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Saturday, December 10, 2011

Is Faceshuk Not Accepting My Blog Because I'm Messianic Jewish? Well, Wait a Minute...

I'm not a proselytizer. I'm going to be open about my faith, but not force my faith down people's throats. All of my dad's relatives but for the Trudniaks (as far as I know) died Crypto Jews in order to survive Anti Semitism in both Europe and America, and many of us live as Crypto Jews for the same. Sadly, they and others (e.g., Ashley Wojnar and Janet Rozzi) aren't proud to know that we're Jewish for good and bad. 


(Ola, Ashley; que no te gusta que somos judias y que tu abuelo Leo se parece ese un judio irani es lamentable. I'm like an elephant, Ashley-- I don't forget that you defriend me after that. Boo-hoo-- eres tu una supremista cubana, por cierto? Even if you don't like that you're a Jew first, you're a Jew first; and I'm rather proud that your grandmother Helen was Jewish, and that your granddad Leo looks like a fellow Jew. P.S. I figured out that we and he are Jewish.)


Now that I'm done ranting at Ashley (And in a way, I hope that Ashley and Brittany read this), let me get back to the categories of my family. As I said, "All of my dad's relatives but for the Trudniaks (as far as I know) died Crypto Jews in order to survive Anti Semitism in both Europe and America, and many of us live as Crypto Jews for the same. Sadly, they and others (e.g., Ashley Wojnar and Janet Rozzi) aren't proud to know that we're Jewish for good and bad."


By the way, I mean the ones born before and in the 1900s by "All". The "many of us" are descendants of the "All". Some of the "All" may have been Messianic, but never (as far as I know) admitted (though some dropped hints) that they were Jewish.


"They and others" refers to the "many of us" and "All" progeny like Ashley Wojnar who aren't proud of our Jewish heritage and that I found out that we are Jewish. Some are sadly seeming neutral on the subject or ignore it-- then again, they might fit in with the "many of us". Some of them are Messianic and nonetheless of the "many of us".


The fourth category is the descendants of the "All" who are Messianic Jews and/or are open about our Jewish heritage, even if implicitly. We even have a Non-Messianic Jewish Taoist among us (which is understandable after she was raised-- as many of us were-- in some of variant of Roman Catholicism. She was raised in regular Roman Catholicism, I in Episcopalianism until I was in fifth grade or thereabouts. We were both baptized Roman Catholic as well.).


In conclusion, Faceshuk should accept my blog because, if nothing else, of the four categories of my dad's family:



  1. The Ashkenazi Anusim from the 1770s (e.g., the Fockos, Foskos, Foczkos) to the 1900s (e.g., Anna Monkaova Trudniak), referred to as the "All".
  2. The "many of us"
  3.  The "they and others". "They and others" refers to the "many of us" and "All" progeny like Ashley Wojnar and Janet Rozzi (And Janet, I didn't forget that you defended your kapo American grandmother, my great-grandmother Mary Rusnak Gaydos.).
  4. The descendants of the "All" who are Messianic Jews and/or are open about our Jewish heritage, even if implicitly.
I might have to make a YouTube video to clarify this, by the way.


Friday, December 9, 2011

An Untitled Novel, Part 7

Mytreetopper.com started to sell a Magen David tree topper for Christmas. I wanted to get one offline or even in a store in Baltimore if I could find one. My dad said no. "I am not Jewish. I do not care if you and your mother-- and your sisters-- are Jewish. Your brothers and me are not Jewish. So we will not get a Star of David tree topper. Besides, your mother's the one who lets you celebrate that holiday for the White man's messiah, and she doesn't even believe that he's the Jewish Messiah."


A similar occurrence took place when I wanted to put my electric menorah in the window for Hanukkah and asked him about it. "No!" he responded. But I even quoted from the Soncino Talmud, the Talmud Bavli equivalent of the Christian King James Bible, to explain why the menorah was to go in the window at least until we all went to bed each night-- actually, in the window l'kol Yamim-Hanukkah and turned on each night until we all went to bed:



"Our Rabbis taught: It is incumbent to place the Hanukkah lamp by the door of one's house on the outside;  if one dwells in an upper chamber, he places it at the window nearest the street. But in times of danger  it is sufficient to place it on the table. Raba said: Another lamp is required for its light to be used; yet if there is a blazing fire it is unnecessary. But in the case of an important person,even if there is a blazing fire another lamp is required.
"What is  Hanukkah? For our Rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth of Kislew the days of Hanukkah, which are eight on which a lamentation for the dead and fasting are forbidden.  For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the oils therein, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and defeated them, they made search and found only one cruse of oil which lay with the seal of the High Priest,  but which contained sufficient for one day's lighting only; yet a miracle was wrought therein and they lit  therewith for eight days. The following year these  were appointed a Festival with Hallel  and thanksgiving."

