How an Orthodox Jew might look at a Christmas Tree... (humor)

Me | 12/23/12 | Nachum

[Nachum]

The Cohen family was on very good terms with their Roman Catholic neighbours, the O'Briens. In fact, little Yaakov Cohen and Christopher O'Brien from next door would play together from time to time. Or at least they used to.

Well, one late December's day, Duncan O'Brien came storming in to the Cohen's house holding poor Yaakov by the ear. "Your son is not going near my Chris again; he just has no respect for us and our religion!"

"What's the matter; what did he do?" enquired Mr. Cohen. "I'll tell you" said Duncan "he saw our Christmas tree and started making fun."

"Really, what did he say?" continued Mr. Cohen.

Duncan said, "He saw our tree and started asking all sorts of ridiculous questions - which kinds of pine trees can be used for a Christmas tree? What's the minimum required height? How close to the window does it need to be? Do too many decorations render it unfit? What if it's under a neighbour's balcony?!"

[HiTech RedNeck]

Superficial similarity does not amount to sameness... sigh.

This was a description of a practice by which a cut tree was actually worshiped. Noting that nobody does that with a Christmas tree should be “the end of the story.” Too many Christians get hung up over this kind of fantastical-legalistic, superficial similarity and end up going nowhere spiritually.

[RedMonqey]

You are banking an awful lot on a very narrow reading of English words capturing precisely the original Hebrew—

That could be said about every word in the Bible through ALL it's translations.

But don't worry.

All I said I agree it is in the Bible.

Not that one is going to Eternal Damnation because one puts up a tree out of custom, an evergreen that has lost all its original nordic-pagean meaning.

Maybe if you are are offering sacrefices to a long forgoted nordic deity.(any Thor, Frieda worshipers here?)

If you accept the Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I don't believe you're be held wanting on the Day of Judgement if you hang a little mistletoe(another pagaen custom) on a certain day(date) of the year(which is also pagaen in origins)

This is for the the purist who say "if it ain't in the Bible, Jesus wouldn't approve."crowd

(Don't get me started on the Sunday vs. the Saturday Sabbath)

[RedMonqey]

Superficial similarity does not amount to sameness... sigh.

Please reference Post 22.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Truly, you get the point. It was a pagan practice intended to facilitate the invocation of made-up pagan gods that somehow would be associated with the mounted and decorated tree. The Hebrew prophet was telling the Jewish people not to either place their hope in, or be worried about, any supposed power that pagans could invoke with their silly god-tree. The modern Christmas tree, as used by Christians, is put in place as a decoration in honor of a God that no Christian should have any argument with, and is afforded no spiritual power. It might be unwise to have a Christmas tree around if one were going to be visited by such a pagan, lest he get the wrong idea. But who’s going to stumble into worshiping a Christmas tree today?

Superficial similarities do not amount to equality. The road that claims such equality is the road to every sort of superstition.

[RedMonqey]

Superficial similarity does not amount to sameness... sigh.

Please reference Post 22.

[HiTech RedNeck]

This is the spiritual equivalent of the drive-by shooting.

“Ah, it’s in the bible” and then to pointedly fail to identify the proper referent.

[HiTech RedNeck]

I did. You committed a spiritual drive-by shooting. All manner of disclaimer “oooooh, this isn’t the UNFORGIVABLE SIN” — quite COMPLETELY misses the gravity of your misapplication of Scripture.

[InMemoriam]

Only a Jew will get this! LMBO!!!!

...or those with enough Jewish friends. (Do I have a minyan yet?)

[QBFimi]

:o)

[moose07]

Merry CHRISTmas Nachum,
My Jewish component burst out laughing, the rest of me is staring at it waiting for the explanation. :)

[stonehouse01]

OK I’m baffled ... in side joke! I’m on the outside, someone fill me in.

[Nachum]

OK I’m baffled ... in side joke! I’m on the outside, someone fill me in.

The joke is that this is how Orthodox Jews look at Jewish law and the child applied this to the tree :)

[RedMonqey]

You committed a spiritual drive-by shooting.

In the season of the season, Merry Christmas.

[RedMonqey]

You committed a spiritual drive-by shooting.

Correction:

In the spirit of the season, Merry Christmas.

[stonehouse01]

Thanks - now I get it!! (cute story- perhaps a future rabbi in the making)

[Springman]

Thanks for the explanation, I was thinking the kid was being brought up to work in the local building dept.

Now, can you explain what wrong with eating pork? I’ve wondered about that for many years?

[HiTech RedNeck]

Alleged, contentless “correction” to what?

Christmas does not excuse nonsense, as you yourself would aver even though with a mistaken example.

[Nachum]

Pork? There are only four animals that are kosher to eat. The general rule is kosher animals must have cloven hooves and chew their cud. All others are not kosher. Kosher law is spiritual only.

[SaraJohnson]

I’m a Christian and I get it. Love you, Marie. Meeeery Christmas. HO ho ho. : )

[Springman]

Thank you for the explanation, it make sense now.