Neo-paganism sees growth in numbers

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by Brianna

Good points, richlevy. I turned to Wicca because there is no room for a woman at the top (so to speak) in either Judaism or Christianity--both are so firmly patriarchial and some branches are outright hostile to women. It's hard to worship a God who shows such favoritism. Wicca fully embraces the female aspect of the Diety. As someone who was brought up in the Catholic church, that is refreshing. In Catholicism a female can choose to be one of two things: a whore or a virgin. Correct me if I am wrong, but Judaism has a prayer thanking God for "not making me a woman"--? Yikes! My boyfriend is Jewish, but as you pointed out on another thread, he's the "intellectual" brand and isn't observant!

Well, the rabbi of our Reform synagogue was a woman and so was the cantor, but I do agree that traditional Judaism did believe that a womans place was in the home. Of course, the argument there is that because kosher laws, as well as many of the 600+ other laws are centered on the home, the woman's place as keeper of the hearth (my title) is vital. Of course, this sounds condescending, sort of like telling the team's equipment manager he's as important as the quarterback. But there is also the fact that by Jewish law in cases of intermarriage it is the mother's religion that determines the child's. As with any Jewish custom or law, there are conflicting theories, both practical and political for this.

I think I've brought up the 'thank G-d for not making me a woman' issue myself on the Cellar. The fact is that anyone can make up a prayer and one groups adoption does not reflect the views of all members of a religion. The fact is that there are Jewish fundies who would rival the most venomous Christian and Muslim fanatics. There are also laid-back Orthodox who live their own lives and do not try to be judgemental about the choices others make.

I'm not very good at practicing my religion when it comes to prayer and kashrut (keeping kosher). While I don't eat pork (much), I do like cheeseburgers, cheesesteaks, chicken cheesesteaks, shrimp, the occasional clams casino, and a number of other prohibited foodstuffs. While Reform Judaism might let me slide on the chicken cheesesteak issue (that woman rabbi even mentioned it in one of her sermons), the other items would make me a bit of a hypocrite.

Still I make sure that once in a while I take a deep breath and look for G-d. And the prayers I say are still in Hebrew. I don't want to be one of those people who need to be carried by G-d every moment of their lives, for fear of becoming their bad old selves. I don't want to see G-d as some attendant with a straight jacket following me every day of my life to make sure I don't screw up by wrapping me up in my faith. I see G-d as a companion who I hope will pull me back if I am about to step in front of an oncoming truck but who will otherwise just enjoy that I enjoy being who I am.

One of the ceremonies that I didn't participate in much at home but that I did enjoy was the Havdallah service. Lighting candles to celebrate and smelling spices to give us something to remember for the rest of the week is a great way to start the week. There is also an interesting psychological component given that smell is one of our most powerful keys to memory.

From the Havdallah prayers, we can see the use of Havdallah as a buffer between the spiritual and the everyday existence.

If we look back to the time when survival required long days of hard labor, we can understand the importance of Sabbath much better than we can than today with the two day weekend and push button entertainment. The only issue I have with Judaism is the fact that the entire religion has been in mourning for almost 2000 years. The reason that music is not allowed in services is to comemerate the fall of the temple in 56 AD. This is the equivalent of the US ordering all flags to fly at half-mast because of 9/11 for 2,000 years.

All we do now is give up work religiously and pray. While we still celebrate the Sabbath, we deliberately hold back from the way it used to be.

The destruction of the Second Temple brought about a ban on the use in services of musical instruments giving forth "joyful sounds." Among the many Judaic musical practices the Christians carried on was the use of the organ. Ironically, some early church fathers campaigned to ban the use of this "Jewish instrument" because it would seduce Christians to the ‘hated religion’" – Judaism!3

from Jews and Music; The Legacy of Jubal

We may not get our music back until the Messiah comes, and noone knows when that will be. The Jewish position on that is:
1) Jesus Christ wasn't the messiah.
2) Neither is George W. Bush.

So I will have to sit back and watch, maybe for a few hundred more years.