard far more often.
As someone who is not Jewish, I wondered about your observation that non Jews say "sorry for your loss, may you have a long life." I have never offered such a condolence, and I don't recall ever hearing one that included "may you have a long life."
Curious, I Googled for perhaps what I was missing, and I couldn't find that condolence when looking it up either...
Can't say this proves such a condolence has never been offered or that you didn't hear such a thing, but I don't think the "may you have a long life" part is at all common compared to the others I suspect we've all heard far more often.
When Jews hear a fellow Jew has died, we say “Baruch dayan ha-emes,” (Blessed is Hashem, the ultimate judge of truth).
But I’ve seen where non Jews says “sorry for your loss, may you have a long life.” I wonder what the source is for what they say - have a long life? Could it be a Jewish source, like much of what they do?
Heh, I have to say that, when I read your post, it made me think of Leonard Nimoy's Spock saying "Live long and prosper."
Everything is from Spock, Spock lived before Nimoy was born. Spock is an interstellar traveler from the planet Zion that began a race of people here on earth when whales used to smoke.
Why did some generations in the 1950s hide the fact that they were Jewish from their children? I have first, second and third cousins who are Jewish, yet my father landed in a new country, where I was born, and was always accommodating and fuzzy about religion. I know that Judaism is all about the religion of the mother, but why would a father never say a word about being Jewish throughout his life and into death? The only thing he demanded was that we were not indoctrinated into any set of religious beliefs, so we were educated in religion, Eastern and Western, and never baptized.
Why would a man born in 1916 in the EU hide Judaism from his children?
Wherever there was a Christian majority you would find anti-Semitism and this in a time any wise person would join a church even if they didn't believe in God, that's what people did to excel in society and Jew was a bad word across alot of America.
Wherever there was a Christian majority you would find anti-Semitism and this in a time any wise person would join a church even if they didn't believe in God, that's what people did to excel in society and Jew was a bad word across alot of America.
The Spanish Inquisition ensured that people became Catholic. The alternative was off with the head. Of course people joined Catholic Churches even though they didn't believe the story. The Netherlands allowed Jewish people who were fleeing Spain during the Inquisition to settle there. Some escaped with their heads and their religion.
[Removed examples of ethnic terms which may be considered derogatory -- Rachel NewYork]... all sorts of bad history. The Irish are a special category, like the Kennedys.
Last edited by Rachel NewYork; 12-08-2019 at 04:56 AM..
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