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jewish-music
Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 2420
- From: Fred Blumenthal <xd2fabl...>
- Subject: Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 2420
- Date: Mon 04 Nov 2002 18.03 (GMT)
I think it's my doing (fault?) that the listserv (please let's not get
into a long string if I'm misusing the word "listserv") having to do with
Jewish music is now discussing Jesus' last name. The point was that not
only are there two songs - distinct texts, distinct melodies, distinct
origins - with the title "Eli, Eli," but also those were among the last
words of Jesus. No, as Jews we shouldn't use the word "Christ," although
as speakers of English that's difficult to avoid. The relevance is that
Jesus was tortured to death as an act of anti-Semitism, ("king of the
Jews," in the sarcasm of the Romans) and quoted a psalm on that occasion.
The whole reference to Jesus (I believe I made his last name "of
Nazareth") was intended as an aside, but we do live in a predominantly
gentile culture, and these associations will come up with even less
provocation than reading the words "Eli, Eli."
Fred Blumenthal
xd2fabl (at) us(dot)ibm(dot)com
- Re: JEWISH-MUSIC digest 2420,
Fred Blumenthal