My dad responded, "I and your brothers are not Jewish. It is not going in my window."

Intellectual Dishonesty and Word Games On the Part of Dr. Joel Hoffman

Dr. James Strong's carefully-compiled concordance can immediately challenge this:


"The KJV Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon
Strong's Number: 02530
Original Word Word Origin
dmx a primitive root
Transliterated Word TDNT Entry
Chamad TWOT - 673
Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech
khaw-mad'
Definition
v
  1. to desire, covet, take pleasure in, delight in
    1. (Qal) to desire
    2. (Niphal) to be desirable
    3. (Piel) to delight greatly, desire greatly n f
  2. desirableness, preciousness
King James Word Usage - Total: 21
desire 11, covet 4, delight 2, pleasant 1, beauty 1, lust 1, delectable things 1"




  • The translation "Jubilee year" results from a mistaken application of cognates (similar words in different languages). In the original Hebrew, the year was called the "year of the horn," or, in Hebrew, "the year of the yovel." The Latin for yovel is iobileus, which just happens to sound like the Latin word iubileus, connected to the verb iubilare, "to celebrate." The English "Jubilee year" comes from the Latin. (A similar Latin coincidence gave rise to the notion that the fruit in the Garden of Eden was an apple.)
This can be easily challenged by context. HaShanah l'Yovel was announced with the shofar on the 49th-counted Yom Kippur in the cycle, and it was a cause for celebration:


"'You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is, forty-nine years. 9 Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land; 10 and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be a yovel for you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is to return to his family. 11 That fiftieth year will be a yovel for you; in that year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of untended vines; 12 because it is a yovel. It will be holy for you; whatever the fields produce will be food for all of you. 13 In this year of yovel, every one of you is to return to the land he owns. 14 "'If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from him, neither of you is to exploit the other. 15 Rather, you are to take into account the number of years after the yovel when you buy land from your neighbor, and he is to sell to you according to the number of years crops will be raised. 16 If the number of years remaining is large, you will raise the price; if few years remain, you will lower it; because what he is really selling you is the number of crops to be produced. 17 Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your God; for I am ADONAI your God...




  • This is how the Hebrew in Isaiah 7:14 -- which describes a young woman giving birth to a boy who will be named Emmanuel -- ended up in Greek as a virgin giving birth. Though these facts about Greek and Hebrew are generally undisputed among scholars, the translation error remains, both because people are usually unwilling to give up familiar translations, and also perhaps because the Gospel of Matthew describes the virgin birth of Jesus by quoting the mistaken Greek translation of Isaiah 7:14.
In context, in Yesha'yahu 7:14, "almah" and its Greek equivalent absolutely referred to a betulah. Dr. David Stern further explains this in the Complete Jewish Bible translation.

  • Metaphors are particularly difficult to translate, because words have different metaphoric meanings in different cultures. Shepherds in the Bible were symbols of might, ferocity and royalty, whereas now they generally represent peaceful guidance and oversight. So the image of the Lord as shepherd in Psalm 23 originally meant that the Lord was mighty, fierce and royal. The impact was roughly the same as "the Lord is a man of war." But in most English-speaking cultures, "the Lord is my shepherd" conveys a wholly different, and therefore inaccurate, image.
Actually, shepherds were considered low lifes, ishim-ha'aretz, such as was David ben Yishai, who surprisingly became the  melekh b'kiddush-- sanctified king-- of Yisra'el.
  • Similarly, kinship terms like "father," "brother," "sister," etc. were used in the Bible specifically to indicate power structure. This is why the romantic Song of Solomon -- the Bible's only full length treatise on relationships -- says "my sister, my bride" or "my sister, my spouse." On its face, that English translation is not only unromantic but in fact felonious. The original point, however, was that the woman in this relationship should be the man's equal.
Here, Mr. Hoffman is obviously playing word and decontextualization games. She isn't literally his biological achoti, but she is a Shulamit achot. So, there is adultery but not a felony (as we think of felony, anyway.). Shlomo clearly took more than one wife and a goyah kallah.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Dear Mom...

