Friday, November 13, 2020

The Evangelicalization of Orthodoxy

 https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/belief/articles/evangelicalization-orthodox-jews

 But more important, both camps of Orthodoxy have followed parts of evangelical Christianity in coalescing around an ethnonationalist identity, one that views the political right and its ultranationalist worldview, in America and in Israel, as a religious foundation united against the threat of the cultural left. For these swaths of the Orthodox world, support for Trump and the right generally is no longer a political choice separate from Torah. For many, Orthodoxy has fused with a Christianity that is now less a faith tradition than a nationalist civil religion, deeply connected with the Republican Party in general and now Donald Trump in particular.

 

4 comments :

  1. “The Evangelicalization of Orthodoxy” The author is a rare rabbi that supports Biden. He says:
    “But more important, both camps of Orthodoxy have followed parts of evangelical Christianity in coalescing around an ethnonationalist identity, one that views the political right and its ultranationalist worldview, in America and in Israel, as a religious foundation united against the threat of the cultural left”
    Wikipedia: “Evangelicalism evangelical Christianity, or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide trans-denominational movement within Protestant Christianity that maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, solely through faith in Jesus's atonement. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. The movement has long had a presence in the Anglosphere before spreading further afield in the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries.”

    This week’s parsha חיי שרה we see the wealthiest man in the world at the time, Abraham, making huge efforts to arrange a marriage for his son Isaac, the most desirable single fellow imaginable in the world at the time. The Bible shows us in lengthy and repetitive detail the measures Abraham and Dammesek Eliezer took to get Isaac to marry Rebekah. Wow, does Dammesek Eliezer pray and thank God afterwards. It almost seems Abraham and Dammesek Eliezer appeal to God based solely on God’s grace alone.
    My theory. Abraham and Dammesek Eliezer knew that everything depends on God’s grace. Laban was a total faker and trickster: “Then Laban and Bethuel answered, The thing proceeded from the Lord מֵיְקֹוָק יָצָא הַדָּבָר; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְקֹוָק.” (Genesis 24:50-51).
    Laban seems to know: “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, By Myself I swear, the Lord declares: Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your favored one, I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command.” (Genesis 22:15-18). Proof that Laban knew this: “And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, O sister! May you grow Into thousands of myriads; May your offspring seize The gates of their foes.” (Genesis 24:60).

    My theory. This is like the Book of Job. We have to pray and pray to God and do mitzvot and study Torah. BTW I did all my rabbi tests at the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and am waiting for results. BTW, also, I got a new acceptance of a scholarly article “Thought Experiment: Marginal Cost versus John M. Clark's Workable Competition Pricing.” In this article I quote a Gamara. Yes I do a lot of praying to God. Please God grant Trump four more years.

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  2. “ For many, Orthodoxy has fused with a Christianity ” No.
    “Abraham took another wife ויסף אברהם ויקח אשה, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah ואת שוח.” (Genesis 25:1-2).
    “Bildad the Shuhite said in reply ויען בלדד השוחי ויאמר: How long will you speak such things? Your utterances are a mighty wind! Will God pervert the right? Will the Almighty pervert justice?” (Job 8:1-3)
    רש"י איוב פרק ח פסוק ג
    האל יעות משפט - הה"א נקוד פתח ומליצתו לשון תימה:
    “Surely God does not despise the blameless; He gives no support to evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with shouts of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in disgrace; The tent of the wicked will vanish.” (Job 8:20-22).
    “Bildad the Shuhite said in reply: Dominion and dread are His; He imposes peace in His heights עשה שלום במרומיו.” (Job 25:1-2).
    Avodah Zara 3a:
    “Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will say, Some of yourselves shall testify that Israel observed the entire Torah. Let Nimrod come and testify that Abraham did not [consent to] worship idols; let Laban come and testify that Jacob could not be suspected of theft; “You rummaged through all my things; what have you found of all your household objects? Set it here, before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us two.” (Genesis 31:37) let Potiphar's wife testify that Joseph was above suspicion of immorality; let Nebuchadnezzar come and testify that Hanania, Mishael and Azariah did not bow down to an image; let Darius come and testify that Daniel never neglected the [statutory] prayers “When Daniel learned that it had been put in writing, he went to his house, in whose upper chamber he had had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down, prayed, and made confession to his God, as he had always done.” (Daniel 6:11); let Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and Eliphaz the Temanite [and Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite] testify that Israel has observed the whole Torah; as it is said, “All the nations assemble as one, The peoples gather. Who among them declared this, Foretold to us the things that have happened? Let them produce their witnesses and be vindicated, That men, hearing them, may say, It is true! My witnesses are you —declares the Lord— My servant, whom I have chosen. To the end that you [emendation yields they] may take thought, And believe in Me, And understand that I am He: Before Me no god was formed, And after Me none shall exist—” (Isaiah 43:9-10).”

