If over the holidays I have a chance to visit the gravesite of Chas and Elvera, should I leave a little bunch of flowers? I do not know what is allowed. Any ideas?
Husband and daughter are off to Lewiston as she too is getting signed up for voc rehab.
Son is on detention.
Son in law and grandchildren are awaiting on phone court at ten thirty.
Well it seems to me that autumn gets attention Aug-Nov. and Christmas gets but maybe three weeks. Therefore my tree is up!!! No decorations… just the tree and white lights.. it makes me smile!!😊🌲
I’m hoping to get a (real) tree this year, but I say that every year — sometimes I score, other times I don’t.
My neighbor last year bought one of those very nice (and real-looking) faux trees on sale and she already has that up in her house; it’s apparently pretty easy just to fold out.
Faux trees were anathema in our house, of course, but they really have come a long way in looking more natural.
The big seasonal horror from when I was around 10 or 12 or so was when a very “hip” aunt and uncle — who managed one of those “singles” apartment complexes (this was in the 1960s) — got a white/aluminum tree that had red, green, blue and yellow rotating spotlights that operated to highlight all that faux-ness. They were thrilled and said the compliments poured in from their young, hipster tenants.
My mom, daughter of a tree-loving nurseryman in Iowa, was horrified. But she smiled and said something, “how different,” or “Isn’t that something” or some other comment to that effect, she really was very polite and sensitive by nature.
But my dad and I got her more unedited review as we were driving home. 🙂 -dj
NJ – For the past day or so, I have been tempted to put up the new little 2 foot Christmas tree that I recently bought for my “mantel”. (We will have the large Christmas tree in the dining room.)
Nightingale and I have previously agreed that no Christmas decoration should happen until the day after Thanksgiving, to give the holiday of Thanksgiving its due honor. But I have had my fall decorations up, as lovely as they are, since the beginning of September. And as you said, the Christmas season goes by too quickly!
So I am thinking of maybe de-autumning my living room to put up the little tree and maybe some other Christmas decor, and letting the dining room stay autumnal until the day after Thanksgiving.
Maybe.
Since we will be having our Thanksgiving next Friday, that would mean Saturday would be the day after for us. And that is Nightingale’s weekend off, so I hope she is in the mood to put up the tree and such, but I suspect that she may not be up to it, with all that is going on in her life right now. 😦
Most of you probably don’t give the Talmud much thought . . . but we’ve been running into it frequently in our study of Romans.
I found this explanation fascinating today in Dr. Jeannie Constantinou’s newsletter:
Jewish Tradition & Authority as Compared to The Fathers of the Church
I have become intrigued by the first female disciples of the Lord and especially fascinated by the lifestyle of first century Jewish women. Lately, I have been immersed in reading about Jewish law as it applied to women in the Mishnah and the Talmud as part of the research for my next book, the Resurrection of the King of Glory. I will be sharing some of those fascinating discoveries with you in the months to come. But first you must understand something about the collection of Jewish laws.
In the time of Christ, many Jewish religious laws had still never been written down. They were called the “oral law,” and had been developed by the Pharisees. The Torah, also known as the Pentateuch, is only the first section of the Jewish Scriptures. The Torah contains hundreds of written rules. But over the centuries the Pharisees elaborated on them and extended them, creating thousands of additional oral laws that they considered just as “binding” (meaning, “required”) as the laws actually written in the Torah itself. Jesus often criticized these rules which he called “traditions of men” because they had been created by human beings.
Some of these rules are familiar to Christians who know about them from the gospels, for example, the rule that healing is forbidden on the Sabbath. The Bible forbids work on the Sabbath, but the decision that healing was “work” was a manmade one that developed as people tried to define what activities should be considered “work.” Designating healing as “work” was a later interpretation or elaboration created by the Pharisees.
Only after the time of Christ, around the year 200 AD, were those oral laws written down. That compilation of oral laws, now in writing, is called The Mishnah. The Mishnah was later combined with the interpretation of those laws (the Gemara), is known today as the Talmud. Compiled around the year 500, the Talmud consists of many volumes. Many of the Mishnah’s laws and their interpretation go back to the first century and were in force at the time of Christ. The Talmud contains countless opinions and interpretations by ancient Jewish scholars, sages, and teachers and their analysis and debates about thousands of different Mishnaic laws. These ancient opinions act as a kind of legal precedent, and those important Jewish figures from the past function as authorities for the Jews. But they differ in significant respects from our Fathers of the Church, who functioned as ancient authorities in the early Church and still hold much authority for Orthodox Christians today.
