Tehilla V

Looking for up-to-date info on tent cities and their living conditions.

I'm considering a move to Portland, but I'll have to live in an apartment. I'm looking for apartments that are close to an Orthodox synagogue, like Kesser Yisrael or Chabad. Is there anything available?

She really wants out, but the population wanes during the summer, and most of the Yankees have already returned home. She doesn't have the money to move without selling, but she can't sell...and in the meantime, her husband is very sick, probably dying, and she's down there virtually alone. She tells me that she can't go through a realtor because it's a retirement community. Does anyone have any ideas about how I can help her get this place sold--or get her out of it in some way?

Are people of the Mormon faith Christians?

If not, can a Christian join the Mormon Church, embrace all their beliefs and their scriptures, and remain a Christian?

another religious group has arisen, and their prophet was originally a Christian. The beliefs of the new group are anything BUT Christian, though--in fact, the new religion negates the tenets of Christianity. Perhaps the new religion has had a revelation that Mary was divine, that G-d is a woman, that She has formed a new covenant which you must accept to be saved, and various other ideas that just aren't Christian. They call themselves the Goddess Worshippers.

Fine. You can be tolerant of another belief system.

Then imagine that this new religion proclaims that traditional Christians aren't the "true" Christians at all--that THEY are. You have been disinherited because you haven't accepted their new covenant.

Fine. Let them believe what they want.

Add in that Goddess Worship has, since its founding, viciously persecuted Christians. They've dragged you before inquisitions, burned you alive, conducted pogroms against you, and discriminated against you.

Now some Goddess Worshippers have decided to incorporate more ceremonies that are overtly Christian--both to "return to their roots" and also to win Christian converts to Goddess Worship. They have a sacriligious version of the last supper, and readings in which they take your scriptures out of context and use them to support Goddess Worship. Many of them claim to be former Christians who have converted, but you know that the statistics show that almost all of them are--and always have been--only Goddess Worshippers.

You also know that they want to convert Christians away from a belief in Jesus. That is the purpose behind everything they do.

If you oppose this group--if you speak out against them--is it fair to call you hateful? Are you simply exercising your right to lay a claim on your religion, to define it as it has ALWAYS BEEN DEFINED? Or are you a hate-mongering bigot who simply hates Goddess Worshippers and is blind to their new covenant?

My 17-year-old daughter has been complaining about off-and-on difficulty in breathing for the last year or so. We DO live in a high-allergen area, and she is a little over-weight. But she exercises frequently, and her breathing difficulties don't seem to interfere with that. For that matter, they come & go unpredictably, and there's no obvious reason.

There's a history of panic attacks in my family, although I've never had one. Could just this one symptom be indicative of anxiety issues or panic attacks?

I rescued a pregnant doggy who was going to be PTS the next day. She had babies the next day (her 'death day'), but unfortunately, she got out of the crate and had them on the carpet.

How on earth am I going to salvage it?

what would a proportionate response look like?

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jonatha...

And I also wonder when we decided that acts of war must be proportionate in response. If we'd followed that idea during WWII, we'd be speaking German. If Mexico launched missiles into Texas and killed 9 civilians, would you advocate that we kill 9 of their civilians, and then just hope they didn't escalate? Or would we go after them with force to make sure it didn't happen again? And what if they'd been killing Americans for 2 or 3 years?

Sane answers would be nice.

what would a proportionate response look like?

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/jonathan/mark_dis...

And I also wonder when we decided that acts of war must be proportionate in response. If we'd followed that idea during WWII, we'd be speaking German. If Mexico launched missiles into Texas and killed 9 civilians, would you advocate that we kill 9 of their civilians, and then just hope they didn't escalate? Or would we go after them with force to make sure it didn't happen again? And what if they'd been killing Americans for 2 or 3 years?

Sane answers would be nice.

I'm a diet soda addict, but my doctor tells me I have to stop drinking all soft drinks because my blood pressure is high. Since soda is low-sodium, I'm assuming that caffeine is the culprit; so I'm also assuming that tea wouldn't be good for me either.

Can anyone recommend a drink that's safe? I WILL drink more water, but I don't really like water--and giving up soda is hard enough. I'm hoping that there's a reasonable substitute out there.

Thanks!

I just learned that my great-grandfather died in the area where I now live, and I assume that he's probably buried here somewhere. How do I go about locating a gravesite when I have no idea where to start?

I just bought a little rosemary plant. Right now it's inside in the container I bought it in.

I killed my last rosemary, although it was so big & woody when I bought it, I wonder if it needed to be in the ground...

Anyway, how much water does it need? Someone told me they don't need much at all, but I don't want to under-water.

Also, in 2 weeks I'll be moving & I'll have a yard! I'm assuming it will do well in the ground, but I live in TX & it gets very hot here. Any advice?

I personally welcome it with reservations. My reservations center around these issues:

1) I've seen Jews do things they shouldn't do in order to court Christian support. For instance, I knew an Orthodox Rabbi who went into a church several times as a show of solidarity--even though we're forbidden to enter such places. IMO, when Jews stand TRUE to Torah (rather than bending it a bit), G-d will come to our aid--and then we won't really *need* anyone's support.

2) I've seen that when Christians support Israel, they often feel that they have the right to try to win converts there.

I know their motivations stem from their own religious beliefs...but that doesn't really bother me.

So like I said--I like Christians (for the most part), and I love their support for Israel....but it worries me a bit, too.

I'm conflicted.

How about you?

Rules: No proselytization from Christians, please--and no Christian-bashing from Jews.

I'm thinking there's a correlation.

I enjoy the occasional beer, which makes me a little different as an Orthodox Jew, I think--but I'm Dutch & German by heritage, so there you go...

I'd rather hear about fiction, but whatever the genre, tell me what book you just love--and why.

Part of me has no problem at all with it--

The Bible is part of our culture. It's referenced in books, art, & music--so I can see where it would be valuable to offer a voluntary class to high school students--it's basic cultural literacy.

OTOH, as a Jew, I wouldn't want MY child to be taught by someone who didn't believe in my scripture. The fact that the classes are voluntary takes care of THAT problem, though.

But I was listening to a radio show today, and was surprised by what many religious people said. They didn't want the course offered because they felt that, if the Bible is taught, then other religions will want THEIR scriptures taught, too!

These people had no problem with "The Bible as Literature", but wanted no part of "The Bhagavad Gita as Literature".

I'll admit that the Bible is more part of our culture than other scriptures, but was saddened by such exclusivity that people would rather have their own scriptures left out than include the scriptures of others.

are you STILL Pentecostal?

Why or why not?

I guess I should be glad they aren't playing video games...

What beliefs about Jews do you have that you think irritate Jews the most?