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A Stranger's Torah
The purpose and scope of this Pod
This Pod is for Jews and Gentiles who wish to explore Torah, Tanakh, Judaism and Life from a non-Xian and Jewish perspective without risking being assaulted by Xians who wish to convert them. Xians are welcome to participate as long as they do not bring texts or topics from their
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down  About This Room
Here you will find messages from the Admin, including the Rules of this Pod, The Welcome and Introduction Thread, a statement of purpose and of course any Group Messages from the Admin.
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Nicole : wakingdreamer
Nicole posted a reply to the conversation "New Mods..." ()
SillyOldBear : Green Avatar for Democracy in Iran
SillyOldBear started a new conversation - New Mods... ()
SillyOldBear : Green Avatar for Democracy in Iran
SillyOldBear posted a reply to the conversation "Rules - please read and sign your agreement." ()
~KES : Communicator
~KES posted a reply to the conversation "Rules - please read and sign your agreement." ()
SillyOldBear : Green Avatar for Democracy in Iran
SillyOldBear posted a reply to the conversation "Deletion Dump" ()
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down  Group Grapevine
JodyAllenGorran I'm sorry for initially posting an incorrect url for the book Secrets of Jewish Spiritual Living. I have corrected it as http://jewishspiritualliving.com (9 months ago)
andrew : ~SmAsHInG dUaLiTy~
andrew sorry for posting on the cherry; feel free to move it to the general dumb-ass section!lol (9 months ago)
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  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Jan 28, 8:19 AM:
 
This is a Discussion Group and debate is encouraged, however some basic rules so we can keep things civil and respectful:

No bashing.
No name calling.
No offensive language.
No belittling.
No ridiculing.
No derogatory remarks.
No Xian/Messianic texts or topics outside The Interfaith Corner (And no missioning anywhere)

Please - keep threads on Topic and be specific in your Title when you create a new thread.  People should be able to see from the Title what the thread is about.

Please - before you create a new thread, do a “Search this Group” to make sure that your Topic or Question has not already been posted somewhere in the Group. Try to think of possible search criteria outside your specific title range. If you wish to find Topics on “Jewish Ethical Behavior” you might consider using “ethics”, “Jewish Ethics”, or “Ethical behavior”.

Please - Do NOT write the Ineffable Name aka Tetragrammaton - if you need to refer to It for educational purposes, please substitute one letter witha * or - as not to risk that It is erased or defaced should what you write be printed out and later discarded.

Criticize the Post, not the Poster. Remember that there’s a living human being on the other side of the screen.

The Group Admin will at their discretion decide if the rules have been broken. Three strikes and you’re out.
  3lan : Hardware H4CK3R i.e. recycler

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

3lan said Jan 28, 2:48 PM:
 

I agree. 
 - Mike K.

  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Jan 28, 3:10 PM:
 

Thank you, Mike!

Same procedure as always. :-D

I hope people will join. I was just wondering how to promote this group - I know how to do it in Care2 and in FB, but not here.

One thing that is good here in Gaia is that the Admin can edit all posts, so if someone poops their poop can be scooped, without having to delete their post. That is a good thing, I think. Especially since there is one rule here that might not be easy to remember - that about the Tetragrammaton.

Dov/Silly Old Bear
  Dale Husband : The Honorable Skeptic

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Dale Husband said Jan 28, 7:23 PM:
 

I agree also.
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Jan 29, 3:01 AM:
 

Thank you, Dale and welcome to the Group!

Hugs,
Dov/Silly Old Bear
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Jan 29, 1:05 PM:
 

I agree.
 -Tharlam Gyatso

P.S.
I shall make every effort to aid you in promoting this group. 

  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Jan 29, 1:44 PM:
 

Thank you, Tharlam! :-D
  Samme : Prince of Rainbows<3

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Samme said Feb 6, 11:35 AM:
 

I agree.
- Samme Samareta

Tharlam invited me here.  Thank you for this pod.
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Feb 6, 12:01 PM:
 

Welcome Samme - good to have you here :-)

I hope you will find this Pod useful and interesting.

Shalom!
Silly Old Bear
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Feb 6, 12:13 PM:
 

Welcome Brother Samme.

I was very much hoping you would join.

