The Official Blog of the Grateful Web

The Jew who Stole Hanukkah!

  

Gather round, children, as we light the final candle in our menorah, and tell the story of the Jew who stole Hanukkah, Uncle Bernie (children make loud noises with noise makers to drown out his name)…

 

I was taught; growing up a Jew, we Jews should stick together. Rabbis, fielding questions, advised me Judaism is an organic, growing religion. As our culture grows and learns, new lessons are woven into our fabric teachings so Jews who follow may learn lessons from both our ancestors and us.

 

So lets grab Bernie Madoff and stick him right into Hanukkah, NOW, before the memory fades and the lesson is lost. The holiday needs to grow as we have, and teach, as we have not learned enough.

 

Let’s build upon the original story (from when the Jews had already lived on earth for over 2,000 years) retold each year since then: the re-dedication of the temple after the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, and the one day only supply of oil for the rededication of the temple lights lasting long enough for the Jews to produce new oil from fresh olives; eight days.

 

Enter ‘Uncle Bernie’, trusted Jewish Uncle and investor to the Jews, who unbeknownst to them have plundered all their savings over a lifetime because they trusted him. Like Haman, the non-Jew who wished to kill them all, ‘Uncle Bernie’ wished to kill their means to live. When ‘Uncle Bernie’s’ name is mentioned at the Hanukkah story telling, noisemakers like the Purim gragger (or ‘rah-a-shan’) will be sounded each time to drown out his name.

 

But we will remember it, for the next 2,000 years. And as Uncle Bernie finally came to justice, and those who lost their life’s saving’s came to a deeper appreciation of what to value in life or killed themselves or their final years in misery, the common bond between Jews will be expanded to the common bond of humanity we truly all inhabit and share.

 

Amen.

Soka Gakkai reminds New Years Day is a day to pray for peace

"I have received a hundred slabs of steamed rice cake and a basket of fruit. New Year's Day marks the first day, the first month, the beginning of the year, and the start of spring. A person who celebrates this day will accumulate virtue and be loved by all, just as the moon becomes full gradually, moving from west to east, and as the sun shines more brightly, traveling from east to west."
--New Year's Gosho                     

 

Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA) is an American Buddhist association that promotes world peace and individual happiness based on the teachings of the Nichiren school of Mahayana Buddhism. Our members reflect a cross section of our diverse American society representing a broad range of ethnic and social backgrounds.

http://www.sgi-usa.org/

No House Lights this Christmas 2007

The Kids are quite happy, but it's never enough. We provide an ongoing holiday party and they still critique.

They noticed, coming in and out from our house to neighbors, none of our outside holiday lights are up or on. I want to say we planned this, but I did pull the lead wires out of storage and the holiday lights still wait in boxes in our garage to come to life before 2007 ends.

I look around in the chilly, rare snow crystal of a Boulder Christmas snowfall night and realize very few homes in our neighborhood have outside lights this Christmas. Curtains are open revealing lit trees in warm insides, but outside on this American street, no festive light. Just quiet, falling snow.

I do not feel somber at the sight. Rather, a collective understanding this may not be a Christmas to fire up the power plant's furnaces unnecessarily. Our brave men and women remain abroad in a hostile and angry world. Earth's glaciers beat a hasty retreat. Fuel, accrued from life itself on Earth over millions of years, may be close to tapping out from our recent short centuries of consumption.

'It may be', a dark and quiet neighborhood whispers, 'a Christmas to give thanks and conserve.'

Barney Moran
Grateful Word

Thanks.

I work supporting Lijit with a range of blog publishers, many who's topic includes or is specifically on the subject of faith. This a huge range from the deeply religious, through agnostic, to atheist.

I found out this year agnostic means you believe in something, but may not be sure what that something is. I am agnostic. I believe in "Thanks." And I find "Thanks" sprinkled in among many publishers, whatever their opinion or place in life. Thanks for this, publishers. I'm starting to think people who are thankful are also writers. Those grumpy negative publishers? It's an act. They are thankful, but they wont tell.