I know that I'm a failure. I know that you're not proud that I don't study as hard as I could, do much around the house as I could, and do much else as I could. But I try. I struggle with OCD/Anxiety, Depression, and possible Aspberger's. I may also struggle with ADD and ADHD (Aunt Mary struggles with mild ADD.). And I struggle with my Cerebral Palsy.

Imagine going through all that I've gone through with little to no support, and spurts of support that are about the extent of the support that I get. Imagine knowing that you're-- though imperfect-- unappreciated and not good enough for anyone no matter what you do. Imagine having my rough family history and not being discouraged from dealing with and talking about it, especially by me & other family. And imagine being mostly or entirely alone otherwise all the time.

I could go on; but Dear Mom, I know that I'm a failure. And now you know why.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

When Math Is the Matter, the Calculator Is My Best Friend...

I'm from the lingual, political, and other mostly-right-brained side of my family (and you have to be at least little creative to be lingual-- since languages, such as verbal conjugations, don't just happen overnight; and political-- since governments don't just happen overnight, and an example of a creative type was the multi-talented Mizrahi Jewish Thomas Jefferson. He was a musician and revisionist Biblotique for goodness' sake-- and you have to be a little creative to come up with a seemingly-plausible alteration of the Bible).

Other relatives, on the other hand (or in the other brain), are left brained-- cousins Shelley and Rob, and granduncles Jim and Tony, for example. They're in the medical, financial, computer, and similar fields. I didn't inherit their passed-down math skills-- and I honestly don't know who passed the math down to them.

I know that their grandparents (and Shelley's and Rob's great-grandparents) Julian and Alexandria were creative types; that's for sure. They did an excellent job of posing as Polish-Lithuanian Roman Catholics, at least on the surface and to the untrained Census and Immigration-Naturalization officials. I mean, for example, inconsistencies and other material on the Census and Immigration-Naturalization records should've stuck out-- e.g., "Czornecki"/"Czarnecki" in 1910, "Chernetski"/"Chernetobe"/"Chernitcki" in 1920, "Czarnecki" in 1930-- come on. And Great-Granddad being three when he came over must've learned perfect English from somewhere besides school and English speakers outside of his home.

So, here I go studying for my math test. Wish me b'tzlacha and buena suerte, and rogen por mi and 'im tefilot. Todam v'/y gracias.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

An Untitled Novel, Part 6

I once shocked my grandparents during one Hanukkah when I was still little. I told them that I considered that Jesus might be Messiah. They looked at me apprehensively and asked, "Are you sure?", and I knew not to discuss whether Jesus is or isn't the Messiah further. Then they continued the reading and discussion of the parsha l'hayom.

When I took this trip to Northwest Baltimore then to Sugar Notch to compare the lives of my Jewish family and the mysterious Crypto-Jewish family about which I'd heard in relation to Mom's great-great-grandparents, that matter didn't end as well. My dad mockingly sat shiva for me, and my mom couldn't understand why I had to compare Yehudim and Anusim to better understand my heritage and get a clearer picture of the Jewish community at large.

So first, I Googled the Northwest Baltimore shtetl. I'd read enough in the "Baltimore Jewish Times", and heard and seen other material regarding the Jewish Marylander haredit kelliat. Besides, since the Lewjes lived there, I had to see where my mom's family even still live-- although as I said, they sat shiva for her; so they wouldn't talk to her, let alone me.

Like most shtetlach, the Northwest Baltimore shetl is in a "Heights" area-- Upper Park Heights. There also is the Reisterstown Road shopping district, but I was looking for the Park Heights shtetl; and so I went to the Park Heights shtetl in Fallstaff.

My grandparents faithfully walked to B’nai Israel Congregation of Baltimore from their home in the Fallstaff shtetl and drove only in emergencies-- for example, when one of the children or one of themselves was sick or unable to walk, but no so ill or debiltated that he or she could not observe Shabbat at the shul. They awoke three hours earlier than they had to, to walk the nearly-three hours that getting to the shul took them. When they drove, they arrived there in 20 minutes to an hour.

Their affectionally-called "rav" was Samuel "Sh'mu'el" Pilskin. According to B'nai Yisra'el's website, "Rabbi Pliskin was meticulously Orthodox, but he did not question the level of observance of his congregants. He said, "When a long-lost child comes home, parents do not ask questions.'"

