Obama's predecessor, President George W. Bush, visited the families of hundreds of fallen soldiers but did not attend any military funerals or go to Dover to receive the coffins. In a 2006 interview with the military newspaper "Stars and Stripes," Bush said he felt the appropriate way to show his respect was to meet with family members in private.
-Washington Post
Nice photo op.
ReplyDeleteWas going to say something else but thought better of it.
anything to show how our "great leader" is our "father"
ReplyDeleteToday is the birthday of Cyrus the Great
ReplyDeleteThere is a lesson in all this for us. We don't want some of our descendents someday living in a cave, or hiding in a cellar, by candlelight reading, on the 4th of July, a copy of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and some old books.
See comment #5, WiO, I never knew there was speculation like that. Wonder if there is anything to it.
See comment #5, WiO, I never knew there was speculation like that. Wonder if there is anything to it.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard that theory before..
HOWEVER Cyrus has ALWAYS been a very commended person within our history....
The very FACT (not faith) that he existed and did in fact send the Jews BACK to LIBERATE their lands and RE-build the Temple should be proof enough to the world that the Jews do deserve their own state in the Middle East with Jerusalem as it's capital.
No other people in the history, SINCE KING DAVID, of that land EVER claimed Jerusalem as it's capital.
Several other points arise with the stories concerning ancient Persia..
1. The destruction of the Temple and then the exile to Bavel actual transformed the Jews from a "temple cult" into a portable faith. No longer were offerings of sacrifice a requirement to sin forgiveness, rather Judaism have adopted a new concept "PRAYER"
From the change that Judaism went thru and developed a new concept of Judaism also emerged
Rabbis...
two developments...
If you learn more about the exile in the 1st place to bavel you will find that BEFORE they were sent to bavel (80 years before) some of the best and brightest LEFT Jerusalem for bavel where they set up schools and housing areas for the Jews...
SO 80 years later when captiva occurs and the Jews arrive (en mass, but not total, the only Jews left in Jerusalem at that time were the un-deserving, not nice jews (for lack a better word) the Jewish people arive in Bavel to find schools of Torah already established and a place for them to settle...
Then (back to the story) after the return and rebuilding of the Temple MANY JEWS STAYED in Bavel...
SO much of the attention of the western world focuses on the 2nd temple and it's destruction (on the very same day that centuries previous the 1st Temple was destroyed)
So Bavel, had turned into the center of Jewish learning, practice, study and commentary (and would continue until about the 6th-7th century ce) that the Talmud (oral torah) had 2 version, one called the palestinian talmud (talk about funny, jews were the "palestinians from the year 66 ce until 1964 when the term palestinian was taken by the egyptian arafat) the other called the Bavel Torah, so accepted and revered by the Jews the Bavel Talmud takes precedent over the "palestinia version" of the talmud.
From the great halls of Jewish learning in bavel came on day 2 great Rabbis called upon to travel to Jerusalem to give guidance and teach Judaism to those who left bavel and resettled in Jerusalem (and surrounding areas) these two guys.. are VERY IMPORTANT
Shammai and Hillel...
So now, here we are, Temple rebuilt and functionality of the offerings are occurring and these 2 guys come over and start two schools...
House of Hillel and House of Shammai...
These are the guys that put into play "rabbininc" judaism
the Pharisaic tradition.... Rabbis..
Stories OUTSIDE of Judaism have negative things to say about the Pharisaic tradition and wrongly mis ID's it in the New Testament. Jesus was in fact FROM the House of Hillel....
Now, one last hmmm...
The western world focuses on Jerusalem and the destruction of the 2nd Temple and the Jewish people taken into captiva, hence the Arch of Titus in Rome that celebrates the destruction and LOOTING of the Temple....
But lest we forget... The School of Torah that SENT the Rabbis of Shammai and Hillel still STOOD and continued un-broken for more than 600 MORE YEARS...