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  3. “ For many, Orthodoxy has fused with a Christianity ” No.
    “Abraham took another wife ויסף אברהם ויקח אשה, whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah ואת שוח.” (Genesis 25:1-2).
    “Bildad the Shuhite said in reply ויען בלדד השוחי ויאמר: How long will you speak such things? Your utterances are a mighty wind! Will God pervert the right? Will the Almighty pervert justice?” (Job 8:1-3)
    רש"י איוב פרק ח פסוק ג
    האל יעות משפט - הה"א נקוד פתח ומליצתו לשון תימה:
    “Surely God does not despise the blameless; He gives no support to evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with shouts of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in disgrace; The tent of the wicked will vanish.” (Job 8:20-22).
    “Bildad the Shuhite said in reply: Dominion and dread are His; He imposes peace in His heights עשה שלום במרומיו.” (Job 25:1-2).
    Avodah Zara 3a:
    “Then the Holy One, blessed be He, will say, Some of yourselves shall testify that Israel observed the entire Torah. Let Nimrod come and testify that Abraham did not [consent to] worship idols; let Laban come and testify that Jacob could not be suspected of theft; “You rummaged through all my things; what have you found of all your household objects? Set it here, before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us two.” (Genesis 31:37) let Potiphar's wife testify that Joseph was above suspicion of immorality; let Nebuchadnezzar come and testify that Hanania, Mishael and Azariah did not bow down to an image; let Darius come and testify that Daniel never neglected the [statutory] prayers “When Daniel learned that it had been put in writing, he went to his house, in whose upper chamber he had had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down, prayed, and made confession to his God, as he had always done.” (Daniel 6:11); let Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and Eliphaz the Temanite [and Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite] testify that Israel has observed the whole Torah; as it is said, “All the nations assemble as one, The peoples gather. Who among them declared this, Foretold to us the things that have happened? Let them produce their witnesses and be vindicated, That men, hearing them, may say, It is true! My witnesses are you —declares the Lord— My servant, whom I have chosen. To the end that you [emendation yields they] may take thought, And believe in Me, And understand that I am He: Before Me no god was formed, And after Me none shall exist—” (Isaiah 43:9-10).”

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  4. “The Evangelicalization of Orthodoxy” No. Thanks KA for the uptick. We must fight certain Haaretz writers. Allow me here to comment on my coming SCOTUS docket number. I spoke with the SCOTUS clerk of my case. She said to submit the identical package, with no change however small, but to add a cover letter. She implied that I will get a docket number. This is my cover letter:
    “I'm writing regard to your letters to me Aranoff v. Aranoff NYCA Mo. No. 2020-352 Mo. No. 2020-664. There is no lower court opinion for me to append. NYCA Mo. No. 2020-352 ruled: ORDERED, that the Motion is dismissed upon the ground that the paper sought to be appealed from is not an order or judgment appealable to the Court of Appeals (see CPLR 5512). The NYS Court of Appeals dismissed my Mo. No. 2020-352 saying it was not based on an order or judgment from the Supreme Court Kings County NY. Thus I don't need to make any corrections in the petition for writ of certiorari I previously sent you with copy on opposing counsel.”
    All applications for a SCOTUS docket number have 10 printed copies, for each justice and one more. Seems every judge must approve before SCOTUS gives a docket number. SCOTUS denies/dismisses over 90% of dockets. Four times SCOTUS denied my docket application. I have high hopes on my fifth try.. My focus is everything Susan won, pension and house, was through fraud. I learn from Trump. Trump says that Biden won the election through fraud. Let the process run. Trump four more years. The Senate committee vote for Justice Amy Barrett: 12 Republicans voted in her favor, b”h. Justice Amy spoke so well, God bless her. God bless Justice Kavanaugh. On this blog Brett Kavanaugh was unfairly attacked.

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