Hell its about time I wrote something. So, I chose the low road and picked the best topic to suite the grand mental capacity engendered by massive alcohol consumption. That's right! Religion!
(7 glasses of absinthe (14 shots), 2 rum n' cokes (6 shots), and a triple of 151)
This took FOREVER to write.
Almost a month ago I retold a story (probably rather poorly) that is told by many rabbis yearly to the children of the congregation. It metaphorically explains the meaning of being the chosen people. I want to stress again that it is just a childrens' story. Instead of re-explaining it all, here is the whole post from the article:
Whoa... I made a table
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"@Matt2k35
Matt2k35 wrote:
Oh, by the way, The reason people hate Jews is because they're brought up to think they're better than everyone else. They're brought up being told they're "god's chosen people" adn that only they will find the promised land. Doesn't sound at all a bit big headed to me.
The way I was brought up being god's chosen people was a far more complex philosophical idea than a sophomoric boast. It meant that the Jews as a people were blessed with the obligation to study and interpret the Torah. It seems everyone gets massively confused between that and the promise to the Jews by god of a land to settle in as their own during Exodus. Thus the contextual synonym the promised land. Of course, looking back at historical records we can find there was a people in the area already, and they were conquered and assimilated into the kingdom that was established.
When I mentioned obligation, that is the best translation of mitzvah. It is not truly a good deed in principle though it has pretty much become so in secular practice. Mitzvot are really moral obligations at a personal level and almost any rabbi would tell you the same if you asked beyond the good deed definition.
Back to the chosen people subject, many rabbis tell a story to the children about every year or so to help them understand the significance of what it means to be chosen:
When god was searching for a people to give his teachings to, he traveled to every corner of the Earth asking if people would accept his teachings. They all denied him, saying their gods were more powerful than any single being or decrying how absurd holy teachings were. Until he came to the Jews, the last of the humans he was willing to ask. He was ready to start the universe over, but he gave them a chance. They denied his teachings. At this point god had had enough and caused great storms and quakes and raised a mountain over the Jews and proclaimed the destruction of a failed creation. It was at this point the Jews realized how divine god was and asked him for his teachings. Since one of the peoples of the world dared ask him for such a gift even in the face of his wrath, he did not destroy his creation. He instead passed down to the world the Torah and blessed the Jews with the study of his teachings.
Now, hopefully you read through the whole story and haven't gone ape shit yet. That story is told to demonstrate how lucky the Jews are to have the Torah to study and learn from. It was highly stressed when typical class jackasses tried to claim superiority how little of the story they understood. It is meant to humble those who take Judaism seriously and to show how lucky they are for having the Torah today. The idea is Jews are lucky that studying Torah is an obligation for them to fulfill. People claiming that Jews are chosen above all others to have a special stake in the land of Israel are ignorant of the philosophy and beliefs of the religion. And to be more specific I believe many Jews are conspicuously so ignorant. After reading much of the Talmud, Mishna, and Nevi'im, I can say there is an appealing philosophy to Judaism and its deeper content whether or not you wish to believe in a god.
If that sounded way too garbled or a little off kilter I just got off a 36 hour work day and I'm having a hard time clicking the mouse."
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That's it, I'm just glad I wrote it before.