Thought, History, Culture, Politics

לא אירא  I Fear Not AUDIO | #0.0 [all info is from wikipedia, unless otherwise marked] chaos magic belief is a tool Chaos magic theory - belief is an active magical force emphasis: 1. flexibility of belief 2. ability to consciously choose one's beliefs 3. application of belief as a tool Austin Osman Spare:  will formulates desire which puts into action belief Peter Carroll:  altered state of consciousness > requisite - gnostic state - 'gnosis' / single focus departure from tradition:   energies, spirits or symbolic acts as fount Carroll concept:  related Buddhist 'Samadhi' (Aleister Crowley western occultism  + Austin Osman Spare) according to chaos magic beliefs, rituals, meditations & other traditional elements of no intrinsic value:  only value as gnosis-inducing techniques Gnosis 1.  Inhibitory gnosis - meditation > trance fasting, sleeplessness, sensory deprivation, hypnotic or trance-inducing substances 2.  Excitatory gnosis - arousal > mindlessness > sex, emotions, corporal punishment, dance, drumming, chanting, sensory overload, hyperventilation, disinhibitory or hallucinogenic drugs 3.  Indifferent vacuity - emptiness of mind - incidental / third method Magical Paradigm Shifting chaos magic feature:  concept of the magical paradigm shift concept borrowed from: philosopher Thomas Samuel Kuhn technique: arbitrarily changing beliefs and 'magical paradigm' eg.  Lovecraftian rite using technique from Edred Thorsson book (on ritual) - influenced by Tantric practices of breaking down social conditioning to realise nature of reality - flexibility of belief is a means of personal power and freedom - creating:  'syncretic reality tunnelling' Syncretism - combining of different beliefs, while blending practices of various schools of thought eg.  blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system eg.  when a culture is conquered, conquerors bring religious beliefs but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs/customs Ancient Greece Classical Athens was exclusive in matters of religion Decree of Diopeithes made the introduction of and belief in foreign gods a criminal offence only Greeks were allowed to worship in Athenian temples and festivals foreigners were considered impure But:   Athens imported many foreign cults syncretism - a feature of Hellenistic Ancient Greek religion *BUT only outside of Greece Hellenistic culture following Alexander the Great = syncretist features:  Mesopotamian, Persian, Anatolian, Egyption, Etruscan-Roman elements     blended with HELLENIC FORMULA  Egyptian god Amun  Hellenized Zeus Ammon  Alexander the Great sought Mun's oracle at:  Siwa identifications derive from:  'interpretatio graeca' ie custom of:  identifying gods of disparate mythologies with own deities 2nd millennium BC - proto-Greeks arrive in Aegean & mainland Greece found:  localised nymphs & divinities connected with every important landscape feature MOUNTAIN, CAVE, GROVE, SPRING all had own locally venerated deity Ancient Romans - heirs to similar civilisation - identified Greek deities with similar figures in Etruscan-Roman tradition - copied cult practices - Rome adopted syncretic gods of Hellenistic period:  Serapis, Isis, Mithras, Cybele, Dionysus - Gk. Dionysus merged w/ Latin mead god Liber - Romans converted:   Anatolian Sabazios to Sabazius - Anatolian goddess Cybele (cult-centre Pessinos, imported to Rome - Magna Mater) - Romans mingled gods of Celts & Germanic peoples with their own deities:     - Sulis Minerva, Apollo Sucellos (good-smiter), Mars Thingsus (war-assembly) + others - Roman historian Tacitus refers to German worshippers of what is interpreted as:  Thor and Odin - equivalent of Roman-Greco Hercules and Mercury Romans  considered religious aspects that they adopted from other cultures no less meaningful or different to religious aspects of Roman in origin / early Roman acceptance of religions of other cultures enabled Romans to easily integrate new regions as they expanded JUDAISM EGYPTIAN MONOTHEISM (BRIEF) 1.  Sigmund Freud proposed:     Judaism arising from pre-existing monotheism that was imposed on Egypt     briefly during the rule of Akhenaten     Code of Hammurabi cited as starting point Ten Commandments ZOROASTRIANISM 2.  Judaism refined its concept of monotheism, adopting features from contacts with Zoroastrianism:     - eschatology - 'end time', 'end of the world', ultimate destiny     - angelology     - demonology Jewish halakhic prohibitions on:  polytheism, idolatry etc, but Jewish sects arose:     - Messianic Judiaism     - Jewish Buddhism     - Nazarenism     - Judeo-Paganism         several Jewish Messiah claimants     - Sabbateans:  mix Kabbalistic Judaism with Christianity and Islam     - believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676)         1600s kabbalist         Jewish rabbi - proclaimed to be Jewish Messiah in 1665 by Nathan of Gaza         1666 - converted to Islam, Jewish apostate         converted to escape punishment by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV         Jews followed him into Islam - became:  the Dönmeh ('crypto-Jew' heretics, Turkey)         *but continued to be accepted Jewish Messiah in diaspora         followers before & during conversion to Islam = Sabbateans         1.  Maaminim (believers)         2.  Haberim (associates)         3.  