tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post5603440788059306025..comments2024-03-28T15:05:10.372-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: ‘Bienvenido al judaísmo’ to my Latino brethrenNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-4212572057978045112019-08-09T18:44:29.850-05:002019-08-09T18:44:29.850-05:00I lost my faith when I became eleven, old enough t...I lost my faith when I became eleven, old enough to sit through Yom Kippur services and fasting, and my mother informed me that the storefront synagogue where I attended Hebrew school did not let families attend for free...you had to PAY TO PRAY. I got royally pissed. Told my parents that the rabbi should replace the Star of David on the wall with a dollar sign. Got a major whupping for that one, but I also quit going to Hebrew school (after two years of it) and the Saturday services. Became...a DROP-OUT... <br /><br />An ancient Orthodox scholar (who resembled a wizard) tutored me. I learned enough to get Bar Mitzvahed, but after that, I pretty much left The Tribe. Oh, I still love the food and the klezmer music and hearing Yiddish spoken and sung. I can still read Hebrew. I've celebrated dozens of Hanukkahs (with two shiksa wives), and go out for deli meals...and Chinese, natch. Other than that, I'm done. And I have been since my teens (No fan of Israel for the last fifty years, either).<br /><br />But try explaining any of that to the majority of the "goyim"...in their narrowed eyes, it's like being in the Marine Corps. There's no such thing as an ex-Marine...you're a Marine for life. And once a Jew, always a Jew. When the round-ups begin, I'll still have to watch my back, and cover my tuchas. Assimilation ain't gonna cut it this time...same as all the other times.<br /><br />Tried the Reconstructionists in Evanston, thirty-some years ago, to appease the spiritual yearnings of the first wife, who was of Norwegian descent, and to make some new friends. Joined a "mixed couples" group, and quickly found out they had all signed up for one reason only: To expose their "half-breed" progeny to Judaism Lite. We were the only child-free couple in the whole mishpucha. Oy, gevalt! Was this boychik's face red? Damn betcha! We slunk out of the room, quite literally.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-25024579736356421372019-08-09T17:04:57.366-05:002019-08-09T17:04:57.366-05:00Wen I read Max Weber on the subject and came to an...Wen I read Max Weber on the subject and came to an understanding of predestination my Presbyterianism ceased to make much sense. But I like the hymns.<br /><br />TomTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09641357239788323783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-59164641199329456082019-08-09T14:35:13.695-05:002019-08-09T14:35:13.695-05:00Yes, I do have a Pope calling the shots, but I thi...Yes, I do have a Pope calling the shots, but I think that there's as much diversity of opinion among Catholics as among Jews. Each of us seems to diverge on some item or another of faith and morality promulgated by our infallible leader. Me, I disagree with almost all of them, but continue to go Sunday Mass "faithfully."<br /><br />johntatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10088632798195131329noreply@blogger.com