Research Sucks

 Well my grad research is good, however this research has taken some setbacks....hoping to get some work done soon

Thoughts from last night

Anti-Semites are silly people...also, Passover, like Christmas is fun.... atheists celebrate Christmas because they like it...Jews can celebrate whatever they want if it makes them happy and bring whoever they want into it...have a good weekend!

Notes on inspiration and heritage

I once had a discussion with a Christian who said it is impossible to celebrate a holiday such as Passover without believing in God.  I know I have mentioned this discussion before, if not, it is a common one for me.

The question I have failed to ask back and I do not know why, is what about secular Christians that still exchange Christmas gifts?  I have plenty of friends that exchange gifts with their family and hold on to the Christmas traditions, these folks hold on to these traditions because of something more than religion.  It is a time for family for them, as are what most holidays religious and government are meant to do.  Well that and give you a great deal on a new Toyota. 

There are many secular Christmas events, and these traditions will continue.  Why is it so bad to exchange gifts anyway?  I guess I have trouble calling it Christmas  gifts, I like saying happy holidays…maybe I will say, it’s dark, it’s cold, cheer up, here is a toy/chocolate/booze-a-hol….

Holidays provide a celebration of an event.  I recently found out I have Kohen (‘Cohen’)  blood in me….

Hold the phone…what is that?

Jews descend from the 12 tribes of Israel…more here http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/tribes.html.  The tribes are  Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.  Moses’s brother, Aaron, was from the Levi tribe…Aaron was the first High Priest of the Israelites.  The priests were called Kohanim, this turned into the Cohen surname today and lineage has been traced back to the priests.

Wait…we are atheists, why are we talking about things that happened in the Torah.

                Yes we are…while there is a huge spiritual side to the Torah, the people mentioned in the Torah did exist, just like Jesus (depends on who you talk to, sometimes, well rarely). 

The Israeli tribes and people are real, have a history and tradition.  This Hagadah is a celebration of heritage, not a celebration of a Lord.  The common history keeps Jews alive and connected. 


Please leave questions and comments!

5 Chapters and so on

My goal is to use the most traditional Hagadah as a template in order to not miss something important, while at the same time have enough space to add my own thoughts.  Using http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/661624/jewish/English-Haggadah-with-Instructional-Guide.htm

there are 5 parts to a sedar:

1-Kiddush-Initial prayers and ceremonies
2-Maggid-The Story of the Exodus
3-Rachtzah-Matzah, Maror, and the Festive Meal
4-Tzafun-The Afikoman and Grace
5-Hallel-Conclusion

Carefully going through each one, I hope to write my own Hagadah and share it with others, but this seems like a good start!

At the starting line!

Finals are over and now it is on to summer work, actually I will be headed on a 3 week trip to Germany for a conference and travel, but the time may lead me to start looking more into this project.

After talking with a Rabbi, who was a mentor for me in undergrad, he gave me a good starting point to think about.  The passages of the Hagadah, that are expected to be said are 1500 years old.  Writing this book, would be impossible without the mention of God, or reference to prayers.  I am considering leaving prayers in there, but with translations and explanations.  These are a part of the holiday in someway, and picking and choosing will be difficult.

The next step will involve reading an old Hagadah to see what was thought to be of the utmost important.  

Up and Running

Thank you to those who have sent your support!  I am very excited about this project over the next year.  The other night I was at a party, not a fancy dress party, just a relaxed get together of folk and I was somehow dragged into a discussion about Atheism, and keeping Jewish culture while being an atheist.

Judaism, is a religion that has a culture to it.  When you are born a Jew, you can assure your self (most of the time) that if you go back far enough, then you will find ancestors that came out of Egypt.  Passover is the celebration of this event.  Even though it is said God brought the Jews out of Egypt, it is still an event that happened.

Remaining culturally Jewish is something I find common about many Jewish Atheists I meet.  To myself, it is more about holding onto the heritage of my family, and the story that we come from.  It is not about gratefulness of an almighty God.  The Jewish culture has survived for thousands of years amid many conflicts and targeting of more powerful groups, governments and religions.  After growing up in a Jewish family that shared these traditions, abandoning them along with God seems unreasonable.  Mostly, Jews are born Jews, and while some are converted and accepted, they make up a small population of an entire community.

The argument put before me was that if you celebrate a Jewish holiday, how can one NOT be religious.  Looking at other Jewish holidays however, one sees that many of them do not involve the Deus Ex Machina of a deity, but more or less the celebration of a time of year, or event.  To go through the major Jewish holidays, lets start....

Shabbat...I do not observe, and view it as a more religious tradition.

Rosh Hashanah- The Jewish New Year...Praise to God is given, but it is a holiday based off a Jewish Lunar Calendar.  I do not know anyone who lives but this calender, but is still celebrated...I would like to know why it is celebrated in a modern society

Yom Kippur-  The holiest day of the year, where Jews ask forgivness from one another and from God...(the most religious as well)

Simchat Torah-The end of the cycle of Torah readings...time to roll it back the other way and dance with it!

Sukkot- Harvest festival- go camping in the backyard and live like a nomad

Hanukkah- Jews vs Romans....JEWS WIN!   God is not mentioned once in the telling of the story...only a miracle that oil lasts in the temple for eight days that should have lasted for one.

Purim- Esther saves her people from Haman-Drink till you cannot tell friend from foe (I have been told) and be merry...another holiday I have never heard God mentioned, just the strength of one woman.

Passover-Egypt got rocked by a really wierd weather systems, today we will have floods of blood followed by a passive frog shower (more on this one)

Yes, I have taken liberties, but have you met me?  No?  You should...but this is how I have viewed the culture and these are what these holidays mean to me.  A very strong people, I am still proud to come from...I do not think there is a higher power at work.

That being said, I hope there is more respect for a Jewish culture from this post along with a Jewish Religion.

As for Hagadah work, I am trying to find my Rabbinical friends to help me get started.  Let's hope they get back to me soon!

For an interesting letter, that I enjoyed, go here  http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-do-americans-still-dislike-atheists/2011/02/18/AFqgnwGF_story.html

Good luck to all us college folk during finals!

Technical Difficulties

So this is a slightly slow start, but my current computer is not my computer.....more like a borrowed one, while mine is fixed by norse gods, that is how I imagine these things...also I need suggestions on how to get people to follow this.