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There are also those who do not even (try to) look directly at the opposite gender, even when talking to them. Takes some getting used to, but you get over it.
I like the Thai style greeting: you press your own two hands together, bring this "prayer-like" gesture to the front of your face and give a nod or a slight bow. It's called a "wai." No exchange of germs.
Your over-reaction to a small point is cause for pause.
Does it surprise you that in EVERY culture, there is a POLITICAL SPECTRUM from right to left to center? Does the spectrum Conservative/Moderate?Liberal surprise you at this late date, when the whole range of opinion in ANY area of human activity is instantly available on the Web?
Religion is no different. ALL religions reflect this irreducibly human spectrum, from very conservative through moderate to very liberal. The same is true in Judaism; the ban on male-female handshaking is simply a small example from the right wing of Orthodox Judaism. There is a RANGE of Jewish communities from right to moderate to left. (The same is true of the range of Christian communities).
May I suggest that, instead of going ballistic over minutiae, you READ something and inform yourself?
lots of disrespecd in this OP
when we have a hatred of the traditions and beliefs of others and feel they are to be trampled we set the stage for our own beliefs being violated. boundaries friend boundaries.
the beginning of getting respect from others and feelings it in ourselves starts with respecting others and not holding their beliefs n contempt. this is especially true of touching other people without their permission.
I like the Thai style greeting: you press your own two hands together, bring this "prayer-like" gesture to the front of your face and give a nod or a slight bow. It's called a "wai." No exchange of germs.
Hands in front of the face is the greeting to a superior in the social order. Hands in front of the navel is the response to an inferior. Hands in front of the heart is between equals.
The Seventh Sign is a movie about an impending biblical apocalypse with both Christian and Jewish references. In it an agnostic woman who thinks something supernatural may be happening goes to see a very learned Orthodox rebbe to translate a document in a cryptic Hebrew code. (Don't ask - it's complicated) She takes the man’s hand to shake it and the wife goes postal (in Yiddish!) throwing the woman out of the apartment.
Thais in America shake hands, at least with Westerners. I'm not saying that to be confrontational, just an observation.
The wai is part of the intricate social order in Thailand. How one performs wai depends on the relative place in society of the individuals (superior/inferior/equal and shades in between) and the immediate circumstances. Since that society does not exist outside of Thailand or Thai communities elsewhere, the wai is irrelevant. Doing the improper wai can be insulting (hands too low for the circumstances), sarcastic (hands obviously too high. e.g., to make fun of a too proud person). But it can also lead to anger or shame if just plain wrong. As in most oriental cultures, place is very important. But trying to import the complex rules and subtleties into a different culture is obviously impractical. So no wai with westerners.
I was in Bangkok once and got an extended lesson over drinks.
The Seventh Sign is a movie about an impending biblical apocalypse with both Christian and Jewish references. In it an agnostic woman who thinks something supernatural may be happening goes to see a very learned Orthodox rebbe to translate a document in a cryptic Hebrew code. (Don't ask - it's complicated) She takes the man’s hand to shake it and the wife goes postal (in Yiddish!) throwing the woman out of the apartment.
Fiction. I'm one of those Jews who never touches a member of the opposite sex (besides my wife, daughters and mother). And when I see women dressed immodestly, I avert my eyes. My wife does the same with men, and neither one of us has ever reacted like the fictional account above. It's worse to embarrass them than to touch them.
There are also those who do not even (try to) look directly at the opposite gender, even when talking to them. Takes some getting used to, but you get over it.
People walk up to me on the streets, total strangers and say,'' Dude, lift your head up.''
I am always looking at the ground but I am such a hypocrite, because when I watch TV, I know where my eyes go.
I am like a walking sack of guilt all the time, afraid to look up.
I am like a walking contradiction, in public, I wont look, but if I am alone, I look.
How sad is that?
Sucks to be me sometime.
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