I like to think the ladder was placed there by Georgian, Serbian or Maronite folks, who were long ago excluded from having power over the work of the building; and, given all the power the ladder represents, the “lesser” denomination is the true guardian of the Holy Sepulchre.
As a person of faith, I am absolutely disgusted at the violence in this week of weeks for the three major faiths in Jerusalem. It's Ramadan, Passover and Holy Week. Couldn't everyone just reach out in peace this one week? There must be many pilgrims visiting the area at this time. This ongoing violence is not of God. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." ~ MLK, Jr. I know that in its day, "an eye for an eye" was far more fair than what preceded it (wipe out a village in return for someone losing an eye). But it is thousands of years later. Can't we move beyond this barbarism?
The observation has been made that neither side wants peace; both sides want victory. The Ottoman Empire was organized and governed unlike any country we know today, and it worked reasonably well for a very long time; indeed, it seems to have been the only effective government the area has known, and its destruction (or collapse, if you will) has been a disaster. Every attempt at imposition of a foreign legal culture has failed. I very much admire the approach of Confucius to rational government; he sought the principles of government which all people of his time and place agreed upon. He went to the capital of the oldest country known in China, and found almost no trace of its ancient culture. Then he went to the second oldest and found more, but not enough. At the capital of the Chou dynasty he finally found enough tradition and records to serve as a foundation and built upon it. Consider our Common Law--- it goes back to the era between the departure of the Romans from England and the arrival of the Normans. The basic structure of the Ottoman Empire was that each community had its own laws; it had its own leader, and that leader was responsible to the Sultan. So, for example, an Armenian anywhere in the Empire was bound by Armenian law; a Jew anywhere in the Empire was bound by Jewish law; and so forth. It was inefficient (for instance they all had different calendars), but it worked reasonably well for a very long time. ---Alan
There was a cultural institution common to much, perhaps all, of the Ottoman Empire, that has largely disappeared. I don't remember the name of it, but it was a type of local civic organization that maintained some sort of local infrastructure (e.g. a bridge or water system), often with a religious facet. They disappeared with the imposition of foreign systems of government, probably because foreigners didn't recognize or respect them. ----Alan
I am in no way sympathetic to the political interests of any of the factions in the Middle East. Just like our fundys here, they claim to be doing battle in God's name and they all want victory. The problem with that is that God does not ask us to be successful. God asks us to be faithful. So what about living up to the tenets of the faith traditions they claim to espouse? If they did, there would be peace. They can't see the speck in the other's eye clearly, because of the log in their own.
I can't speak from personal experience, but I have read that as the Ashkenazim founders of modern Israel were displaced by Sephardim from Russia and Russian-influenced areas, the county's politics became less and less tolerant. Where the Mizrahim fit in I have no idea; probably there are not enough of them to have a large influence. ----Alan
Mizrahi Jews Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mizrahi_Jews "Mizrahi" is literally translated as "Oriental", "Eastern", מזרח Mizraḥ, Hebrew for "east". In the past, the word "Mizrahim", corresponding to the Arabic word ... United States: 300,000+ Azerbaijan: 11,000–20,000 United Kingdom: 7,000+ Uzbekistan: 12,000 Mashriqi Jews · Arab Jews · One Million Plan
Mizrahi Jews in Israel https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mizrahi_Jews_in_Israel
Mizrahi Jews constitute one of the largest Jewish ethnic divisions among ...
On hearing that the black boys had been expelled but the white girl hadn't, my first (knee jerk?) reaction was, "What idiots!" After some thought, though, it occurred to me to wonder whether the action wasn't a calculated, and cynical, attempt to shift the focus from the prevention of gun violence to race. As long as the focus is on race, nobody's precious guns are in danger.
A friend of mine, a fellow spiritual guide, has been diagnosed with brain cancer and the tumor is the size of a cherry tomato. He is in as good spirits as one can be after such news, and is preparing for this next adventure of life. Too soon for prognosis, but it is an aggressive form of cancer. I suppose Good Friday is the right day to be sitting with this news.
Sorry to hear thtis but glad to hear the good health nes on the previous thread.
Travelled essentially all do yestrday, jnc,uding prolonged dinner at a pizza place where we ordered too many beers from their 20(?)-page beer menu. Most of today free. The convention essentially starts at 4 pm and my first panel,\, on Aging in Fandom, is at 5:30.
We visited our income tax accountant (computer?) today and had a pleasant surprise-- refunds due rather than payments. Several years ago I gave up on filling out our tax returns-- certain parts had just become too complicated, and we were going through various adjustments related to retirement, tax code changes, etc. It seems that the changes to withholding we made last year really did the job, and tax matters should once again be stable. Nice. ----Alan
The Curious Case of the Ladder at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
ReplyDeleteI like to think the ladder was placed there by Georgian, Serbian or Maronite folks, who were long ago excluded from having power over the work of the building; and, given all the power the ladder represents, the “lesser” denomination is the true guardian of the Holy Sepulchre.
DeleteAnd the last shall be first. ✨
As a person of faith, I am absolutely disgusted at the violence in this week of weeks for the three major faiths in Jerusalem. It's Ramadan, Passover and Holy Week. Couldn't everyone just reach out in peace this one week? There must be many pilgrims visiting the area at this time. This ongoing violence is not of God. "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." ~ MLK, Jr. I know that in its day, "an eye for an eye" was far more fair than what preceded it (wipe out a village in return for someone losing an eye). But it is thousands of years later. Can't we move beyond this barbarism?
