From the Jewish atheist:The essense

of the Jewish religion is  in the simple but powerful statement:

'You serve your God even  by the malice of yours'

 Jewish God is harsh. But He is honest. Honesty is the best policy and  the God states that He and He only deifnes what service   is really a service to Him.  He keeps his people in the gripe of Uncertainty but  isn't that the way life  is?  Wow, we do not like it? We want eveything to be convenient? But Catholics swallow the Body of Christ and drink His blood; do we want that? Maybe we should correct them too?

Respect to  the history of the people  presumes unequivocally to  take it as is including the cruelty of Gods which is meniscule compared to the cruelty of people. As to the fate sealed, well, doesn't it say:

 But Penitence, Prayer and Good Deeds can annul the Severity of the Decree.”  ?

I rest my case.

by Mark Sashine (50 articles, 19 quicklinks, 242 diaries, 3437 comments) on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 1:47:00 PM
 

High Holy Days

Deep in each Jewish atheist is "a pintele Yid." (A little Jewish believer)

by philip rosen (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 93 comments) on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 4:27:07 PM
 

Solace, fear not.

Sheldon, a personal note first saying that your presence here makes me happy.

How many days are there between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?

As I understand it, Rosh Hashanah is soon after the New Moon preceding the autumnal equinox, and Yom Kippur is the equinox day. Exactly how 'soon' after the New Moon is traditionally expressed as "the day of first appearance at sunset," which is normally the second day. The varying time to the Moon's 'first appearance at sunset' is as short as 30 hours or as long as 60 hours. (A paradox in it, is in wondering how do you know during the day, whether or not you can see the Moon later, at sunset? And in times before lenses and glasses, an observer with weak eyesight then adds another day.)

For the rest of this, I am going to write with the belief that the 'definitions' of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are as stated, respectively: two or three days 'soon' after the New Moon preceding equinox, and the autumnal equinox.

Using these formulaic 'definitions' yields the same advice that is referenced in old astrology texts, older than the Talmud. Older than the Old Testament.

I find this a lot. Oldest astrology aphorisms and 'readings' recorded in pharoanic times of Egyptians, Sumerians, Chaldeans, (given from pre-dynastic observations prior to 6000 years ago) -- and allowing for translations, oral 'campfire story' transmission through generations (i.e., progenation), ceremony and ritual keeping without a calendar hanging on the wall, round-off error and cultural accommodation, and many other language deformations that apply to communicating worded knowledge -- then appear in the Talmud and Old Testament and other, later, lawful 'scriptures.'

Astrology tradition advises seeing the portents forecasting the year ahead, in the planet pattern at the time of the New Moon that starts the year.

And that tradition is seen consistently carried through millenniums in ritual or religious affects of many different cultures; seen, that is, with consideration allowing for variations in the definition of the start of the year!

Hebrew orthodoxy sets the start of the year in 'September.' Would that it were so. Others see it otherwise. The true answer is the answer to this question: Where is the bottom of a circle? The answer is: Opposite the top. A circle has no start point, it only has diameter.

A year is a circle. That is an astrologer's 'chart,' also known as the ecliptic, the zodiac, a wheel (of destiny, of fortune, of time, turning round), a passage, an annum, a solar direction, and more names. Horoscope means 'seen in the hour.'

Now comes a confusion of language: A month is a circle, too. Maybe Methuselah lived 960 circles.

The confusion is that an integral number of month circles do not exactly equal one year circle. Lunar 'religions' start the year on a New Moon, yet that is not the same time (day) every (solar 'religion') year. There are twelve-and-a-half moons in a year, and the fractional 'half' part is a confusing Big Problem. Who didn't hate learning 'fractions' in school?

Me, I didn't. I loved learning 'fractions.' Also 'sines' and 'cosines,' 'tangents' and 'derivatives.' Whatever those are.

In an essential insight, it could be said that all the religious wars in history, (that's a mouthful), were and are warring contentions between lunar adherents and solar adherents. Religious battles are battles of and for the calendar. (See this one example, I promise you, only one: the Cold War between 'evangelistic' USA and 'godless' USSR, stems from the historic fact that after 1582, when Pope Gregory removed 10 days from the Julian Calendar, and thus made the Gregorian Calendar, then the 'Euro'-USA 'adopted' the Gregorian and the USSR 'kept' the Julian, the 'Orthodox.' Two contending solar calendars. As an aside, since I love tangents, decades before the 'schism,' renowned astrologer Nostradamus wrote and published in 1555, that the Pope was going to remove 10 days from the "kalends" and it would be the cause of wars -- he just didn't name the Pope or the Wars, though I think he did name the 'year' 1582, only he called it 'the father and grandfather sailing the sea,' which transliterates as 'Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Pisces,' which was early 1583, so Nostradamus was 'close.' He did not see beyond 1600. Then Newton took over the vision.)

Rosh Hashanah transliterates as the New Moon preceding the autumnal equinox, the forecast point of the year ahead. Yom Kippur transliterates as the solar ingress into Libra, when The Scales weigh a balance and the harvest is known, measured and meted; supposed Justice serves up on a first Monday in it. (Note that 'harvest' is in the northern hemisphere. Most of astrology, and 'language,' and much more, is north hemisphere-centric, chauvanistic.)

Further translations, (parenthetically):   Perish by fire (Leo) and by water (Aquarius), by sword (Scorpio) and by beast (Taurus), by hunger (Capricorn) and by thirst (Cancer), by earthquake (Virgo) and by plague (Pisces), who rest (Libra) and who wander (Aries), who knows peace (Sagittarius) and who knows torment (Gemini). On another day, I might write those (assignments) differently.

