Orthodox Jewish introspection, religious oppression

Greetings.

Jewish date:  13 Shevaṭ 5770 (Parashath BeShallaḥ).

Today’s holidays:  Feast Day of Thomas Aquinas (Roman Catholicism and Thelema(!)), Feast Day of Carolus Magnus (Thelema).

Worthy causes of the day:  “Stop the corporate takeover of our government”, “Take Action | Oceana North America:  Tell Your Senators to Vote NO on the Dirty Air Act”, “Find a Lasting Solution to Medicare Doctor Payments: No More Cuts! - The Petition Site”, “Libel reform campaign petition statement”, and “Free Press: media reform through education, organizing and advocacy:”.

Topic 1:  I am always appreciative of anyone being introspective of their own religion, including when that religion happens to be my own, Judaism; we only can do repentance when we face up to what we are doing wrong.  In that spirit, I recommend “Reversed Wisdom: Daas Torah vs. Daas Baalei Batim” and “Daas Torah Vs. Daas Baalei Batim, Redux”, which tackle several shameful problems in modern Orthodox Jewish society.  People who are not Orthodox Jews may want to ask themselves if their own religious communities have the same or akin problems—and many of the problems are not limited to one religion by any means—and also think about what to do to counteract them.

Topic 2:  More religious oppression (and, no, these are not going to go away any time soon):  “Nigeria: Chilling messages sent before killings”, “Pope decries 'aversion' to Christians”, and “Rights group: Russian religious freedom in danger”.

Topic 3:  For today’s religious humor:  “Concerns of Dyslexic Evangelicals”:


Peace.

Aaron