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The little-known Jewish holiday of Christmas Eve. Seriously.
slate ^ | Benyamin Cohen

Posted on 12/23/2011 11:52:47 AM PST by Mandingo Conservative

The Talmud, with its share of rabbinic repudiations against Jesus, was never a big fan of Christmas. Call it the Grinch. Indeed, the rabbis looked at it as a day of mourning—perhaps due to the suffering that Jews encountered in Jesus' name throughout history. And Christmas Eve—named "Nittel Nacht" by Jewish scholars in the 17th century—took on a life of its own.

The Jewish community has long had a tense relationship with Christmas. You wouldn't know it by the two main customs observed by many 21st-century Jews on Dec. 25: eating Chinese food and being the first to see the Christmas blockbuster. But less well-known are the more historic—and, to be blunt, more bizarre—Christmas Eve customs that Jewish communities have kept secret, even from most Jews. As a public service announcement, I'm here to let you in on what the rabbis thought about Christmas Eve. Gather round, little ones. This is a scary tale.

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: History; Humor; Religion; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: christmas; christmaseve; jews; talmud
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To: Mandingo Conservative

Better treatment:

http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2007/12/nittel-nacht-christmas-eve.html


21 posted on 12/23/2011 2:19:04 PM PST by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: jjotto

Interesting, but the mourning day mentioned seems more related to Asara B’Tevet, related to the siege of Jerusalem. Maybe someone at some point mixed things up.


22 posted on 12/23/2011 2:36:30 PM PST by Moose Burger
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To: Mandingo Conservative

Bookmark


23 posted on 12/23/2011 2:48:25 PM PST by GOP Poet (Time for Bambi and his commie crew to go.)
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To: Moose Burger

Aserah b’Teves actually combines at least three commemorations: The translation of the Torah into Greek (8 Tevet), the yartzheit of Ezra the Scribe (9 Tevet), and the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (10 Tevet).


24 posted on 12/23/2011 2:54:38 PM PST by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: Mach9
Thank you for attempting to listen to this teaching. I wish you would have listened to the entire teaching as that would have made your review more credible. It seems you hit a place and applied your preconceived ideas to what was being said. I do however respect your opinion and thank you for giving it a try :)
25 posted on 12/23/2011 4:13:36 PM PST by ladyL
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To: Mach9
Thank you for attempting to listen to this teaching. I wish you would have listened to the entire teaching as that would have made your review more credible. It seems you hit a place and applied your preconceived ideas to what was being said. I do however respect your opinion and thank you for giving it a try :)
26 posted on 12/23/2011 4:13:47 PM PST by ladyL
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To: Mach9
>>Bacchiochi Staley cites as part of his argument was Jewish, no part whatsoever of the Catholic hierarchy (making a lie of the “Catholics State” page he presents). <<

As a matter of correction, Jim Staley is not a Seventh Day Adventist. Actually he is a Pastor of a church in St. Louis and a very gifted teacher. His website is www.passionfortruth.com. Check out his Truth or Tradition video on You Tube. That's Jim Staley.

27 posted on 12/23/2011 4:20:07 PM PST by ladyL
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To: Mandingo Conservative


28 posted on 12/23/2011 5:47:25 PM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Mater tua caligas gerit)
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