Ba'ale Milhamah (warriors)         Sabbateans lived into 20th century as:  Dönmeh - ie crypto-Jews Ottoman Empire         publicly converted to Islam but retained Jewish beliefs, centred in Salonica         Salonica = Thessaloniki, capital of Greek Macedonia, 2nd largest city Greece         Salonica nickname:  Symprotévousa = 'co-capital' of Constantinople         ie. co-capital of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire Jacob Frank - b. Jakub Lejbowicz, 1791 1800s Polish-Jewish religious leader claimed to be incarnation of self-proclaimed messiah:  Sabbatai Zevi & incarnation of Jewish patriarch Jacob Jewish authorities excommunicated Jacob Frank & followers heretical doctrines, incl. deification of self as part of trinity + neo-Carpocratian 'purification through transgression' Frankism new, heretical form of Judaism, incorporating aspects of Christianity into Judaism Frankism arose from: 1.  influence of messianic movement of Sabbatai Zevi 2.  religious mysticism following violent persecution & socio-economic upheavals:     - Poland     - Ruthenia (Ukraine) - before WWII one-third Ukraine urban population = Jewish Halychyna (Galicia), the westernmost area of Ukraine late 14th Century - Jews the subjects of the Polish kings, and magnates Jewish population of Halychyna (Galicia) & Bukovyna, part Austria-Hungary considerably high: - 5% of the then global Jewish population 10th century:  founding of Kingdom of Poland 11th century, Byzantine Jews of Constantinople =  familial, cultural, and theological ties with the Jews of Kiev 1569:  creation of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Poland:  host to largest foreign minorities in Europe during Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, significant Jewish settlement in Ukraine Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–1657) Ukrainian Cossack Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky led Cossack uprising on basis that Poles had sold Cossacks as slaves to Jews then Jewish population 51,000 + est. force of (a) Cossacks and (b) Crimean Tatars massacred & took into captivity large numbers:  Jews, Roman Catholics & Uniates 1648-49 (Uniates = Eastern rite Catholic churches) recent estimates:  15,000 to 13,000 Jews killed or taken captive / 300 Jewish settlements destroyed Cossack Uprising and the Deluge left a deep and lasting impression on the Jewish social and spiritual life *'Deluge' is not explained by source (Wikipedia) Ukraine regions with significant Jewish populations (Wikipedia): Kiev Dnipropetrovsk Khariv Odessa Mid-1600s Cossack Uprising, time of Jewish: 1.  mysticism 2.  overly formal rabbinism 3.  teachings of Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov, or BeShT, (1698–1760) Baal Shem Tov techings profound effect on the Jews of Eastern Europe disciples of Baal Shem Tov promote:   new fervent brand of Judaism (Hasidism) Hasidism =  related to Kabbalah Hasidism = rise of Haredi Judaism + continuous influence through successive Hasidic dynasties Hassidism (Mystical Judaism) - Eastern Europe Moshe Idel expert:  mystical and philosophical literature Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought Hebrew University, Jerusalem published author new study of mystical Judaism (Hassidism) of Eastern Europe 18th & 19th centuries study by panoramic approach / v. existentialist approach understand Hassidism as an aggregation of multiple streams, incl. - magic - theosophic  kabbalah - ecstatic kabbalah earlier stages of Jewish mysticism phenomenological models Hassidism is dependent on non-Lurianic schools of kabbalah Hassidism emerges as an important stage in Jewish mysticism Idel argues this emergence is NOT merely: reaction to historical and social forces (such as Sabbatianism) Idel: close study of ecstasy and magic http://www.sunypress.edu/p-1755-hasidism.aspx Kabbalah body of mystical teachings of rabbinical origin based on an esoteric interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures Medieval Latin cabala from: Hebrew qabbālâ, received doctrine, tradition, from qibbēl, to receive kabbalah (many variants spellings) [Medieval Latin cabala, from Hebrew qabbālâ, received doctrine, tradition, from qibbēl, to receive; see qbl in Semitic roots.] several different systems of romanizing the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets in existence as:  Hebrew and Arabic alphabets generally do not indicate short vowels or the doubling of consonants technically spellings with double 'b' incorrect, as single 'b' produces Hebrew spelling doubling of consonants = Anglicisation other eg.     scholarly transliteration =  Qur'a     Anglicisation =  Koran http://www.thefreedictionary.com/kabbalah Semitic root:  qbl  = to receive Astral Projection - Kabbalah (Into the static remix) AUDIO | #1.0 Jacob Frank's mid 1800s teachings radical & unorthodox Frank and followers were excommunicated by Jews Frank and followers eventually converted to Catholicism Russia measures to keep Russian Empire free of Jews hindered by:  Russian partition of Poland, when Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth annexation by Russia occurred: 1772 - First Partition 1793 - Second Partition 1795 - Third Partition Russian Empire acquires large population of Jews Catherine the Great establishes:  Pale of Settlement, including Congress Poland & Crimea 1821 anti-Jewish riots in Odessa after the death of the Greek Orthodox patriarch in Constantinople cited by some as first riot / pogrom Youssef Sarrouf b. Damascus church name:  Ignatius 1778 Ignatius (Youssef) Sarrouf consecrated metropolitan bishop of Beirut by Patriarch Theodosius V Dahan attempts to reform x2 Melkite monastic orders as metropolitan of Beirut attempts to reform antagonised clergy 1812 Ignatius Sarrouf was elected Patriarch, and confirmed immediately by Rome 1812 murdered by a Melkite faithful - unknown reasons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_IV_Sarrouf Melkite = member of:   Christian churches in Egypt and Syria that accepted the Council of