Posted on 01/17/2007 8:50:22 AM PST by Nachum
American Jewish comedian Jerry Seinfeld was ordered by the court to pay a Sabbath-observant realtor her fee, which he withheld due to her not having answered her phone on Saturday.
The realtor, Tamara Cohen, was unavailable when Seinfeld tried to reach her on a Saturday in February, 2005, according to the New York Post. The comedian and star of the highly successful sitcom bearing his name wanted to see a luxury apartment on 82nd street but could not get in touch with Cohen.
Seinfeld’s estate manager had visited the apartment with Cohen in January 2005, when the listing broker for the townhouse agreed to co-broke the house with her. On Friday, February 11, the estate manager and Seinfeld’s wife Jessica were shown the property by Cohen again. The next day, after Cohen did not answer her cell phone due to it being the Sabbath, the Seinfelds visited the apartment on their own, buying the home for $3.95 million without a broker.
Seinfeld testified that Cohen did not deserve the payment as she had been unavailable when he and his wife wanted to see the home. Both Seinfelds said they had not known the reason Cohen did not return their calls was that she was a Sabbath-observant Jew.
New York State Supreme Court justice Rolando Acosta ruled that the Seinfelds must pay Cohen at least $98,000 for her role as co-broker – a ruling that is seen as a positive defense of religious worship for Sabbath observers.
Acosta said that notwithstanding Cohen's failure to immediately return the Seinfelds' calls, "[T]he evidence clearly indicates that she served as the Seinfelds' real estate broker."
"The only real issue here . . . is whether the broker's fee was 5 or 6 percent," Acosta said, meaning Cohen may get as much as $118,500.
Richard Menaker of Menaker & Hermann, the law firm that represented the Seinfelds, said he intends to move to re-argue. "Not a single one of the [six] arguments we made was addressed," Menaker said, according to Law.com. "At the oral argument I pointed out that Ms. Cohen is not licensed. You can only recover on an oral agreement if you're a licensed real-estate broker," he added. Cohen’s lawyer said that she is in fact licensed and that the court apparently agreed.
I'm not Jewish...but there is that part about "Nor the stranger that is within your gates" in the Commandment. So there would seem to be some gray area there.
I was going to get fancy, but this pretty much does the job for me:
http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=SABBATH&version1=31&searchtype=all&bookset=2
Some are not really relevant to the specific question, but most touch it to one degree or another, and there are a couple of doozies.
You might want to read the book "From Sabbath to Sunday" by Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi. An except from this book is available at the following Web site: http://www.biblestudy.org/godsrest/how-did-sunday-keeping-begin.html In addition, you can read four of the chapters at his Web site: http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/sabbath_to_sunday/
Next season's episodes of what?
Point of order: it doesn't BEG the question, it RAISES it.
("Begging the question" is a logical fallacy often called "circular reasoning.")
The Sabbath and the other Feast days listed in Leviticus 23, such as the Feast of Tabernacles are for all people. God originally gave them to the House of Israel, but the Feasts were God's Feasts. He never intended to limit them to the House of Israel. Notice in Isaiah 66:22-23 how in the Kingdom of God, everyone will come to worship the true God on the Sabbath
22For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. (KJV)
Isaiah 2:2-4 shows how many nations will want to come to Jerusalem to learn the law of God more perfectly.
In the Kingdom of God, all nations will have to keep the Feast of Tabernacles also. If they refuse to do so, they will not receive any rain as shown in Zechariah 14:16-19:
16And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (KJV)
The Feasts that God gave to the House of Israel are now for all people. The weekly Sabbath and annual Feasts are God's Feasts.
i have been in both "worlds" (non-shabbos observant and shabbos observant) and can speak with experience to this subject. I can also proudly point to the knowledge and acceptance of the non-Jewish community I live amongst. the number of times people have walked passed me on the street or even slowed down their car, rolled down the window and screamed, "good sabbath" or "happy sabbath" or "shalom" as i am walking by is a source of blessing.
That's between Jerry and me.
When you are paying them 100 grand in commission.
Or does being "well known" exempt one from knowing anything about his or her own ethnicity or religious traditions.
You know this is actually consistent with something I noticed in the ranks of management ~ the higher they went the more ignorant of the business they became, with those at the highest levels knowing the least.
Put a full burqa on that woman ~
(I just love these religious custom treads ~ brings out the beast in people, eh?!)
The "control being/vs freeing" thing opens up a whole can of worms that are really outside the scope of this thread. I probably should lay off.
So I will...
i think the confusion stems from Jerkoff Seinfeld's assistant forgot to inform Jerkoff about the Agent's sabbath observing ways. Just blame the assistant.
In Ohio and florida you do not have to sign a contract to see a house,etc.
I maintain this is not about Seinfeld not wanting to pay.This is about the listing agent NOT wanting to share the commission. the issue of not showing the property on one day is ridiculous and I really don't believe the other agent would not have back up on Sat. this whole thing does not ring true as the article is presented.
HUH?
wow, do I ever know some Legalistic Christians too!
Legalism goes to all religions.
Touché. (Is that right?) But yes, you're right. That said, I'm really good at begging the question. Just ask my husband. ;-)
No, no, no... It's like God not *needing* to rest, God doesn't *need* to be worshipped, it is WE that *need* to worship him. To be specific, lest we be drawn to the high places and immoral conduct that we always seem to be drawn to when we aren't engaged in worship on a regular basis. From Leviticus right down to today.
As a Catholic we are not supposed to engage in "servile" work on the sabbath, i.e. cooking to feed your family is fine, going to work to cook in a restaurent is not so fine. But if you have to do so to keep your job... lets just say it's very much a venial sin, not a mortal one.
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