Re: Kol Isha

[Seth Austen <klezmusic...>]

on 2/19/01 11:45 AM, TROMBAEDU (at) aol(dot)com at TROMBAEDU (at) aol(dot)com 
wrote:

> In a message dated 2/17/01 11:04:30 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> shirona (at) bellatlantic(dot)net writes:
> 
> 
>> So I'm questioning here.  I'm questioning the origin of Kol Isha. I'm
>> questioning the motives behind it.  Were they about power? The male ego?
>> Is this any different than the general oppression of women by men?  I want
>> the source.  
> 
> Shirona, my whole point is that in your initial post, you were not
> questioning anything. You were condemning sight unseen a system of belief,
> the details of which you yourself express ignorance. That is not questioning.

Shironas' questions sound like perfectly legitimate questions to me. I think
it is perfectly reasonable to ask about the history of the laws that we
follow, and these questions ask us to look deep inside our hearts and
question whether these laws might have come from a place of fear or ego.
There is nothing wrong with asking this sort of questions, and I should
think it is possible to ask them and look at possible answers while
maintaining respect for differences of opinion.

A favorite interpretation that I've heard of Abraham getting ready to
sacrifice his son Isaac was posed by Michael Lerner in his book Jewish
Renewal. Lerner asks whether the voice Abraham heard and followed was his
own intrepretation of what he thought was wanted of him until the moment
when he was instructed to stop, at which point he was truly hearing the
voice of G-d for the first time. Until that moment, he was acting on what he
felt he should do based on his own interpretation, based on fear.

I believe it is neccesary to listen both deep inside ourselves and to each
other to get to the core of we are saying/believing to hear the truth.

Peace,

Seth

-- 
Seth Austen

http://www.sethausten.com
emails: seth (at) sethausten(dot)com
klezmusic (at) earthlink(dot)net


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