tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post6431747959234261714..comments2024-03-05T21:22:43.426-05:00Comments on parshablog: The segulah of Amtelai bas Karnevojoshwaxmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516171362038454070noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-64979534452959811522023-02-22T22:54:38.650-05:002023-02-22T22:54:38.650-05:00https://www.thetorah.com/article/heretics-mystics-...https://www.thetorah.com/article/heretics-mystics-and-abrahams-motherAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-84650060262697557732019-01-20T21:27:18.073-05:002019-01-20T21:27:18.073-05:00Why make the assumption that Chazal and other Tora...Why make the assumption that Chazal and other Torah sources borrowed from the Greeks rather than the other way around? Greek culture and literature, like that of the Christians, some Buddhist schools, and possibly Hindu mythology, is known to be syncretic, meaning that the Greeks borrowed from regional religious systems as it Thanks 'avodah zarah emerges as a progressive corruption of the truth; why should this case be any different? Amtelai bat Karnevo being Avraham's mother granted the Greeks material with which to "nurse" their myth. Other examples of such derivations abound. The effectiveness of repeating shemot Tzaddikim as a segulah is a separate question and needs to be assessed on its own merits. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14260520571058061939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-59717113896349130822009-06-30T07:27:22.046-04:002009-06-30T07:27:22.046-04:00very good point, and i don't have an answer wi...very good point, and i don't have an answer within the give and take of the gemara.<br />i would note though that even לתשובת המינים is somewhat cryptic even within the regular peshat in the gemara, such that it is Rashi and not the gemara itself (Rabbenu Gershom suggests that it is to show them that no matter is concealed from Talmidei Chachamim, rather than evidence of Oral Tradition); perhaps it is an effective answer to Minim even though that was not its intent; and that perhaps this question and answer were given well after the traditions were established (and the meanings lost).<br /><br />alternatively, the lemai nafka mina in the gemara in Bava Basra is not going on all of it. rather, it is only going on the last statement, that the sister of Shimshon was Neshiin. Giving the names of mothers of Biblical figures makes some sense, since we hear e.g. of Manoach and Manoach's wife (though not her name), and we hear of Terach and assume he must have had a mother. but who cares about the sister of Shimshon?! And particularly this is a teshuva to the *Christians*, that it is not a virgin birth, despite pesukim that might suggest otherwise. see at <a href="http://ishimshitos.blogspot.com/2008/11/avrahams-mother-and-shimshons-sister.html" rel="nofollow">ishim veShitos</a> how he develops this idea.<br /><br />not that i am entirely convinced by it; but the idea that it attaches to only the last random factoid about a sister seems plausible, and regardless, it is cryptic and prone to be interpreted in all sorts of ways.<br /><br />kol tuv,<br />joshjoshwaxmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149022516101476797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-69227065179309939592009-06-30T03:49:07.031-04:002009-06-30T03:49:07.031-04:00how does your last comment work with the "let...how does your last comment work with the "leteshuvas haminim"? If it's just a thematic commentary on the text, then what evidence is there of kabala of tsb"p?readernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-33515590022711947372009-06-29T11:11:03.755-04:002009-06-29T11:11:03.755-04:00nice point. though this is by no means the only li...nice point. though this is by no means the only link between Greek mythology and midrash.<br /><br />it depends how one regards midrash, of course. if it is supposed to he a historical account of supernatural or unspoken happenings, then it is slightly problematic. if it is carrying thematic commentary on the Biblical text, or conveying homiletic messages, and to an audience familiar with these Greek myths, then it is not necessarily as problematic...<br /><br />kt,<br />joshjoshwaxmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149022516101476797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-47930739969673968712009-06-29T11:04:49.660-04:002009-06-29T11:04:49.660-04:00This is a bit scary, because you have found a conn...This is a bit scary, because you have found a connection between greek mythology and midrash. Zeus and Abraham. Isn't this a bit problematic? I find it disturbing.michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-18197739597687225952009-06-29T08:32:00.820-04:002009-06-29T08:32:00.820-04:00very strange. thanks for doing the research I was ...very strange. thanks for doing the research I was too lazy to do. It would have confused me anyway...Rafi G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00699851287106903971noreply@blogger.com