How do the Jewish sages in the Talmud differ from the Fathers of the Church? Here are some of the most striking differences. First, the Jewish authorities in the Talmud are not of one mind. They give very different opinions and interpretations, often completely opposite ones. The study of the Talmud involves learning the intricacies of legal argumentation and being able to make a case for one position or the other. Just as with the study of the secular law today, there are “majority” opinions (those which are generally followed and are the dominant view in various jurisdictions) and “minority” opinions, (interpretations which are recorded but not widely followed or even followed at all.) By contrast, the Church Fathers are in agreement on all matters of morality and doctrine. They rarely differ in their opinions on anything significant.
Secondly, the Fathers did not debate laws and the application of laws but interpreted Scripture and wrote works on prayer and spirituality. The life in Christ is not at all based on the observance of legal technicalities. Third, the Fathers did not base their opinions on private human reasoning, on the application of clever argumentation, as is the case in the Talmud. The goal for the Fathers was always the spiritual benefit of the believer, what would assist someone in achieving salvation.
Other differences can be found, but among them is that the spiritual guidance of the Fathers was not gender based. The same morality, the same behaviors, the same expectations for ascetic practices, prayers, avoiding sin, acquiring virtue, attendance at church services, etc. were equally applied to both men and women without distinction by the Fathers of the Church. No doubt the Jewish authorities in the Talmud also considered their discussions to be “spiritual” in their own way, but Talmudic discussions have an entirely different focus and basis: the debates are entirely about law, the extent to which a law must be followed, by whom, when exceptions can be allowed, etc. The discussions are grounded in human reasoning. The degree to which one keeps the rules determines whether one is acceptable in the eyes of God and often different rules, restrictions and practices were expected of men vs women. We’ll talk more about Jewish law and how it applies to St. Paul’s comment that in Christ there is “neither male nor female” in the next newsletter.
I watched the first in the Call the Midwife series. I have mixed feelings. It is too intense for me, really, and has TMI on the details of birthing. I will try to watch a few more of the episodes, but it is not something I would choose on my own. Art did not watch it with me since I watched before he got home. I am not used to watching programming that has so many ladies and few men. We ended up watching a James Bond movie last night, such a switch from Midwives, although those midwives were almost as macho as Bond in their feats.
Sounds fascinating M, will look forward to those posts.
De-autumning, I like that. Except I never did “Autumn” much in the first place, so nothing to de- here, though maybe the fall wreath on the front door could come down …
I did put the Christmas table runner away only recently. Silly me. Now it’s almost Christmas.
I watched the British version of “Ghosts,” stumbled on it last night. The US version is one of my neighbor’s favorite comedies and it has received good reviews.
I went through a James Bond phase some years ago, my cousin and I saw a couple of those more recent films in the theater (but missed the last one with Daniel Craig).
I already have 11 trees up and lit. Granted 5 of them are the smaller 2′ trees, but the rest are 4′ or taller. I call them winter trees. Since it gets dark so early here (5pm) it can become depressing and the fairy lights just make the house glow. The Christmas ornaments will come out soon, but for now I have winter decorations.
We’ll get our real tree on December 3rd. In the meantime, I enjoy the planning for the decorations and where things will go and which ones I will use each year.
The church Fathers were concerned with what helped someone achieve salvation? Of course, we don’t achieve salvation. It is a gift. I found her book interesting and I am sure this will be also.
Wandering Views 
Good morning!
it’s a great day for some funnies!
If over the holidays I have a chance to visit the gravesite of Chas and Elvera, should I leave a little bunch of flowers? I do not know what is allowed. Any ideas?
LikeLiked by 3 people
Morning! Janice way a lovely thought. How I miss our dear Chas❣️
Husband is on his way home and should be home by noon…first words I will hear are “I’m hungry”!!!!😂
LikeLiked by 3 people
Yes, Janice. Leave some flowers.
And here are the funiies.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Good morning, all. A beautiful day here. About thirty five heading to high forties. Snow possible in a couple days.
mumsee
LikeLike
Yes, flowers.
Another busy work day but … It’s Friday!
Some rain expected again Saturday. Request to the roofer is in to please come check out whatever is causing these ceiling damp spots … Houses. -dj
LikeLike
Husband and daughter are off to Lewiston as she too is getting signed up for voc rehab.