Chalcedon. = member of:   Eastern Catholic church that uses the Byzantine rite and has patriarchates in Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem  (Antioch, ancient Greco-Roman city in Anatolia) 'Melkite' word originates from Semitic origins - 'malka' (king) (Semitic); malkaye (pl.) (Aramaic; then Green then Latin http://www.thefreedictionary.com/melkite Other sources cite: 1859 riot in Odessa as first pogrom/riot 1881–1884 assassination of Alexander II aftermath:  large-scale anti-Jewish violence swept southern Russian Empire, including Ukraine 1882, Alexander III of Russia - May Laws effective over 30 years to 1917 strict quotas on Jews permitted to obtain education results in mass emigration 1886 - edict of Expulsion applied to the Jews of Kiev 1893–94, some areas of Crimea cut out of the Pale 1894 -  Alexander III died in Crimea Reign of Alexander III - began with riots against Jews - ended with Jewish expulsions of Jews      - Jews exiled from Yalta to the Pale - 1800s - Odessa large Jewish settlement - 1897  - Odessa, Jews estimated - 37% of the population Russian Revolution Jews over-represented in the Russian revolutionaries leadership (90% of them according to Czar Nicholas II) most were hostile to traditional Jewish culture & Jewish political parties were loyal to Communist atheism & proletarian internationalism reportedly committed to stamp out 'Jewish cultural particularism' In this political turmoil: - Russian/Slavic counter-revolutionary groups, incl. Black Hundreds, opposed the Revolution with violent attacks on socialists and attacks against Jews 2.  backlash from the conservative elements + spasmodic anti-Jewish attacks (reportedly 5,000 Jews killed in Odessa in single day) 1905: series of attacks against Jews erupted at the same time as Revolution against the government of Nicholas II chief organizers of anti-Jewish violence:  members of the Union of the Russian People (commonly known as the "Black Hundreds") 1911 to 1913, anti-Jewish sentiment prevailed 1915, in the face of German military invasion,  thousands of Jews from the Russian border areas, which coincide with the Pale of Settlement 1917 Russian Revolution + Russian Civil War, an estimated 70,000 to 250,000 Jewish civilians were killed in the atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire 1918–1920 - est. 31,071 Jews killed in modern Ukraine territory Russian Civil War November 1917—October 1922 immediately following: Russian Revolutions of 1917 Casualties estimated: 1,500,000 many factions vying for political control of Russia Red Army - fighting for Bolshevik socialism (faction of: Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) White Army - disparate allied forces - incl. diverse interests - monarchism, capitalism and alternative forms of socialism plus: rival militant socialists and non-ideological Green armies fought against Bolsheviks and White Army Victory for the Red Army in: Russia Ukraine Belarus South Caucasus Central Asia Tuva Mongolia Victory for separatist movements: Finland Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Territorial changes - establishment of independent: Finland Estonia Latvia Lithuania Poland Other: Russia under Soviet socialist government https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Civil_War Carpocrates of Alexandria founder early Gnostic sect early 2nd Century negative bias & opposition in writings of Church Fathers esp. Irenaeus of Lyons & Clement of Alexandria did not believe in divinity of 'Jesus' figure believed they themselves could transcend material realm believed they no longer bound by Mosaic law (based on the material powers) believed they no longer bound by any morality, which they held is MERE HUMAN OPINION [comment:  lol ... they're right / but we still condemn those that transgress what we believe is right / why?  ] believed:  one's eternal soul imprisoned & mast pass all conditions of early life to leave Carpocrates practised various magical arts as well as leading a licentious life Early Christian authors opposed representational art, statues, portraits etc considered:  heretical heretical Carpocratians, are known to have owned portraits of 'Christ' figure The Will faculty of the mind which selects capacity to act decisively on one's desires will important /  one of the distinct parts of the mind (with reason and understanding) considered important in ethics central role in enabling a person to act deliberately How can will be free if actions have natural or divine causes ('divine' explanation of the superstitious) which determine actions? Nature of freedom v. problem of evil Aristotle:  ethical importance of will - major influence ethical and legal thinking in western civilization Aristotle - virtue and vice = individual choice Aristotelian philosophy became part of a standard approach to all legal and ethical discussion in Europe by the time of Thomas Aquinas ENLIGHTENMENT Enlightenment siècle des Lumières (literally “century of the Enlightened”) German: Aufklärung European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries Ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a world-view wide acceptance in West began revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics key to Enlightenment thought: use and celebration of reason goals of the rational: considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness [britannica] [comment:  pursuit of knowledge, freedom & happiness is only 'rational' if you are driven / programmed / socialised that way; some people are not.  Some people are motivated by power, money and other things - like aggression towards others; fear or other driving forces ...  Who defines, eg. 'happiness'?  ] https://www.britannica.com/event/Enlightenment-European-history Thomas Aquinas philosophy can be seen as a synthesis of Aristotle + early Christian doctrine (Boethius + St Augustine of Hippo) Boethius Boethius  Roman Senator 6th Century b. 4 years after Odoacer (Germanic) deposed Roman emperor, declaring self King of Italy wrote:  'Consolation of Philosophy', in prison Augustine Augustine of Hippo, aka St Augustine, non-European - Berber, bishop Algeria Watched the fall / disintegration of Rome / formulated 1.  doctrine of 'original sin' 2. just war theory 3. concept of Church as a spiritual 'City of God' [comment:  I can get right into the 'just war' theory, I think ... not so much the doctrine of 'sin'.  What is wrong with these religious nuts?   Christianity is totally unappealing to me.  Christianity delivered to Europeans by a Berber colonial Roman Empire subject, however clever he may be in Latin etc., is a huge turn-off for me.  This is not the religion of Europeans.  Where are the European gods?  ... I'm guessing customs, traditions and oral history of Eurpean gods was destroyed by forced conversion to Christianity.   ] Profound influence on Medieval Europe; had long-term mistress, arranged marriage to minor arranged / chose celibacy & religion, as overly attached to former mistress; teacher of Greek brutal, did not take to Greek; became highly proficient Latin ) Value to the church:  "Augustine worked tirelessly in trying to convince the people of Hippo (in Algeria) to convert to Christianity" Vandals, Germanic tribe, converted to Arianism (teachings of Arius, Alexandria, Egypt:  "asserts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was created by God the Father at a point in time, is distinct from the Father and is therefore subordinate to the Father" [here]) 430 AD -  Vandals invade Roman Africa Vandals besiege Hippo (the city) in Spring of 430 AD Augustine suffering from illness / spent final days in prayer directed that library of church in Hippo & books should be preserved died 430, Aug. 28 (7 days from now) Vandals lifted siege of Hippo shortly thereafter Vandals burned city, destroying all but Augustine's cathedral & library Augustine's body transferred to Cagliari, Sardinia by bishops expelled from North Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo Thomas Aquinas also cited other sources: Maimonides (Jewish-Spanish / Egyptian-Moroccan work) and Plato (Greek) + Muslim scholars: Islamic philosophers Avicenna and Averroes Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon (Rambam) Maimonides ('-ides' Greek suffix equivalent of 'ben' / son of) > son of Maimon ie Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon referred to as 'Rambam' Rabbeinu Moshe Ben Maimon (ie Rabbi/Teacher, Moses Son of Maimon) aka 'ha Nesher ha Gadol' (the great eagle) due to: status as interpreter of the Oral Torah Graecised (and subsequently Latinised) medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher and astronomer prolific and influential Torah scholars physician of Middle Ages b. 1135 or 1138 Cordova, Almoravid Empire (Morocco Berber Muslim dynasty, invaders Spain- ie. in Cordoba, Andalusia, Spain under long-standing Muslim invader control) d. 1204 Egypt body taken to lower Galilee & buried in Tiberias worked as rabbi, physician & philosopher in Morocco & Egypt writings on Jewish law and ethics influence as far as: Iraq and Yemen revered head of Jews in Egypt vociferous critics of some of his writings (esp. Spain) Rambam works: cornerstone of Jewish scholarship 14-volume Mishneh Torah = codification of Talmudic law Philosophy & Science - Rambam prominent in history of Islamic and Arab sciences influenced Arab and Muslim philosophers and scientists Maimonides: prominent philosopher and polymath (expert various fields) in both the Jewish and Islamic worlds Maimonides, in turn, was influenced by: Al-Farabi (c. 872 AD –  950/951) Avicenna (c. 980 AD  – 1037) Medieval saying (& Maimonides epitaph), referring to his rabbinic writings: " ... From Mosheh (of the Torah) to Mosheh (Maimonides) there was none like Mosheh" one of the most influential figures in medieval Jewish philosophy adaptation of Aristotelian thought to Judaic faith in century following Rambam / Maimonides death, acculturated Jews tried to apply: Maimonides's Aristotelianism in ways that undercut traditionalist belief and observance = intellectual controversy: Spanish Jewish French Jewish (southern France) - debate spurred Catholic Church interventions against 'heresy' (think there was squealing to the Christian authorities, if I remember correctly) - + general confiscation of rabbinic texts - more radical interpretations of Maimonides were defeated - Ashkenazi Jews tended to ignore his specifically philosophical writings - Ashkenazi Jews stressed rabbinic & halakhic writings - these writings included philosophical discussions re halakhic observance - Rambam = 1. philosophical understanding of God both in the Aggadah (rabbinic texts, folklore, history & other) of Talmud 2. philosophical understanding of God in behaviour of the hasid [the pious Jew] ... ie member of Rabbi Baal Shem Tov Eastern European founded mystical movement  / rejected Talmudic learning / deity should be served in word and deed (a) 1648-1657 Cossack Uprising & (b) Jewish Messiah Sabbatai Zevi - Turkey, Sabbateans (later Islam / forced convert)  Dönmeh (crypto-Jewish) sect / kin ties to Ukraine & influence etc. - brief mention above. Traditionally observant Jews - still influenced by Rambam Hasdai Crescas aka Or Adonai ie Hasdai ben Judah Crescas b. c. 13440 Barcelona, Catalonia - d. 1410, Aragon (Spain) Spanish-Jewish philosopher famous halakhist (teacher of Jewish law) primary