Hope you are well.
  Zoe : Student

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Zoe said Feb 7, 7:50 PM:
 

I agree.
 
Zoe EK
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Feb 7, 9:03 PM:
 

Welcome to the Pod, Zoe!

I hope you will find it a stimulating and interesting place to be on the Net :-)
Hugs,
Silly Old Bear
  Nicole : wakingdreamer

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Nicole said Feb 13, 9:43 AM:
 


Grateful for the invitation, and in full agreement with your rules.


Love,


Nicole
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Feb 13, 10:47 AM:
 

Glad you could join us here, Nicole.

Pleasure to have you.

Be well!
  Nicole : wakingdreamer

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Nicole said Feb 13, 1:45 PM:
 



Thank ‘ee kindly Dave!
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Feb 13, 4:55 PM:
 

Welcome, Nicole!

Hope you like it here :-)

Hugs,
Dov
  Albert : ~

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Albert said Feb 13, 8:49 PM:
 

I confirm and agree.
 
Albert
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Feb 13, 10:27 PM:
 

Thank you, Albert!

Welcome to the Pod! I hope you will enjoy it here.

Hugs,
SoB/Dov
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Feb 14, 12:44 AM:
 

Welcome on board, Albert.

Most glad you could join.

Cheers.
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Feb 27, 6:42 AM:
 

On the subject of bashing and name calling etc, as per the rules of this group:

Defamation

~By Rabbi Daniel Travis

These are the chronicles of Yaakov: Yosef was 17 years old. As a lad, he would tend the sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Since his brothers [the sons of Leah] would make fun of them [the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah], Yosef brought his father a bad report about them [the children of Leah]. (Bereshith 37:2)

Yosef would report to his father whatever shortcomings he saw in the sons of Leah. Among other things, Yosef told his father that they had treated the handmaids’ sons with contempt, calling them slaves. For this report, Yosef was later punished measure for measure by being sold into slavery. Why did Yosef’s actions warrant such a severe punishment? After all, he only told his father what he had seen. We must always bear in mind that the Torah establishes the guidelines for truth and falsehood, and we must not base our assessment of what is true on our own perception of a situation. Since the Torah forbids lashon hara (slander), even a true statement is considered sheker if it is slanderous.

The Torah instructs us, “distance yourself from falsehood.” Our Sages tell us that this includes avoiding listening to anything derogatory which may not be true.How can we listen to anything at all? - We won’t know if it is true or not! The answer is that everyone should indeed try their best not to listen to any form of lashon hara, and must be especially on guard to avoid slander. Aside from the strong likelihood that it is false, slander can lead to tremendously harmful results. For this reason even when it is permitted to listen to lashon hara for a constructive purpose, one may only listen to it in order to guard oneself from potential harm. In all cases it is forbidden to accept what one is being told as the absolute truth.

Just because we perceive something as true does not mean that it is not false. Since only God is well enough informed to judge a situation in its entirety, it is impossible for anyone to see every element involved in any incident. Therefore no human being can ever be privy to the “whole truth.” This idea is in fact indicated in the letters of the word emethàîú) ), which is comprised of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This indicates that only God can know the emeth since only He sees the beginning, the middle, and the end of the picture before Him.
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Feb 27, 7:40 AM:
 

Hi Dave!
Do you think any of us have violated the Rules of this Group or did you just post this as an instructional text? It is a very good text, and d I thank you for posting it.

Hugs,
Dov
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Feb 27, 11:20 AM:
 

Hey Dov.

Merely was it posted as an instructional text.  I feel it offers a most useful guidance for conduct within social situations such as the online forum. 

Return hugs,

Dave.
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Feb 27, 2:04 PM:
 

I agree. It reminds me that I have to post some articles on Lashon Hara (Evil Speech) in the Ethics Room. Judaism is very particular on the matter of “sins of the mouth”.

Shalom Shabbat!
Dov
  Marmalade : Gaia Child

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Marmalade said Mar 2, 11:12 PM:
 

I agree.  :)
 

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Tharlam [no longer around] said Mar 3, 1:08 AM:
 

Welcome, Marmalade.

Pleasure to have you join us.

I am certain you shall be enriched by your time here.

