From: Bill.Carlson@p0.f18.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG (Bill Carlson)
Newsgroups: alt.messianic
Subject: My Heritage
Date: 14 Sep 92 16:25:12 GMT
Organization: FidoNet node 1:104/18.0 - Midrash, Denver CO


 TMA> From: alper@sushi.psych.nwu.edu (Theodore M. Alper)
 TMA> Message-ID: <1992Sep13.171628.12693@news.acns.nwu.edu>
           -=> Quoting Theodore M. Alper to Bill Carlson <=-
 TMA> Do they use tefillim? Exodus 13:9...
     Yes; many do.

 TMA> "this  shall serve you as a sign on your hand and a reminder
 TMA> between your eyes,  and the words of the Torah may be in your
 TMA> mouth"... thus, tefillim, though  some might think the phrase is
 TMA> figurative. But then, if it isn't, why not  also have a third box
 TMA> of written words in your mouth? (this is a bit  facetious, but
 TMA> the question of how one knows what to do is a serious one)
     Because two are physical things, (eyes, hand); and one is is a
     physical thing connected with a non-physical/(yet-physical) thing.
     One is reminded that often HaShem deals with us in the mundane
     where we live, and sanctifies it by His Word.  The root of Davar
     in Hebrew means both physical and intangible, [a word and a
     thing], so HaShem transforms us out of mundane existance, when He
     causes us to focus on Him, through His Word, in our daily living.

 TMA> you read and interpret Torah freehand, each man his own Rabbi...
     Not at all, keep reading :-)   But David did say that he was
     smarter than his teachers, by an unction from the Holy One.
 
 TMA> What do you do when conflicts occur, most glaringly between
 TMA> Tanach and New Testament?  How do you decide which "Rabbinic
 TMA> writings" to keep and which to toss out?
     A. I do not believe that there is ANY conflict between Tanakh and
     the New Covenant / Brit HaChadashah; only bad goyisha commentaries
     and at times - translational interjections outside of a Judaic
     context, etc....
     B. How do the Conservative Rabbi's decide which 'Rabbinic
     Writings' to keep? :-)  They are a (partial) example of what I
     was illustrating.

 TMA> Do you keep the divinity of Jesus first and make everything else
 TMA> conform to that or do you keep the necessity of keeping the terms
 TMA> of the covenant first?
     A. Define "your" understanding of 'Divinity'.
     B. With "our" understanding, the two parts are not in conflict.

 TMA> So you got 613, too, eh?  How did you come by that number? Did
 TMA> you count them yourself? Here you dismiss halacha, but you seem
 TMA> to be relying on it for much of your claim to be authentically
 TMA> Jewish. Again, I'm not certain this is indefensible, but I'm
 TMA> curious to hear the defense.
     Where did I dismiss halachah?  I have yet to even SEE any halachah
     on the issue of Brit-Millah for Jewish people, who were
     circumcised as children, but not "in accordance" with the
     'standards' of certain folks in Judaism.  First: I don't believe
     there is any ancient halachah in this matter; Second: When the
     Rabbi's attempted this for the Ethiopian Jews, was it not shot
     down?  (I'd first have to see the halachah, before I had the
     chance to "dismiss" it :-)

Besides our ways of gleaning Spiritual applications, Peshitta, etc...
of Scripture; (in secondary ways), we do/are-able to apply both a,
(to define it for you), Kararim-type, and a Rabbinic-type application
to our understandings.  No - it is not however a: "goulosh soup {sp}"
Theology, - works fine for us :-)  Our walk with HaShem if very
rewarding!

... 012 Think not that I am come to annul the Torah or the Prophets: 210    
--  
Bill Carlson - via ParaNet node 1:104/422
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