Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site houxt.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!hogpc!houxt!hbb From: hbb@houxt.UUCP Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish Subject: Re: Ann Landers on Judaism Message-ID: <457@houxt.UUCP> Date: Thu, 2-Aug-84 15:47:05 EDT Article-I.D.: houxt.457 Posted: Thu Aug 2 15:47:05 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 4-Aug-84 00:28:52 EDT References: <154@mhuxv.UUCP>, <585@ihuxs.UUCP> Organization: ATT Information Systems, Holmdel NJ Lines: 50 The Ann Landers article raises questions I have heard before. Generally, I consider the objections to be overstated. One example is to the claim that since the members of a observant Jewish household will avoid answering the telephone on the Sabbath, they are endangering their safety and the safety of others. I find this objection difficult to understand. As far as my own safety is concerned, I haven't thought of too many instances where someone outside of my immediate vicinity would have any better idea of my well-being than I. The closest thing I could think of would be a next door neighbor attempting to inform me that my house is on fire. I would guess this would make the telephone useful if the doors were ablaze (the neighbor couldn't knock on the door and tell me the problem,) but due to the nature of this scenerio, the usefulness would be questionable. In the event that someone would be in a dangerous situation, I cannot imagine why they would call me. I am not an MD, so that I could assist a person who is ill. Nor am I a policeman where I could assist people endangered by crime. Calls to people in these professions would be most approprate in dangerous situations. Similarly would be calls to the Fire department, hospital/ambulance corp. Even calls to the local power company would be appropriate in case of gas leaks or felled power lines, etc. One would be hard-pressed to come up with a reason to call on a computer programmer in case of emergency (I'm referring to dangers relating to Humans, not machines.) With regard to the objection to the kosher laws and their inapplicability to "modern society," the objection is very much like those against the observance of any (or all) of the other Jewish laws. There have always been individuals who try to observe the laws just as there have been those individuals who do not. These arguments simply attempt to justify non-observance with "straw man"-arguments. It is the people that foster these arguments who have introduced the concept of time/technology into the issue of Kashrut. Neither the Bible nor the sages ever associated these issues. The non- observant individuals decided that it must have been the motivating factor in issuing the laws, and so could be eliminated when that reason was eliminated. How convenient! -- Harlan B. Braude {most "backbone" sites}!houxt!hbb