A Gambler's testimony under traditional Jewish Law.

[Surasanji]

My Mother is a student, and a Jewish Educator. She's a Rabbi in all but title; I call her a Rabbi, since she teaches people about Judaism from a religious- as opposed to a scholarly viewpoint.

We recently got into a conversation- she was visiting my apartment here in TA and started to talk about gambling. And Jewish Law- the traditional stuff talked over by famous rabbis through history.

One of the most interesting things was that a gambler could neither be a witness OR a judge.

She had been studying, at the time- and so she couldn't go into it further, but I'm going to ask if I can get her paper- do a few edits and perhaps post it for you folks here at CM. I thought it might be interesting!

Another interesting tidbit we talked about was that Gambling was akin to theft- because the 'loser' never expected to lose!

Remember folks- most of the Old Jewish Law is really bound up in religious philosophy- but I tend to find all philosophy pretty interesting.!

So, this turns out to be just a teaser post- I'm too excited not to share already about a topic I find so interesting to a group I hope will find it just as interesting!

More to come as I discover it- but if you have questions (specifically as to Gambling in Judaism) , feel free to Post on the thread and I'll field them to my Mother!

PS: The funniest thing for me is that during Hannukah we gamble for chocolate using the driedel. My friends and I always used quarters- an no one every felt that was weird or wrong!

 

[ksb11]

My Mother is a student, and a Jewish Educator. She's a Rabbi in all but title; I call her a Rabbi, since she teaches people about Judaism from a religious- as opposed to a scholarly viewpoint.

We recently got into a conversation- she was visiting my apartment here in TA and started to talk about gambling. And Jewish Law- the traditional stuff talked over by famous rabbis through history.

One of the most interesting things was that a gambler could neither be a witness OR a judge.

She had been studying, at the time- and so she couldn't go into it further, but I'm going to ask if I can get her paper- do a few edits and perhaps post it for you folks here at CM. I thought it might be interesting!

Another interesting tidbit we talked about was that Gambling was akin to theft- because the 'loser' never expected to lose!

Remember folks- most of the Old Jewish Law is really bound up in religious philosophy- but I tend to find all philosophy pretty interesting.!

So, this turns out to be just a teaser post- I'm too excited not to share already about a topic I find so interesting to a group I hope will find it just as interesting!

More to come as I discover it- but if you have questions (specifically as to Gambling in Judaism) , feel free to Post on the thread and I'll field them to my Mother!

PS: The funniest thing for me is that during Hannukah we gamble for chocolate using the driedel. My friends and I always used quarters- an no one every felt that was weird or wrong!

I would be very interested on how Jewish Law relates to gambling, Surasanji. I could talk all day about anything that relates to Judeo-Christian thought, philosophy, or gambling. So I'm all ears.

 

[Surasanji]

I would be very interested on how Jewish Law relates to gambling, Surasanji. I could talk all day about anything that relates to Judeo-Christian thought, philosophy, or gambling. So I'm all ears.

For sure! I'm all over the open and free exchange of information! The best part of those old laws in Judaism is that there are usually five to ten Rabbi's commentaries involved. And sometimes they have two or three opinions a piece!

An old joke goes: Get three Jews in a room and you have five opinions.

I can only hope it'll create that kind of discourse and conversation here!

Time to Forum it up.

 

[jetset]

Sounds as if this could be an interesting subject, but you would have to make sure you explain unfamiliar terms like driedel

When you look at the origins and motivations of most common law there are very practical objectives, in my experience.

 

[Seventh777]

Every religion is spiced with contradiction and hypocrisy as are politics (

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) - all men are created equal, but some are more equal than others, take a world wide look at the power house of the Jewish fundamentalists the Zionists, or the worse of the worse the Christians (Sodom and Gomorrah) need I say more .

If there has to be a religious mouth piece for the world then the Dalai Lama gets my vote all day long .

 

[jetset]

Amen to that - despite Chinese government allegations that he's the mastermind behind all evil and anti-Chinese happenings in Tibet.

 

[Seventh777]

Amen to that - despite Chinese government allegations that he's the mastermind behind all evil and anti-Chinese happenings in Tibet.

The self same governments that brought you the atrocities of the Tiananmen Square massacre going back to the man in question and his response when the Chinese wiped out a huge proportion of the Tibetan people - "Let the resolution of conflict be through peaceful means only", sounds like a right genocidal tyrannical despot don`t he .

No wonder the American government loves China so much they both practise very similar war related protocols, create a worthy adversary, throw in a heavy dose of media manipulation and character assassinate them, procure a situation, declare war.

 

[chuchu59]

The Chinese Government will never admit to its failings over the Tienanmen Massacre and describes it as a mere incident. In 1989 the leadership was barely in the post-Mao era and were unable to handle things practicably. Furthermore, people in general had less demands and most believed whatever the Government said. The issue will continue to be a thorn in their side although those responsible have largely faded away. With 'capitalism' being the 'in' word over the past 3 decades my fellowmen are more interested in making money although each year there are anniversaries held to commemorate those who perished on that fateful day. Frankly, I am personally satisfied with how the present leadership handles contentious issues especially the catastrophes eg the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 and I am convinced they will handle similar incidents in a different manner.For obvious reasons, the present leadership cannot condemn what was done in the past and it is necessary that we move ahead and expect them to make amends by building a better future for all Chinese and the rest of the world.

 

[Surasanji]

Sounds as if this could be an interesting subject, but you would have to make sure you explain unfamiliar terms like driedel

When you look at the origins and motivations of most common law there are very practical objectives, in my experience.

A Dreidel is a top carved with one of two hebrew abbreviations. Its four sided, and each letter represents a word. The most common type would have the letters Nun, Gimmel, Hey, Shin. Each on its own side- each its own word: Nes gadol hiya sham. A great miracle happened there.

At this point, you might be asking yourself- what miracle? The Miracle of Hannukah is that for eight days a lamp burned when there was only one day's worth of oil. That lamp being the eternal flame to God it was never to go out of oil- And it had just been reconsecrated to God after taking it back in a brutal, but effective guerrilla war against the Greeks!

 

[jetset]

Thanks - already we're learning from this thread!