Of course, the Lewjes never had to worry about any questioning from anyone, as they were shomrim-Haredi Yahadut. They will remain shomrim until they die, being buried in B'nai Israel Cemetery as soon as humanly and Jewishly possible after they die. Meanwhile, the family of Rachel Helen Lewj Umani is not invited to any of the Lewj levayot.

How To Use Blogger To Do Schoolwork

As I was sitting there and about to save one of my Introduction to Corrections essays for home, a proverbial figurative lightbulb went off: I could use Blogger to draft the essay, then finalize it at home and in Microsoft Word. As my piano professor said, study and practice in spurts throughout the day-- like taking small meals-- instead of huge timeslots. In the same way, I could use a for-right-now hobby (which could become a career) to study and make use of time that could've been otherwise procrastination or eventual boredom.

I wrote my first draft of my reflection, take-home essay on Blogger (and wergild is still a hard word to remember how to spell). Using Word, I double-checked "wergild" before replacing "weirgald" with it. By the way, I've similarly done at-home Sociology assignments on Blogger.

In conclusion, I used social media to make the grade and share knowledge with both my professor (so that he can see that I learned in class) and with the world and fellow people who are only in (and not of) the world (to prove that, while I'm not the brightest bulb in the bunch, I'm not the dullest bulb, either).

Second Draft of My Essay for Criminal Justice


In regards to Introduction to Corrections, I still maintain that the class could have been taught with much less book learning and more "chit chat", or engagement of and with the material. Engagement of and with the material would not only have supplemented the book learning, but applied it and made it easier to remember. The field events were a fine application; but the engagement known as "chit chat" would have also helped, and frankly helped apply to the field experience what we learned in class.



I also maintain that Drako did not apply "the punishment fits the crime" first, and the Ancient English did not apply lex talions and wergild first. The Hebrews did, and Genesis 9:6 applies one of the first-- if not the first of the-- Drakon-associated codes. As for lex talions (family justice) and wergild (restitutive sanctions-- e.g., blood money), the Hebrew Torah gives cases in which each are to be applied. For example, if a man accidentally kills another and does not flee to a marked city of refuge allows for lex talions, or if he must make restitution for a baby who he caused to be miscarried during a fight allows wergild.



I respectfully bring to point that I did not like the mockery of Christianity. Being a Messianic Jew and now understanding that (as far as I can tell) you are a Non-Messianic Jew, I fully respect your right not to believe in Jesus. However, I did not like the mockery of, incidentally, what the Quakers themselves based their rehabilitative, reformatory, and penitentiary models on. To them and me, Jesus would not just have been another high for drug and alcohol addicts, let alone one comparable to work and other addictions for the same. I also did not like the "Lazarus has risen" joke regarding Cameron. To me, Lazarus' resurrection was a sacred even and nothing to make light of, let alone to use as a metaphor for Cameron finally coming back to class after car problems.



I myself do not seek to proselytize, but hold strong Evangelical Christian, Messianic Jewish views. As the Quakers did with the views, I apply my views to my life and every aspect thereof, including an Introduction to Corrections class and corrections themselves. On that point, I found the Drug Court to be consistent with a Quaker-Christian view of saving the lost, rehabilitating, reforming, and bringing to penance. As a Messianic Jew, I look forward to seeing the Drug Courts-- and now the Mental Health, Veterans', and other Specialized Courts-- increase in number and effectiveness in decreasing the backlog in the Criminal Justice System.



In conclusion, I learned much about corrections and how to strengthen and apply my views to corrections in Introduction to Corrections, but I still would have liked to engage more with the material to supplement it and the applications of it (e.g., the field trips). I also, as I said, would've liked to see less mockery of Christianity, although I understand your views and certainly do not seek to proselytize. However, as aforementioned, I will do my views as the Quakers did with their views-- that is, apply them to corrections, and learn about other views in light of how to examine and strengthen my own.

Draft of My Reflection Essay For Criminal Justice (It'll Be Easier To Write It This Way First)

In regards to Introduction to Corrections, I still maintain that the class could have been taught with much less book learning and more "chit chat", or engagement of and with the material. Engagement of and with the material would not only have supplemented the book learning, but applied it and made it easier to remember. The field events were a fine application; but the engagement known as "chit chat" would have also helped, and frankly helped apply to the field experience what we learned in class.