work: Or Adonai (aka 'Or Hashem', Heb.) means: Light of the Lord 1400s - Jewish reinterpretation of classical Jewish theology per then-current philosophy, ie. neo-Aristotelian rationalism Hasdai ben Judah Crescas considered rationalist neo-Aristotelian interpretation threat blurring distinctiveness of Jewish faith - felt it reduced Judaism to surrogate Aristotelian concepts Crescas = critic of Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon's works Rambam / Maimonides = rejected as futile and unwarranted all inquiry into the ultimate purpose of the world  [LOL .. think he might be right ] Crescas posed that purpose was: happiness of the soul / union with the divine / soul's never-stilled yearning [No ... why would anyone want to be united with something that is strange/unknown/foreign/alien ... and be among an impersonal club open to everyone else?  Something missing (for me).   ] former thinkers made immortality depend on knowledge Crescas claims knowledge does not produce soul / highest perfection through 'love' > fountain-head of all good > highest good is love manifested in obedience to deity's laws [comment:  Most unappealing.  Where's the religion that says there's nothing but chaos and absurdity, and then you die and there's nothing more ...?    LOL  ]    Crescas - opponent of Maimonides on philosophical grounds / Jewish law code, the Mishneh Torah method issue Crescas work - fundamental importance / shaping of Baruch Spinoza's system / distinction between attributes and properties / identical with Crescas distinction b/w: subjectively ascribed attributes & objective reality of attributes in deity (?) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Or_Adonai Baruch Spinoza Benedito de Espinosa Jewish Dutch philosopher of Sephardic/Portuguese origin parents forcibly converted to Christianity continued to practice Judaism in secret (Marranos) arrested, tortured, condemned by Inquisition (Portugal) escaped to Amsterdam father, Michael Spinoza: important merchant / one of directors synagogue mother, died before Spinoza 6th birthday b. Amsterdam 1632 d. The Hague 1677 one of foremost advocates of 17th Century Rationalism one of early, originating figures of Enlightenment Amsterdam Jewish settlement originally Jews raised in Spain, Portugal, France, or Italy as Christians who fled to Amsterdam to escape persecution & to practice ancestral religion Jews granted toleration by Dutch authorities conditional: 1. no scandal 2. all responsibility for care of own community members Amsterdam Jews established social & educational institutions: eg. 1638, Talmud-Torah school - adult males (formerly Catholic education) Baruch Spinoza =  student: Torah-Talmud school in Amsterdam Spinoza likely learned: Hebrew, Jewish philosophy & work of Moses Maimonedes (Rambam) Isaac La Peyrère French courtier book: Prae-Adamitae (Latin: 'Men Before Adam') (1655) challenged the accuracy of the bible insisted that the spread of human beings to all parts of the globe implies there must have been humans before Adam and Eve La Peyrère argued: bible is the history of the Jews, not the history of humanity one of Spinoza’s teachers, Menasseh ben Israel, was acquainted with La Peyrère Prae-Adamitae was soon condemned in the Netherlands and elsewhere regarded as one of the most dangerous pieces of heresy in print Spinoza owned a copy of the work many of La Peyrère assertions re bible later appeared in Spinoza’s writings Spinoza fell out with synagogue Amsterdam mid-1656 Spinoza formally excommunicated by Synagogue: - horrendous curses were cast upon him - members of the synagogue forbidden contact with him - members of the synagogue forbidden to ready anything he had written / or listen to him CHEREM | HEREM http://www.crivoice.org/terms/t-herem.html Judaism - excommunication = 'herem' aka - charam aka - cherem [comment:  sounds like the Arabic 'haram' (forbidden by Islamic law) ... well, it does to me / but I'm not an Arab or Jew Jewish 'Herem' = technical term in Hebrew / translation difficult - put under the ban - devote to destruction - exterminate - ostracise - excommunicate - devoted to deity (like a sacrifice / but not 'sacrifice') Cherem / Herem ancient Jewish practice of: holy war = conquered enemy would be totally destroyed, incl. women & children & entire settlement depending on circumstances, spoils could be taken *hey, it's like Islamic Holy War Judaism:  idea of holy war was a religious concept attempt to eliminate religious ideas or practices that posed a threat to Jews (as conquerors) note: not only outsiders, it could also be members of Jewish tribe posing threat eg. Jews worshipping other gods Hebrew bible - x50 occurrence (verb) - x30 (noun) occurrence 'Herem' applied to actions that threaten the religious integrity of the community eg.  "Judges 21:11 This is what you shall do; every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction." What is destroyed is devoted to deity and is understood to belong to deity - therefore element of ritualised killing.  But not sacrifice in normal sense. What is devoted to deity cannot be sold, redeemed etc - animal or human what is devoted to destruction shall be put to death non-Yahweh worshippers were a contamination on the land and posed a threat to proper worship of Jewish deity Num 21:2 Then Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, "If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns." The LORD listened to the voice of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah. Hormah = broken rock; banned; devoted to destruction ie. Canaanite 'Zephath' (Heb. Tsfat) several conflicts - migrant Israelites invading 'Promised Land' & Amalekites and Canaanites, who occupied southern Canaan ie.  this is the equivalent of 'Cherem' or 'Herem' - it appears location between: Beer Sheba and Gaza https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hormah Deuteronomy cities listed as devoted to destruction contains warnings about the dangers of not eliminating the Canaanites when the Israelites enter the land [comment:  History is repeating itself in Palestine / Israel.  ] Deut 7:1-4 1 [deity] clears away many nations before you--the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you NO MERCY - HOLY WAR [when you defeat them] ... you must utterly destroy them make no covenant with them show them no mercy do not intermarry with them (as it would turn descendants to follow foreign gods) Israel's entry into the land in Joshua Israelites practised cherem on captured Canaanite cities see: destruction of Jericho see: destruction of Ai & other cities Joshua 6:18 - things devoted to destruction / do not covet all destroyed (men, women, young, old & animals) - city and all in it burnt down exception was: gold, silver, bronze and iron objects put into the treasury of the house of synagogue (?) RAKKAT Rakkat (Heb.) - city aka Tiberias located at shore of Sea of Galilee (Heb. Yam Ha-Kinerett) est. 20 AD, named in honour of Roman Emperor Tiberius Jewish oral tradition says city built on Jewish village of: Rakkat (Book of Jushua) venerated in Judaism from mid-2nd Century AD time of Herodian Tetrarchy one of Judaism's 4 holy cities Jerusalem Hebron Safed Rakkat (Tiberias) was political and religious Jewish hub known for hot springs historian Josephus calls hot springs village 'Emmaus', located near Tiberias most religious (as opposed to Hellenized, including Cohanic) Jews refused to settle there due to presence of cemetery, rendering site ritually unclean for priestly caste during Bar Kokhba revolt 132-136 AD against Romans Sanhedrin, Jewish court, fled Jerusalem, for Rakkat 614 AD - final revolt against Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) part of Jewish population supported Persian invaders Jewish rebels financed by: Benjamin of Tiberias (immense wealth) during Jewish revolt: Christians massacred, churches destroyed 628 AD - Byzantine Roman army return to Tiberias / surrender Jewish rebels & end of Persian occupation thereafter Christian defeat: battle of Neneveh 629 AD - Emperor Heraclius - wide-scale slaughter of Jews emptied Galilee of most its Jewish population Jewish survivors flee to Egypt 634 CE - Rakkat (Tyberias) under Arab control / Christian capitulation 70 Jewish families from Tiberias permitted to renew Jewish presence in Jerusalem - importance of Rakkat (Tiberias) declined after Christians make a come-back with First Crusade / Rakkat (Tiberias) occupied by Franks, soon after capture of Jerusalem 12th century = best Torah manuscripts found in Rakkat (Tiberias) 1187 - Saladin defeats Christians, Battle of Hattin Third Crusade: Christains drive out Muslims 1265 - Malmluks (Egyptian) drive out Christians 1516 - Ottoman Muslims drive out Mamluk Muslims British and diaspora Jews enter the picture early 1900s miscellaneous dramas betwen Arabs & Jews/diaspora Jews Jewish paramilitary terrorist org. (Haganah) - 1921-1948 active during:  British Mandate of Palestine - gave rise to Irgun, Zionist paramilitary org. founded to combat the revolts of Palestinian Arabs against the Jewish settlement of Palestine post World War II, when the British refused to open Palestine to unlimited Jewish immigration Haganah turned to terrorist activities bombing bridges, rail lines, and ships used to deport illegal Jewish immigrants Jewish paramilitary mortar attacks, followed by attack on Rakkat Arab Liberation Army not permitted to take over defence Arab population of Rakkat (Tiberias) 6,000 residents or 47.5% of the population widespread looting of the Arab areas by Jewish population  evacuated under British military protection on 18 April 1948 had to be suppressed by force by the Haganah paramilitary and Jewish police (killed or injured several looters) I.D.F. May 1948 - Haganah dissolved as private organisation Haganah became the national army of Israel (IDF) known as: Tzva Haganah le-Yisraʾel (“Israel Defense Forces”) 1948 - almost entirely Jewish city - Sephardic and Mizrahi CHEREM TRIBAL TOOL OF WARFARE ... concept of holy war and the corresponding cherem were ancient tribal concepts that related to protection of a clan, tribe, or people from outside influences, especially in religious practices Jerimiah interprets exile as due to syncretism of worship of Yahweh with Ba'al worship http://www.crivoice.org/terms/t-herem.html 1400s - then-current philosophy, ie. neo-Aristotelian rationalism - reinterpretation of classical Jewish theology Major practitioners of rationalist approach to Jewish philosophy: Moshe ben Maimon - Maimonides (Rambam) Levi ben Gershon - Gersonides (Ralbag) Saadia Gaon - Joseph Albo - Spain - Sefer ha-Ikkarim ('Book of Principles') limited the fundamental Jewish principles of faith to three: belief in the existence of God belief in revelation belief in divine justice, re idea of immortality shorashim ('roots', Heb.), or secondary radicals: God's unity God's incorporeality God's independence of time God's perfection: in God there can be neither weakness nor other defect belief in revelation, or the communication of divine instruction by God to man The Hebrew prophets are the media of God's revelation The belief in the unique greatness of Moses as a prophet The binding force of the Mosaic law belief in the Messiah is only a "twig" / unnecessary to soundness of trunk therefore belief in Messiah: not an integral part of Judaism it is not true that every law must be observed it is not true that neglect of part of law equals Jew violates divine covenant (damned) [comment: so this is like the out-clause / loophole of Jewish law & philosophy? ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Albo Aquinas of Italian origins.  Family held land in county Aquino to 1137.   Deemed a 'saint' & considered ideal teacher for priesthood - " one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers".  More here  [I'm just rush skimming basics]. Thomas Aquinas's 'Summa Theologica' makes a structured treatment of the concept of will using:  Scholasticism (method of critical thought dominating teachings of academics of medieval universities in Europe abt. 1100 to 1700) - employing method in articulating and defending dogma in an increasingly pluralistic context - outgrowth of and departure from Christian monastic schools at earliest Euro. unis. - first institutions considered universities in West, established:     Italy, France, Spain, England - late 11th & 12th centuries     study:  arts, law, medicine, theology scholasticism = method of learning (not philosophy) strong emphasis on dialectical reasoning to extend knowledge by inference & to resolve contractions known for rigorous conceptual analysis and the careful drawing of distinctions often takes the form of explicit disputation formula: 1.  topic broached in the form of a question 2.  opponents' responses are given 3.  counterproposal is argued 4.  opponents' arguments rebutted due to emphasis on rigorous dialectical method scholasticism eventually applied to many fields of study HARMONISE | RECONCILE Scholasticism began as attempt by medieval Christian thinkers to harmonize the various authorities of their own tradition (thus to reconcile Christian theology) with classical and late antiquity philosophy esp. Aristotle (+ also of Neoplatonism) main figures of scholasticism include: Anselm of Canterbury Peter Abelard Alexander of Hales Albertus Magnus Duns Scotus William of Ockham Bonaventure Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas masterwork:  'Summa Theologica' =  pinnacle of scholastic, medieval, and Christian philosophy began while Aquinas was regent master, Rome at Santa Sabina (forerunner of Pontifical Uni, of St Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum) Important scholastic tradition works past Aquinas time = Lutheran & Reform thinkers Middle Ages first significant renewal of learning in West arose from Carolingian Renaissance Charlemagne (advised by Peter of Pisa and Alcuin of York) attracted the scholars of England and Ireland 787 AD decree:  Charlemagne established schools in every abbey of empire became centres of Medieval learning 'scholasticism' derived from these schools Knowledge of Ancient Greek had vanished in the west *except in Ireland in Ireland. Ancient Greek teaching = use  widely dispersed in monastic schools Irish scholars famed for their learning - eg:   Johannes Scotus Eriugena, 815–877 AD - one of the founders of scholasticism     - outstanding philosopher (originality)     - translated many Greek works into Latin - Irish scholars = considerable presence in Frankish court Scholastic period =  beginning of  rediscovery of many Greek works which had been lost to the Latin West 10th century, Spain began translating texts & in latter half 10th century transmitted same to rest of Europe 12th century -  Reconquista - ie. defeat of Islamic invader rule (Hispania) period begins on:  initial Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 710s     711, Muslim Moors, mainly North African Berber soldiers with some Arabs     crossed Strait of Gibraltar:  consquest of Visigothic Kingdomn of Hispania     established an Islamic rule - lasts 300 years period ends:  fall of Emirate of Granada, last Islamic state on Iberian Peninsula Coat of arms of Alcanadre. La Rioja, northern Spain, depicts severed heads of slain Moors Reconquista = continuous phenomenon Christian Iberian kingdoms opposed and conquered the Muslim kingdoms / Muslims understood as a common enemy who had militarily seized Christian territory 9th century - concept of Christian reconquest of peninsula first emerged > Christian document:   Chronica Prophetica (883–884) > stressing the Christian and Muslim cultural and religious divide > necessity to drive Muslims out Opposition to Muslim rule was undermined by: - alliances with Muslims - mercenaries from both sides who faught for whoever paid most 12th century -  Reconquista - ie. defeat of Islamic invader rule  (Hispania) fall of Emirate of Granada, last Islamic state on Iberian Peninsula = - immediately before European rediscovery of Americas ('New World') - ushering in era:  Portuguese & Spanish Colonial empires Traditional mark of begining of Reconquista:  Battle of Covadonga, 718-722 small Christian army led by Pelagius (nobleman) defeated army of Umayyad Caliphate - mountains established Christian Kingdom of Asturias 11th century - Crusades Christian religious ideology of reconquest vs. staunch Muslim Jihad ideology in Al-Andalus (Andalusia, Muslim Spain) by Almoravids (Berbers, of nomadic descent, Muslim) by Almohads (even greater degree) (southern Morocco, Berber Muslim, 'the unifiers' [note:   capitalist-sponsored historians are now attempting to rewrite history ] Following:  12th century Reconquista of Spain Spain opened further for Christian scholars Christians encountered knowledge in fields of mathematics, astronomy & philosophy [comment:  knowledge  described as 'Arabic' ... but Arabs are desert-dweller conquerors of other developed nations (eg Persians) / so provenance of the 'Arabic' knowledge attribution is not clear to me ] 13th and early 14th centuries = High Scolasticism - culmination of the recovery of Greek philosophy - schools of translation Italy & Sicily & rest of Europe, increased - scholars travelled widely & translated works - eg. Adelard of Bath, scholar, travelled to Sicily and Arab world - Adelard translated works on astronomy and mathematics - and Euclid's:  'Elements' - powerful NORMAN KINGS - courts gathered academics from Italy & other (prestige) - William of Moerbeke - translations & editions:  Greek philosophical texts mid 13th C. (more info re Aristotle than Arabic systems) - major commentaries followed - large universities developed Europe cities - rival Church clerical orders - battle for:  political and intellectual control - 1.  