I give thanks to people and my dogs. Sometimes I say "Thanks" to no one, but I mean it. I am saying 'Thank You' to something. It's snowing outside our Lijit offices as I write this and I'm really thankful our often arid Colorado is being kissed right now by  beautful, perfect, unique crystals of water today. Even if I slip in it. Thanks.

Someone I'm related to, complained they are too short, and another person I am legally related to, said "Be thankful you have legs." I watch the dad from the little people show scoot around on crutches running his family and life and being positive and I give thanks to him and his wife and the smart people who thought the world could learn something seeing them live life. Thanks.

If you have not given thanks, try it. No one needs to know even. Thanks.

Barney Moran
Grateful Word

Herschel & the Hanukkah Goblins

By Eric A. Kimmel
Read by Goldie Katsu

Find rich Jewish Culture and more on Goldies Blog, Goldie's Gabs.

Happy Hanukkah from Grateful Web!

Thomas Robey on the Dennis Lindberg Death

The Atheist and Religious communities are on fire in the Blog World.

Any topic from last century verboten for family get together’s to prevent fights is now on fire in the blog world. For in blogging, we don’t get spit on our faces as we yell at each other.

As a supporter for Lijit’s network search wijit for blogs, I work with many religious and atheist publishers. Some from both sides are virulent and angry. The exchanges between these two worlds are often heated and break down into angry stilettos instead of discourse. There is a lot of catching up to do, remember we could not talk about this stuff over stuffing and turkey last century. Now the walls are down and we are in one big buffet people.

When I come across Publishers who make sense, even if I personally do not agree with every perspective they have, I consider them gems. The more vitriolic the topic, the more valuable Publishers who moderate with reason and persuasive logic.

Thomas Robey, on his Hope for Pandora Blog, tackles the Dennis Lindberg story, 'Witnessing Evil?'. Fourteen year old Dennis,  child of Jehovah Witnesses and himself a proclaimed believer, died after he refused treatment for leukemia. Specifically, a blood transfusion. The Atheist Blog world is having a field day with this true story. Robey takes their points head on and delivers the best argument I have found for Dennis's decision. Read past Robey's post and the comments from Atheists and you see the value of Robey's writing. There is a coming  together and some finding of middle ground at Hope for Pandora.

I do not agree with Robey on all points. But it is possible we can ‘demand science’ too far, and in our demand become as fundamental as the fundamentalism we seek to end. We all live here together. Publishers like Robey make it all the more  possible to do it  in peace.

 

Barney Moran

Grateful Word

Image : AP

UPDATE: I got some emails from people who don't want to wade into the debate itself, but a common theme was "Where are these arguments?" Here is a good example running on Middle Aged Vampiress Atheist:

http://middle-aged-atheist.blogspot.com/2007/11/pope-benedict-and-crusade-against.html

 

China bans reincarnation without Government Permission

Aug. 20-27, 2007 Newsweek issue - China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. Full Story [Newsweek/MSN]

Thanks to Veronica who emailed us this story. Got a nugget for Grateful Web? Email Publisher@GratefulWeb.info

Please report to DRV [Department of Reincarnated Vehicles] Prior to use....

What if Atheism had a Church?

What if that Church was the Network?

What if millions and millions of Atheists realized in one single moment, on one single day, they were part of a huge community with no national borders? Bigger perhaps, then any other single 'Church' ?

Here is someone I would call a friend, though I have never met him, from a far away place called Vojvodina. Aleksandar Macasev. Reading his 'View from Southeast Europe' inspired this post.

http://macasev-txt.blogspot.com/2007/08/personal-history-of-disbelief.html

Barney Moran
Grateful Word

OutCampaign: Protecting school and politics from religion

It is time to let our voices be heard regarding the intrusion of religion in our schools and politics. Atheists along with millions of others are tired of being bullied by those who would force their own religious agenda down the throats of our children and our respective governments. We need to KEEP OUT the supernatural from our moral principles and public policies.

Out Campaign