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Ask Me Stuff

I love our optimism. I dislike our hubris.

Well, if it makes you feel better about your dislike of the hubris, ill show a lack of it by saying i just learned a new word! Hubris. I had to look that word up to find out its definition.

It took me some lack of hubris to say that. Lol
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
I apologise; it's from the Mishneh Torah, Kings and Wars chapter 10,

The principle here is that we do not permit them to make a new religion and create new commandments for themselves based on their own reasoning. They may only become Righteous Converts and accept upon themselves all the Commandments, or they must observe their own (Seven) Laws only, and not add or detract from them.

Thanks. Who are the "them" and "they" under discussion? All non-Jews or those non-Jews subject to Jewish law?
 
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Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Thanks. Who are the "them" and "they" under discussion? All non-Jews or those non-Jews subject to Jewish lay?
Hi Jay, I'm literally about to go to bed. I will try to get back you you in the morning :)
 
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dybmh

דניאל יוסף בן מאיר הירש
Do you have any favorite sections or prayers in the siddur? What about tehillim?
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Obviously "a non-Jew".
Yes, it is, but that's what it says so I can't really give you more than that. The context is of course a non-Jew and the Noachide Code, but it never mentions anymore specifically, unless I've missed something.
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
Yes, it is, but that's what it says so I can't really give you more than that. The context is of course a non-Jew and the Noachide Code, but it never mentions anymore specifically, unless I've missed something.
@Rival, I'm going to bow out of this discussion, in part because I feel that I have come close to doing a disservice to the thread and in part because it feels a bit like pushing water up hill. But first, allow me a final suggestion: reread "Kings and Wars" in it's entirety. It seems to me very clear that that Maimonides is addressing various matters of culpability of non-Jews in Israel and in lands [to be] conquered by Israel. L'shalom.
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
@Rival, I'm going to bow out of this discussion, in part because I feel that I have come close to doing a disservice to the thread and in part because it feels a bit like pushing water up hill. But first, allow me a final suggestion: reread "Kings and Wars" in it's entirety. It seems to me very clear that that Maimonides is addressing various matters of culpability of non-Jews in Israel and in lands [to be] conquered by Israel. L'shalom.
Thanks for your input, Jay.
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
Cool. I heard a couple of months ago that he's about to release a halachic book for Noahides.
So I was going through old threads about what other people over the years had said about Noachidism on RF and I came across this. I assume you are talking about the Brit Shalom (and also its matching counterpart, the Brit Olam prayerbook). I had previously owned the Brit Olam but gave it away because I didn't particularly like it. I'll quickly list why:

1. It seemed too much of an indie publication as it was not published by a reputable Jewish publisher and this made me cautious about its contents. It also had links to the New Sanhedrin, which bothered me.

2. It didn't feel or look as real as any of the siddurim I own. I have quite a few because I love a good compare and contrast, and by comparison it looked bare and bony. The prayers struck me as a bit hollow, and again I was faced with the question, "Who approved these? Which Rabbis had a hand in this?" etc. It's sad to say, but it's a bit upsetting when Jews get to have their Koren or ArtScroll hardbacks glittering with gold embossed text and lots of dedications, books that look well-made and have love put into them, and you get to have a (generally) paperback that won't last a lifetime and feels like a cheap imitation of a prayerbook. It hurt.

3. It had Shabbat prayers and I found that confusing. I get that Noachides can theoretically do Shabbat as long as they break it once somehow, but this idea always seemed silly to me and adding prayers for Shabbat when that's the one thing Noachides really aren't meant to do struck me as weird.

That said...

Firstly, I feel like I just pushed off a helpful comment from you here in my first reply and I didn't mean to; although the reasons I gave were and are still valid to me. Secondly, though I've left, I would still find it interesting to see what he's written in his other book and see if it compares better to the Brit Olam. It's been years since I read that book and I may be able to look at his other one with fresh eyes now. I have a lot of scepticism, and it's a bit more money than I'd have appreciated paying for a paperback, but now I've been gone nearly 6 months I might have a less emotive response. It's not as though I've ditched all interest in this, and I've still bought Jewish books here and there. I think that it would be interesting to read a book like this from a different perspective, and perhaps a less biased one. It's on my wishlist.

We'll see :)
 
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Spiderman

Veteran Member
Nevermind,
Maybe asking about fears is too personal. I'm just big on facing fears is all.

Just try to keep a positive attitude. Do you tend to have more of a negative attitude as a general rule each day or a positive one?

I've just come to realize that I tend to be a negative worry worm and focus on things that put toxic chemicals into my bloodstream.

It's a terrible habit that is hard to reverse. The effects of stress and negativity on the body and mind are devastating, and most of our worries don't come true. Usually, worrying about something can't help us at all. Best to find your delight in an entity greater than you and spend more time rejoicing and being genuinely joyful, peaceful, and happy, focusing on what is beautiful, because it will make you a much better soldier for your Deity, and much more diligent instrument in our world. High morale is very important for a soldier. And life is a battle! It will release many good chemicals and neurotransmitters into the brain and bloodstream.

Chronic grief and negativity is simply something I tend towards, I'm not saying that is something you have a problem with. But if you did, I hope what I say helps a little. :) We can sometimes be as happy as we choose to be and it requires constantly changing our habits of what we focus on. Be of good cheer! You have great potential! :)
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member

What are some of your fears?
I'm glad you managed to love spiders :D I like spiders but the bigger ones such as the huntsman scare me; though I would love to hold a tarantula.

My main fear is tokophobia. I also have various delusions (I don't know what else you'd call them) of a kind I've been prone to since I can remember. I think my reflection is going to come out of the mirror and kill me. I'm afraid often when I go to the back of our house that a man is going to come out from behind the bins and kill or kidnap me. I'm afraid when I'm in the shed that someone will either be hiding in there or will lock me in. I had many, many similar fears as a kid. Whenever I went out as a child I always noticed there were aeroplanes and I began thinking they were tracking me because I was a government experiment. So in this way I'm scared of pretty much any and everything.

I'm in a relationship with a young man, so I hope I'm not scared of him!

@Rival....
Which SARS CoV-2 vaccine for you?

I wanted AZ but it's not available for under 30s here.
 
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