I also maintain that Drako did not apply "the punishment fits the crime" first, and the Ancient English did not apply lex talions and weirgald first. The Hebrews did, and Genesis 9:6 applies one of the first-- if not the first of the-- Drakon-associated codes. As for lex talions (family justice) and weirgald (restitutive sanctions-- e.g., blood money), the Hebrew Torah gives cases in which each are to be applied. For example, if a man accidentally kills another and does not flee to a marked city of refuge allows for lex talions, or if he must make restitution for a baby who he caused to be miscarried during a fight allows weirgald.

I respectfully bring to point that I did not like the mockery of Christianity. Being a Messianic Jew and now understanding that (as far as I can tell) you are a Non-Messianic Jew, I fully respect your right not to believe in Jesus. However, I did not like the mockery of, incidentally, what the Quakers themselves based their rehabilitative, reformatory, and penitentiary models on. To them and me, Jesus would not just have been another high for drug and alcohol addicts, let alone one comparable to work and other addictions for the same. I also did not like the "Lazarus has risen" joke regarding Cameron. To me, Lazarus' resurrection was a sacred even and nothing to make light of, let alone to use as a metaphor for Cameron finally coming back to class after car problems.

I myself do not seek to proselytize, but hold strong Evangelical Christian, Messianic Jewish views. As the Quakers did with the views, I apply my views to my life and every aspect thereof, including an Introduction to Corrections class and corrections themselves. On that point, I found the Drug Court to be consistent with a Quaker-Christian view of saving the lost, rehabilitating, reforming, and bringing to penance. As a Messianic Jew, I look forward to seeing the Drug Courts-- and now the Mental Health, Veterans', and other Specialized Courts-- increase in number and effectiveness in decreasing the backlog in the Criminal Justice System.

In conclusion, I learned much about corrections and how to strengthen and apply my views to corrections in Introduction to Corrections, but I still would have liked to engage more with the material to supplement it and the applications of it (e.g., the field trips). I also, as I said, would've liked to see less mockery of Christianity, although I understand your views and certainly do not seek to proselytize. However, as aforementioned, I will do my views as the Quakers did with their views-- that is, apply them to corrections, and learn about other views in light of how to examine and strengthen my own.

A More Specific Example of Frivolous Lawsuits-- re The Papua New Guinean Who I Mentioned....

I am under persecution from HAYRIPITIR1/JLO801. He's threatening me with a frivolous lawsuit. He claims to be simultaneously in Papua New Guinea (as HAYTRIPITIR1), California (as JLO801, on his YouTube profile), and Maryland. His latest threat under his second username:

I ask you nicely to remove the video. since you do not want to do it, that is find with me. Im currently station in Andrews Air force Base in Maryland, since you live in Maryland too that is perfect for me. I will sue you... for violated my privacy. So you think I'm in overseas and not in the State lol we are in the same State. So I gave you 48 hours to get that video remove or i will contact my local police get you arrested. take you to court. read the law about violating person privacyrivacy is the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed in a private place will not be disclosed to third parties, when that disclosure would cause either embarrassment or emotional distress to a person of reasonable sensitivities. Information is interpreted broadly to include facts, images (e.g., photographs, videotapes), and disparaging opinions.surreptitious interception of conversations in a house or hotel room is eavesdropping. See e.g., N.Y. Penal §§ 250.00, 250.05
one has a right of privacy for contents of envelopes sent via first-class U.S. Mail. 18 USC § 1702; 39 USC § 3623
one has a right of privacy for contents of telephone conversations, telegraph messages, or electronic data by wire. 18 USC § 2510 et seq.
one has a right of privacy for contents of radio messages. 47 USC §605

I did nothing wrong. I merely mentioned his name since he commented re a video which I made. Besides, NY penal codes don't apply in MD.

Monday, December 5, 2011

A Magen David Christmas Tree Topper? And More Antimissionarism From Some...

I saw this in a Facebook and "Liked" it almost right away. I'm not sure that Mom will buy it, but we'll see what happens. Meanwhile, I had to tell one of the Antimissionaries, "[A]s a Messiani[c] Jew, I suggest that you instead go to an Antimissionary website where your Scrooge-like and very Un-Jewish behavior would be welcome. If you don't want to be reminded that Christmas was to celebrate a Jewish man who many Jews like myself believe to be the Messiah, and who even many Non-Messianic Jews consider a prophet, that's your schtick. Just please don't try to proselytize against celebrating Christmas in a Jewish way here."