Son is on detention.
Son in law and grandchildren are awaiting on phone court at ten thirty.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 2 people
If you don’t look at any of the other funiies, at least look at this one. Hilarious (and non-political). https://wng.org/cartoons#2028381
LikeLiked by 4 people
Ok, that’s funny.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well it seems to me that autumn gets attention Aug-Nov. and Christmas gets but maybe three weeks. Therefore my tree is up!!! No decorations… just the tree and white lights.. it makes me smile!!😊🌲
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m hoping to get a (real) tree this year, but I say that every year — sometimes I score, other times I don’t.
My neighbor last year bought one of those very nice (and real-looking) faux trees on sale and she already has that up in her house; it’s apparently pretty easy just to fold out.
Faux trees were anathema in our house, of course, but they really have come a long way in looking more natural.
The big seasonal horror from when I was around 10 or 12 or so was when a very “hip” aunt and uncle — who managed one of those “singles” apartment complexes (this was in the 1960s) — got a white/aluminum tree that had red, green, blue and yellow rotating spotlights that operated to highlight all that faux-ness. They were thrilled and said the compliments poured in from their young, hipster tenants.
My mom, daughter of a tree-loving nurseryman in Iowa, was horrified. But she smiled and said something, “how different,” or “Isn’t that something” or some other comment to that effect, she really was very polite and sensitive by nature.
But my dad and I got her more unedited review as we were driving home. 🙂 -dj
LikeLiked by 4 people
NJ – For the past day or so, I have been tempted to put up the new little 2 foot Christmas tree that I recently bought for my “mantel”. (We will have the large Christmas tree in the dining room.)
Nightingale and I have previously agreed that no Christmas decoration should happen until the day after Thanksgiving, to give the holiday of Thanksgiving its due honor. But I have had my fall decorations up, as lovely as they are, since the beginning of September. And as you said, the Christmas season goes by too quickly!
So I am thinking of maybe de-autumning my living room to put up the little tree and maybe some other Christmas decor, and letting the dining room stay autumnal until the day after Thanksgiving.
Maybe.
Since we will be having our Thanksgiving next Friday, that would mean Saturday would be the day after for us. And that is Nightingale’s weekend off, so I hope she is in the mood to put up the tree and such, but I suspect that she may not be up to it, with all that is going on in her life right now. 😦
LikeLiked by 2 people
Most of you probably don’t give the Talmud much thought . . . but we’ve been running into it frequently in our study of Romans.
I found this explanation fascinating today in Dr. Jeannie Constantinou’s newsletter:
Jewish Tradition & Authority as Compared to The Fathers of the Church
I have become intrigued by the first female disciples of the Lord and especially fascinated by the lifestyle of first century Jewish women. Lately, I have been immersed in reading about Jewish law as it applied to women in the Mishnah and the Talmud as part of the research for my next book, the Resurrection of the King of Glory. I will be sharing some of those fascinating discoveries with you in the months to come. But first you must understand something about the collection of Jewish laws.
In the time of Christ, many Jewish religious laws had still never been written down. They were called the “oral law,” and had been developed by the Pharisees. The Torah, also known as the Pentateuch, is only the first section of the Jewish Scriptures. The Torah contains hundreds of written rules. But over the centuries the Pharisees elaborated on them and extended them, creating thousands of additional oral laws that they considered just as “binding” (meaning, “required”) as the laws actually written in the Torah itself. Jesus often criticized these rules which he called “traditions of men” because they had been created by human beings.
Some of these rules are familiar to Christians who know about them from the gospels, for example, the rule that healing is forbidden on the Sabbath. The Bible forbids work on the Sabbath, but the decision that healing was “work” was a manmade one that developed as people tried to define what activities should be considered “work.” Designating healing as “work” was a later interpretation or elaboration created by the Pharisees.
Only after the time of Christ, around the year 200 AD, were those oral laws written down. That compilation of oral laws, now in writing, is called The Mishnah. The Mishnah was later combined with the interpretation of those laws (the Gemara), is known today as the Talmud. Compiled around the year 500, the Talmud consists of many volumes. Many of the Mishnah’s laws and their interpretation go back to the first century and were in force at the time of Christ. The Talmud contains countless opinions and interpretations by ancient Jewish scholars, sages, and teachers and their analysis and debates about thousands of different Mishnaic laws. These ancient opinions act as a kind of legal precedent, and those important Jewish figures from the past function as authorities for the Jews. But they differ in significant respects from our Fathers of the Church, who functioned as ancient authorities in the early Church and still hold much authority for Orthodox Christians today.