Cheers.
  Marmalade : Gaia Child

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Marmalade said Mar 3, 1:19 AM:
 

Greetings, DWW.
 
It’s a pleasure to be here.
 
I’m largely ignorant of Judaism and am here to lessen my ignorance.  So, plan to see many questions from me.
 
Marmalade
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Mar 3, 2:00 AM:
 

Welcome Marmalade!

It’s a pleasure to see you here! I truly hope you will enjoy it here. Questions, questions, questions - we like questions here :-D Personally I learn better when I “teach” as answering questions means I have to go find those answers and order the information coherently for myself before I share it with others. That’s one of the “secret” reasons I started this Pod - to learn.

Shalom v’ahavah (Peace and Love),
Dov
  Marmalade : Gaia Child

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Marmalade said Mar 3, 2:12 AM:
 

Hello Dov,
 
I hope my questions are conducive to educational dialogue… for the both of us.  Learning is a good thing.  Learning is my religion.  :)
 
Marmalade
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Mar 3, 2:41 AM:
 

Learning is my religion.  :)

You sure you are not misplaced Yid? (Jew):-D

Hugs
Dov
  Artist for Peace (for now...) : artist for peace

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Artist for Peace (for now...) said Mar 15, 11:49 PM:
 

I agree… margo
  Deisy : Respect is key

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Deisy said Mar 21, 5:36 PM:
 

I agree.
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Mar 21, 5:45 PM:
 

Welcome Margo and Deisy!

I hope you will like it here in our Group - feel free to explore and comment where your mind wants to go :-D

Shalom v'ahavah,
Dov
  newlizmar : The Fabulous

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

newlizmar said Mar 21, 9:30 PM:
 

i agree!
Liz
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Mar 22, 4:36 AM:
 

Welcome Liz!

I hope you en joy the group and find something here that will inspire you in your quest :-)

Shalom,
Dov
  Fluid : Tamashii

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

Fluid said Mar 22, 5:24 PM:
 

Yes,

I agree my good friend. :)  Thank you for allowing me in your group.

Tony
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Mar 22, 5:34 PM:
 

Welcome Tony!
I truly hope you will find what you seek, and that this group can give you inspiration.

Shalom,
Dov
  ~KES : Communicator

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

~KES said Mar 29, 3:31 PM:
 

I agree and just to clarify the correct definitions of Xion and Messainic
above: ”No Xian/Messianic texts or topics…” I would like to know so I follow that rule as intended.  And the part of the  ” * or - ” , Ineffable  would mean to me to use those symbols on sacred names, so not to get lost with intent and keep referrals of various sources on the web, and to be known and differentiated exclusive to this group.  I still agree but want to understand.  Thanks for preserving viewpoints of wonder with this tech.  I look forward to reading and participating from time to time.


I feel every group should have rules making it so much easier to play the games.


Kathy
  SillyOldBear : Ursus Giganticus Judaicus

Re: Rules - please read and sign your agreement.

SillyOldBear said Mar 29, 4:11 PM:
 
Kathy,

Welcome!

Xian - follower of Yeshu ben Miriam - Chr'stian.

Ineffable - the use of - or * in place of one letter is only required when using the four letter designation of G-d's Ineffable Name - any other writing of G-d's many names given in the Tanakh is all at your own discretion - no offense will be taken if you write them in full.

If you wish to avoid any controversy on the issue, you can substitute the Tetragrammaton with “Adonai/ ADONAI” (My Lord/ My LORD) or HaShem/ Hashem (The Name) - that is the Traditional Jewish way of doing it. Generally, the Tetragrammaton is only referred to for educational purposes.

Some times it will be written out if a text in Hebrew (f.i for a prayer) is written out, but in the transliteration it is always rendered either “Adonai” or “Hashem” to remind people of it's ieffability.

If a Text you find elsewhere uses the Four Letters in full, and you want to post it to the group you do not have to change it - just give people a warning - “contains the ineffable Name of G-d, please treat with respect.” or something like that.

Also should you miss, don't feel bad - it can easily be edited by a MOD. The matter is not about writing it, as much as it is about not ERASING it in printed form - i.e if someone prints what is written in this group, they won't risk erasing or desecrating The Name unwittingly when they discard the printout.

I hope this helps.

Dov