Her excuse to the page administrators before I came in:

"than why is it called a christmas tree, it's not just any tree. we decorate it and put presents under it . i am a interfaith person and we have a tree and a mehorah so the children no the meaning of both holidays.tthat toppersays nothing about hannukkah. the candels must be light. enough said."

Too bad that some Scroogesque people have to try to ruin both the secular Christmas and the Messianic Jewish and gentile Chag Mashiach.

I Should've Mentioned This In My Last Video...

If I sued for all of the times that I've had legitimacy to sue (and I've had plenty, including against Mia Danilowicz for her frivolry-- and I could've easily countersued for her attempt to defame me, misrepresent me and herself, and attempting to stifle legal and acceptable freedom of speech and expression of information), I could've sued.

But I haven't sued? Why? As I mentioned in my last video, a person who brings themselves into a matter needs to deal with whatever arises because of the matter. I, for example, have dealt with Mia-- I've called for any boycott for Marcela "Mia" J. Danilowicz until she gets her act together and starts treating people right. I'm not reaching out to befriend her again and apologize for anything that I may have done-- she added me as a friend in the first place, anyway, then removed me; and I have nothing for which to apologize to her.

Also, suing for selfish reasons is not Christian-- or even good Non-Messianic Jewish-- behavior.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Who Is a Jew? According To Tanakh, Anyone Up To At Least A 16th Jewish

The Family of Manasseh (West)

14 The descendants of Manasseh: his Syrian concubine bore him Machir the father of Gilead, the father of Asriel.[e] 15 Machir took as his wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim,[f] whose name was Maachah. The name of Gilead’s grandson[g]was Zelophehad,[h] but Zelophehad begot only daughters. 16 (Maachah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh. The name of his brother was Sheresh, and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam was Bedan.) These were the descendants of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh.
18 His sister Hammoleketh bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.
19 And the sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam.

We can see that the following applies:

  1. Yitzchak (Fully Jewish, toshav l'habrit-- born of the covenant)
  2. Ya'akov v'Esav (Rivkah is a Hebrew but a gentile.)
  3. bnei-Yisra'el (Whose mothers are all gentile)
  4. Y'hudah takes Tamar; Yosef takes Asenat, etc.. Bnei-Y'hudah v'bnei-Yosef, and those in similar situations (e.g., Shaul HaBen-Simon v'HaKena'anit)
  5. Menashe took an Aramit as a wife and had Makhir, who was 1/16th Jewish.
Somewhere, though, I had gotten a 1/32nd or even 1/64th Jewish to be considered Jewish before. If any one of these is correct, please correct my 1/16th assumption.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Sometimes, I Get Pretty Raucous Ideas...


Is this one of those "'Bawdy' has never been so funny" ideas?

An Untitled Novel, Part 2

My mom's great-great-grandparents came across the Mexican border illegally in the 1900s. However, they-- unlike an interesting family who I once heard about-- did not decide to become Anusim to assimilate into Anti-Semitic America (I once asked my mom if our family did that. She said "No. I know what you're referring to, and I wouldn't be surprised if that family's story was more common than you think. But my great-grandparents remained haredim even at the risk of getting killed either in Poland or in America.").

Unlike that family, however (who became Anusim to try to avoid the pogroms, got kicked out of Poland by their families, and came to America as Anusim via Ellis Island), Mom's great-grandparents never once even thought about being Anusim either in Poland or in New York (where, like that family, they were intending to head but-- unlike that family-- stay)-- and they couldn't have been as convincing as that family, anyway; which is part of why pretending to be ethnic Poles and Catholics would've been hard for them.

And thanking G-d that they weren't caught by a Polish Catholic at the border (because who knows what they would've done then?), they had to deal with the Pole who caught them-- an ethnically-Jewish Pole who had become a naturalized American and an Immigration and Naturalization official, and happened to be stationed at the border when they were crossing it.

"Where are you from?" he asked in Yidish, being able to tell that they were fellow Jews.

"We are from Polinyah." they returned. Then they explained that they had first tried to make aliyah to Palestinian-occupied Yisra'el, deciding to follow the Zionist lead. But they were denied the opportunity to go "el Ha'Eretz" because they weren't haredi enough-- or maybe they were too haredi.

The fellow Jew understood; eventually helping them go through the immigration and naturalization process in Texas, then helping move them to Brooklyn in New York.