ReplyDeleteMore Violence
The observation has been made that neither side wants peace; both sides want victory. The Ottoman Empire was organized and governed unlike any country we know today, and it worked reasonably well for a very long time; indeed, it seems to have been the only effective government the area has known, and its destruction (or collapse, if you will) has been a disaster. Every attempt at imposition of a foreign legal culture has failed. I very much admire the approach of Confucius to rational government; he sought the principles of government which all people of his time and place agreed upon. He went to the capital of the oldest country known in China, and found almost no trace of its ancient culture. Then he went to the second oldest and found more, but not enough. At the capital of the Chou dynasty he finally found enough tradition and records to serve as a foundation and built upon it. Consider our Common Law--- it goes back to the era between the departure of the Romans from England and the arrival of the Normans. The basic structure of the Ottoman Empire was that each community had its own laws; it had its own leader, and that leader was responsible to the Sultan. So, for example, an Armenian anywhere in the Empire was bound by Armenian law; a Jew anywhere in the Empire was bound by Jewish law; and so forth. It was inefficient (for instance they all had different calendars), but it worked reasonably well for a very long time.
Delete---Alan
There was a cultural institution common to much, perhaps all, of the Ottoman Empire, that has largely disappeared. I don't remember the name of it, but it was a type of local civic organization that maintained some sort of local infrastructure (e.g. a bridge or water system), often with a religious facet. They disappeared with the imposition of foreign systems of government, probably because foreigners didn't recognize or respect them.
Delete----Alan
I am in no way sympathetic to the political interests of any of the factions in the Middle East. Just like our fundys here, they claim to be doing battle in God's name and they all want victory. The problem with that is that God does not ask us to be successful. God asks us to be faithful. So what about living up to the tenets of the faith traditions they claim to espouse? If they did, there would be peace. They can't see the speck in the other's eye clearly, because of the log in their own.
DeleteI can't speak from personal experience, but I have read that as the Ashkenazim founders of modern Israel were displaced by Sephardim from Russia and Russian-influenced areas, the county's politics became less and less tolerant. Where the Mizrahim fit in I have no idea; probably there are not enough of them to have a large influence.
Delete----Alan
DeleteMizrahi Jews
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mizrahi_Jews
"Mizrahi" is literally translated as "Oriental", "Eastern", מזרח Mizraḥ, Hebrew for "east". In the past, the word "Mizrahim", corresponding to the Arabic word ...
United States: 300,000+
Azerbaijan: 11,000–20,000
United Kingdom: 7,000+
Uzbekistan: 12,000
Mashriqi Jews · Arab Jews · One Million Plan
Mizrahi Jews in Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mizrahi_Jews_in_Israel
Mizrahi Jews constitute one of the largest Jewish ethnic divisions among ...
puddle
Very enlightening; thanks, puddle.
Delete---Alan
Charlie Sykes: Tennessee GOP Only Empowered the Expelled Lawmakers [Click]
ReplyDelete—Alan
Young Black Dems Could Be Reappointed To Tennessee House After ‘White Supremacist-Led’ Expulsion [Click]
Delete—Alan
On hearing that the black boys had been expelled but the white girl hadn't, my first (knee jerk?) reaction was, "What idiots!" After some thought, though, it occurred to me to wonder whether the action wasn't a calculated, and cynical, attempt to shift the focus from the prevention of gun violence to race. As long as the focus is on race, nobody's precious guns are in danger.
DeleteA friend of mine, a fellow spiritual guide, has been diagnosed with brain cancer and the tumor is the size of a cherry tomato. He is in as good spirits as one can be after such news, and is preparing for this next adventure of life. Too soon for prognosis, but it is an aggressive form of cancer. I suppose Good Friday is the right day to be sitting with this news.
ReplyDeleteThere have been considerable recent advances in FDA-approved immunotherapies of brain cancers. May s/he have one of the susceptible types.
Delete---Alan
Sorry to hear thtis but glad to hear the good health nes on the previous thread.
DeleteTravelled essentially all do yestrday, jnc,uding prolonged dinner at a pizza place where we ordered too many beers from their 20(?)-page beer menu. Most of today free. The convention essentially starts at 4 pm and my first panel,\, on Aging in Fandom, is at 5:30.
Hi, Bill! [waves]
Delete---Alan
Hi Bill!
DeleteWe visited our income tax accountant (computer?) today and had a pleasant surprise-- refunds due rather than payments. Several years ago I gave up on filling out our tax returns-- certain parts had just become too complicated, and we were going through various adjustments related to retirement, tax code changes, etc. It seems that the changes to withholding we made last year really did the job, and tax matters should once again be stable. Nice.
ReplyDelete----Alan
{listener}
DeleteI love it when that happens!
I solved the income tax thing more than 20 years ago: I just started making below the taxable line. . . .
Deletepuddle
Asteroid Mystery Solved; Largest Recent Impact Crater Found [Click]
ReplyDelete—Alan
Jim Jordan lands himself in surprise legal trouble [Click] I will be interested to see what Alvin Bragg does about it. Will he give JJ the opportunity to dig himself in deeper?
ReplyDelete—Alan