Now, Sheldon, you put an "etc." in there, and I don't know if the prayer continues listing more 'angles' and 'conditions.' Yet isn't it passing strange that there are twelve listed and astrology counts twelve angles, or 'signs,' since pre-Pharoah times, which brought forth the twelve Tribes? (Or, where I like to take everything -- tangentially -- in the human anatomy, there are twelve cranial nerves, meaning there are (only) twelve ways the brain senses 'data traffic,' a.k.a. 'information,' a.k.a. 'knowledge.' Of course, long before there was human anatomy, there was twelve moons in a year.)

Around every natural thing there is a cycle of seasons and diametrics. A time of birth and a time of death. Human nature accepts seeing this, growing in knowledge by trial-and-error, (it seems little is learned by trial-and-right as it lacks an opposing diametric), inspecting by penitence in memory, prospecting by prayer in pulsation, expecting by good deeds in forthright consciousness. Accepting nature is a concept unfearing. Our ancestors have brought us to know no fear, in good faith we bring our descendants to not fear us.

Yet may I do as Daniel and read the planets written in the pattern at Libra solar ingress, Yom Kippur, the start of the year. No offense to the lunar calendar folks, and I read that, too, just, my 'convention' and habit is solar and it offers a wider facility, and latitude in divination. Right after this brief preface advertisement in sponsoring politics.

In America's golden age, there was a balanced distribution of the calendars of a year. The winter solstice (Capricorn ingress) marked the start of the Civil(ian) year. The spring equinox (Aries ingress) marked the start of the Agrarian year. The summer solstice (Cancer ingress) marked the start of the Fiscal (government budget-cycle) year. And the fall equinox (Libra ingress) marked the start of the Academic year, (same as Judicial, being the 'robe wearers'). In common usage, these were rounded off to the '1st of the month,' respectively as January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. That was the vernacular, of the Quarters, and in astrology the 'cardinal angles' or briefly, 'the Angles.' Then came the Great Imbalance. Federal US Government relegislated its Fiscal calendar from July 1 to October 1, as a cover-up remedy for fraud being unable to balance account books of its 'ways and means' one year. That was when federal government became fraudulent, as it continues. I think it began in the deficient military trillions owed from Bush's first two terms, but it could have been Nixonian. (Understand this: Herbert Bush has had five terms as president -- these two hidden behind his perverted puppet son, one term in his own name, and two terms being president hidden behind Reagan, who was certified Vacant and in the dayroom asylum with a ditzy astrologer, talking Star Wars delerium.) When Herbert became POTUS potentate, 1981, the accumulated federal debt was one trillion dollars, since 1836 when Jackson left it zeroed. Now it is over ten trillion, heck, who's counting, maybe it's twelve, and ALL of the embezzlement is Herbert's bamboozling lip-reading fraudulence. And that's after Clinton clipped two trillion off it, the Stupid 'economy.' Herbert pretends dollars is his monopoly money, since his dad Prescott owned one share of the Federal Reserve ... who inherited that, anyway? Should it pass on to Dubya? Stay tuned in suspense, perhaps the Chief Executive elected in 1980, (a year ending in zero), does not serve out his term of office.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. As I read the planets, I see a dark year ahead, after vast innocence in light, (for decades TV's glow has fooled folks). First comes a stark foodless bare pantry winter, and in it extremely cold temperatures. Spring is moist and verdant, rife germination, much pregnancy. Summer is intolerably hot and oppressive and many weak wither. In the year to come who perish are as descended in 1972, by water of floods and deluge without ark, by plague of zoology (sparing avian and nemo) and charity forsakers and fishers of lakes, by thirst for drink so deserting Guard duty when it's hotter'n the hell of Sam Houston, and by torment alone lost of partner while forks attuned pitch up to lynching.

It isn't that astrologers can't speak in specifics, it's just better they circumlocute around the vulgar. Whose ears hear the music of spheres attend well.

by meremark (1 articles, 3 quicklinks, 25 diaries, 494 comments) on Thursday, September 13, 2007 at 2:31:40 PM
 

plagues of zoology

Donkey Freed After Falling in Well -

UNDERWOOD, Minn. (AP) -- A donkey is happily eating grass again after falling down a dry, abandoned well and being freed in an intensive rescue effort.

It appeared that the animal wandered away from its farm and onto some boards covering the well, which broke, said Bruce Huseth, fire chief in this western Minnesota town. ... Huseth said that he has rescued cows that have fallen through ice, but that the donkey was a first.

--------

NYC Carriage Horse Breaks Loose, Dies

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) -- One of the horses that pulls carriages around Central Park died Friday after breaking loose and running into a tree, police said. No people were injured.

Witnesses said the horse, which became startled by a street performer playing a drum, ran nearly a block along the sidewalk on the southern edge of the park before colliding with the tree, said Joseph Pentangelo, assistant director of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ...

 ---------

Spat Over Horse Manure Wafts Into Court

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MILFORD, Conn. (AP)-- A man has filed a lawsuit against his neighbor, claiming he can't sell his house because of the smell of horse manure from next door. In court documents filed in Superior Court, Gino Sciortino claims Helen Catlin is permitting significant quantities of horse manure to accumulate in piles on her property and the foul odor can often be smelled at his home.

Helen and David Catlin have lived on Park Road more than a year and own three horses. ...

by meremark (1 articles, 3 quicklinks, 25 diaries, 494 comments) on Saturday, September 15, 2007 at 1:53:08 AM