How do the Jewish sages in the Talmud differ from the Fathers of the Church? Here are some of the most striking differences. First, the Jewish authorities in the Talmud are not of one mind. They give very different opinions and interpretations, often completely opposite ones. The study of the Talmud involves learning the intricacies of legal argumentation and being able to make a case for one position or the other. Just as with the study of the secular law today, there are “majority” opinions (those which are generally followed and are the dominant view in various jurisdictions) and “minority” opinions, (interpretations which are recorded but not widely followed or even followed at all.) By contrast, the Church Fathers are in agreement on all matters of morality and doctrine. They rarely differ in their opinions on anything significant.
Secondly, the Fathers did not debate laws and the application of laws but interpreted Scripture and wrote works on prayer and spirituality. The life in Christ is not at all based on the observance of legal technicalities. Third, the Fathers did not base their opinions on private human reasoning, on the application of clever argumentation, as is the case in the Talmud. The goal for the Fathers was always the spiritual benefit of the believer, what would assist someone in achieving salvation.
Other differences can be found, but among them is that the spiritual guidance of the Fathers was not gender based. The same morality, the same behaviors, the same expectations for ascetic practices, prayers, avoiding sin, acquiring virtue, attendance at church services, etc. were equally applied to both men and women without distinction by the Fathers of the Church. No doubt the Jewish authorities in the Talmud also considered their discussions to be “spiritual” in their own way, but Talmudic discussions have an entirely different focus and basis: the debates are entirely about law, the extent to which a law must be followed, by whom, when exceptions can be allowed, etc. The discussions are grounded in human reasoning. The degree to which one keeps the rules determines whether one is acceptable in the eyes of God and often different rules, restrictions and practices were expected of men vs women. We’ll talk more about Jewish law and how it applies to St. Paul’s comment that in Christ there is “neither male nor female” in the next newsletter.
LikeLike
I watched the first in the Call the Midwife series. I have mixed feelings. It is too intense for me, really, and has TMI on the details of birthing. I will try to watch a few more of the episodes, but it is not something I would choose on my own. Art did not watch it with me since I watched before he got home. I am not used to watching programming that has so many ladies and few men. We ended up watching a James Bond movie last night, such a switch from Midwives, although those midwives were almost as macho as Bond in their feats.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sounds fascinating M, will look forward to those posts.
De-autumning, I like that. Except I never did “Autumn” much in the first place, so nothing to de- here, though maybe the fall wreath on the front door could come down …
I did put the Christmas table runner away only recently. Silly me. Now it’s almost Christmas.
I watched the British version of “Ghosts,” stumbled on it last night. The US version is one of my neighbor’s favorite comedies and it has received good reviews.
I went through a James Bond phase some years ago, my cousin and I saw a couple of those more recent films in the theater (but missed the last one with Daniel Craig).
-dj
LikeLiked by 2 people
The Gospel Coalition’s news email today includes links to what look like three views on “the land” promises and modern-day Israel. -dj
LikeLiked by 2 people
I already have 11 trees up and lit. Granted 5 of them are the smaller 2′ trees, but the rest are 4′ or taller. I call them winter trees. Since it gets dark so early here (5pm) it can become depressing and the fairy lights just make the house glow. The Christmas ornaments will come out soon, but for now I have winter decorations.
LikeLiked by 3 people
We’ll get our real tree on December 3rd. In the meantime, I enjoy the planning for the decorations and where things will go and which ones I will use each year.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Has anyone seen/heard from Kim lately? Maybe she’s as busy as I’ve been, or I’ve missed her posts since I don’t get on here every day.
LikeLike
I remember those fake trees with the rotating lights. A neighbor had one. I thought it looked ugly.
LikeLike
I like winter decorations.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kare wins the Christmas race.
-dj
LikeLiked by 1 person
The church Fathers were concerned with what helped someone achieve salvation? Of course, we don’t achieve salvation. It is a gift. I found her book interesting and I am sure this will be also.
LikeLike
I wondered about that as well.
mumsee
LikeLike
Still hanging out in Portland. Played lots of games of Uno. Even beat these grand boys a few times
Quite chilly today
Jo
LikeLiked by 3 people