Franciscans - Fracis of Assisi 1209     - leader:  Bonaventure (pro Augustine + Plato, little Aristotle _ neoplatonist eliments)     - per Anselm, considered that:     - reason can only discover truth when philosophy is illuminated by RELIGIOUS faith     others:  Duns Scotus, Peter Auriol and William of Ockham - 2.  Dominicans - teaching order founded by St Dominic - 1215     - more emphasis on the use of reason     - extensive use of the new Aristotelian sources     - (from east & Moorish Spain)     - Dominican thinking:         - Albertus Magnus         - (especially) Thomas Aquinas         - Aquinas synthesis Greek rationalism + Christian doctrine = defined Catholic philosophy         - Aquinas first to use new translation of Aristotle's metaphysical + epistemological writing         = a significant departure from the Neoplatonic and Augustinian thinking             that had dominated early scholasticism Late Scholasticism - aka Second scholasticism     - 16th & 17th Century     - revival of scholastic system of philosophy and theology     - 2 schools survived from earlier phases of scholasticism, Scotism and Thomism     - Scotists, mostly belonging to the various branches of the Franciscan order     - ie. Italian, French, Irish & German     - Thomists (usually but not exclusively)     - Iberians in the Dominican and the Carmelite orders     - second scholasticism influence augmented by:      -  Society of Jesus (1540), by Ignatius Loyola, per approval of Pope Paul III (Jesuits)     - Jesuit style of academic approach:  a third "school" of second scholasticism DECLINE OF SCHOLASTICISM:  ENLIGHTENMENT ERA ONSET, SCIENCE REVOLUTION + VERNACULAR     - second scholasticism - decline under attacks of philosophers writing in vernacular languages     - ie.   Descartes, Pascal and Locke     - decline also  b/c -  competition from more experimental and mathematical science methods     - leading to:  Scientific Revolution     - Enlightenment commences:  end 1600s (17th Century) = decline scholasticism     - but scholasticism remained influential long period Iberian universities Reformed Scholasticism - Calvinist Neo-Scholasticism - late 1800s revival (aka neo-Thomism Thomistic Scholasticism - aka Strict Observance Thomism     - always alive in Dominican Order,     - ravaged after Reformation, French Revolution & Napoleonic occupation     - went into decline in the 1970s in English speaking world     - discussion moved from academic environment to internet groups re this form of thinking Analytical Scholasticism     - analytic philosophy = renewed interest in scholastic approach to philosophy     - attempts:  combine elements of scholastic and analytic methodology     - for > contemporary philosophical synthesis     - Analytical Thomism a pioneer of this philosophical movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholasticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbateans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thessaloniki [all info is from wikipedia, unless otherwise marked] LISTENING to ...  אהבה באויר Love is in the Air AUDIO  |  #2.0 חג שמח Chag Sameach (KHAHG sah-MEHY-ahkh)  AUDIO | #3.0 I think I can hear 'Beit Israel' (house of Israel) and I think I hear 'hava', which is gold (I think) Language Hebrew word for 'gold'  / 'hava' = eve (?) =  zahav comprised of three letters:  zayin, hei & vav  Hebrew names for 'golden' Carmela Carmelina Carmeline Carmella Paz Paza Pazia Pazice Pazit Zahavah Zehave Zehavi Zehavit Zehuva     + 'Golda'  (not Hebrew word, probably Ashkenazi (Yiddish)) Persian comparison: source | info Hebrew Holiday Greetings חג שמח Chag Sameach  (KHAHG sah-MEHY-ahkh)   "Hebrew. Literally, joyous festival. This is an appropriate greeting for just about any holiday, but it's especially appropriate for Sukkot, Shavu'ot and Pesach (Passover), which are technically the only festivals (the other holidays are holidays, not festivals). " source לא אירא I Fear Not  -  AUDIO | #0.0   I like this a lot ... but I can't find lyrics.   Google Translate does not provide audio for Hebrew; making it impossible to match what I hear with Hebrew on their translate tool. im ...  lo irani bi - (or lo ilani bi?) - this is probably "I fear not" ? lo irani bi - ani = 'I' lo, lo, lo, lo   - 'lo' is probably 'don't' khola shalom  (all + peace? - eg.  Avi-khol (father of ALL) khola chamas (all + glitters - eg.   “Zohorei Chama” (Sun's Glitters)) Shem Mashach  (messiah ?) *  Hebr. 'mashach' which means 'to spread with oil'  / annoint Oi mil hava   (hava - must be 'eve' / not 'gold') la mil hava Oi mil hava she liv shelach - (shelach associated with spies in Promised Land)                          - Sh'lach = send to you (Heb.)                     - Torah reading = annual cycle passages                     - Shelach story = week 37 [Think I'd better stop & to something practical here, or I'll be the cause of domestic arguments.  LOL ] * I like the guttural sounds of Hebrew (which is probably like guttural sounds of Arabic).