They remained haredim up to my mother's generation, and deliberately moved to haredi Northwest Baltimore when they moved. Then my mother moved out of the haredi community in Northwest Baltimore and met a New Yorker who was studying at Morgan State University-- my dad.

And that's when my mom's family were no longer haredim-- at least the generations since my mom's haven't been; and so far, my siblings and I are of the only generation that's proceeded from the Lewjes of Suwalki, Poland and Brookyln, New York.

Why I'm Not Running From Chapelgate Presbyterian Church, Even Though...

The pastor hates me. He's a real Anti Semite and hates that I confronted him over calling the Ark of the Covenant "a holy piece of furniture" and that I once mentioned on Facebook that Togarmah (Armenia) is mentioned in Ezekiel 38. But I didn't ask ol' Mike Khandjian whether a disabled, mixed-blooded Jew is welcome to Chapelgate or not. Meanwhile, I take that apology for confronting him back. The Ark of the Covenant is no piece of furniture.

I also didn't ask the rest of the congregation whether a disabled, mixed-blooded Jew and child of divorce with an abusive and estranged dad could stay. I was already forced to run when I was in elementary school from Christ Episcopal Church in Columbia, Maryland over a whole bunch of issues that I later found out about, though I knew that the former interim pastor Peter was homosexual and actively homosexual. I'm not running from another church.

And I'm a coward for caving in to some family pressure by saying Kaddish and not talking about Dad, Pop-Pop, etc.. I'm not caving in on Chapelgate Presbyterian Church.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Fear vs. Fear: Fear vs. Dread

My cousin Jeff Vazzo recently wrote "I Will Not Fear". What is fear? According to Jeff, "The "Church" tells us to fear god even when God is in us, around us and works through us. Fear is the unbelief." This is the negative type of fear, known as dread.

Often, especially since we are in Laodicea, we are given this message by the Church: "[']May the God of Avraham and also the god of Nachor, the god of their father, judge between us.[']" The NKJV incorrectly translated this as "[']The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.[']" Nachor and Terach feared the g-ds of Ur, even if they feared G-d at the same time. But remember that a man cannot righteously serve two g-ds at once.

Positive fear is what Jeff described as "God’s Son is my fortifying power." Ya'akov himself "swore by the Fear of his father Isaac" (The CJB reads, "But Ya'akov swore by the One his father Yitz'chak feared.").

Ya'akov even understood, "It is a fearful [that is, dreadful] thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Understanding the dreadful side of G-d, he confidently told Lavan, "['] If the God of my father, the God of Avraham, the one whom Yitz'chak fears, had not been on my side, by now you would certainly have already sent me away with nothing! God has seen how distressed I've been and how hard I've worked, and last night he passed judgment in my favor.[']"

So, Ya'akov understood both sides of the Fear of G-d. Ya'akov feared G-d and only G-d-- for the most part, anyway; though he did sometimes dread-- e.g., Esav and Lavan.

"For God will bring to judgment everything we do, including every secret, whether good or bad. [Here is the final conclusion, now that you have heard everything: fear God, and keep his mitzvot; this is what being human is all about.]"

What I Want For Christmas From My Blogger Audience, Especially Family...

  1. Comment on my posts. Please don't leave hate comments and similar types of comments (e.g., spam). You can agree to disagree with me respectfully, honestly, and intelligently, but not unfairly or unjustly.
  2. Contact me. I said Kaddish for Dad already; so he's met to me, and you have nothing to dread.
  3. Don't hold me to what Dad and the other metim, including Great-Grandma Gaydos, did.
  4. Share (e.g., Tweet, Facebook share) these posts.

Don't Let Legalistic Grinches Steal Christ-Mass, Chag Mashiach

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,[a] and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galtians 5:1, NKJV) If anyone gives you drek about Christmas (Chag Mashiach), Easter (Chag HaT'khiyah Mashiach), etc.; tell them to go do their homework and learn the actual origins, not the origins of what they were alternatives to.

Matters like this have "occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you." (Galatians 2:4-5)

Dr. Conrad Murray: Prison Is Enough? Maybe Loing His License Was...

And since losing a license means no income, the taxpayers will be taking care if Dr. Murray, anyway. Prison or welfare? Either way, he'll end up on welfare. So, with Dr. Murray, Michael Jackson already picked his poison (since he was a druggie, anyway). We may as well pick ours-- and not prison. Losing a license was enough for Dr. Murray.