The Hall of Fire

Frelga- There is actually very little known about the Pharisees outside of the Gospels save for the Jewish Historian Josephus who lived in the first century and later rabbinic writings. What makes that complicated from a historical perspective is that each source is more than a little biased, especi...

Thanks, friends

Hey friends- I know that I haven't been here in a while (ah the crazy life of a grad student) but I just wanted to put in a prayer request for my dad. He's undergoing a new experimental treatment for his cancer (specifically a very unpleasant and stubborn growth) and he's going to be having a test o...

Re Orthodox conversions ... yes, the Orthodox party in Israel has made Judaism very uninviting in Israel ... but part of this is purely political and has to do in a backhanded way with the relationship between Orthodox, Conservative and Reform here in the United States. The US has the largest Jewis...

I would never personally vote into high office: A Mormon who was endorsed by her church A Catholic who was endorsed by her church A 'Fundamentalist' Christian endorsed by any minister An Orthodox Jew endorsed by the Rabbinate Any Jew endorsed by the State of Israel An Orthodox Moslem endorsed by an...

The new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix international trailer is now on line!!! :D :D :D It's awesome! here's the link- http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#article:9737 or you can go to www.harrypotter.co.uk (or www.orderofthephoenix.co.uk) to watch it. If you are going to the Leaky site I ...

Has anyone read Ysabel yet? I'm just itching to talk about it!

Whoa! I am both extremely impressed (super kudos to all who participated in the creation of the survey) as well as extremely daunted and intimidated. So :bow: and :scarey: (and :help: ) And here I thought I'd have nothing to do during my 12 hour layover in LA. The big question is should I attempt in...

We seek to avoid pain and discomfort, we experience fear, so we try to create (if only in our imaginations) a place or condition where we will be free of all that is painful and where we will be experiencing only joy and beauty. vison , are you referring to religion or having a particular religious...

I, too, am enjoying reading this thread (24 hours of internet access! woohoo!) and am finding it really interesting. I am an Orthodox Jew. The point that remains difficult to pinpoint for me is where on the Orthodox spectrum I fall. Like I've mentioned in other threads, I would most likely identify ...

Hmm, I've never really considered waiting online at the midnight book release. I've always done the pre-order thing. However, neither Amazon nor B&N seem to guarantee that I'll get the book that day which was the case with HBP. And to not get it right away...I mean that would be unacceptable! Th...

Right now, I am looking to Judaism for "non-binding" ethical and spiritual guidance on how I should live my life. It may be that conversion is unnecessary to receive that guidance...Now, I find that that ["non-binding persuasive authority"] is exactly the role that I want for ha...

Welcome the HoF, Andreth! I joined recently'ish also (well, started participating more often recently) and I love it here . Everyone is extremely warm and welcoming. I have no doubt that you will enjoy being a part of it!

If you're looking for books that resemble LotR, I would suggest Terry Brook's "The Sword of Shannara". My brother told me before I read it that it used to be referred to as the poor man's Tolkien. I found it to be extremely similar to LotR, so much so that it actually bothered me a little ...

But then, I never watched 24, so I don't know what I'm missing. :) You should just know that should you decide to start watching 24-once you go Jack, you can't ever go back :D Speaking of which, Jack was back in wonderful "Jack Baur" form this past week with the whole "Jack, you're a...

So it begins...the great battle of our time....24 vs. Heroes. Whatever am I to do? What should I watch on time and what should be recorded/viewed on the internet? If I am to decide based on commercial/post-show discussion, my mom, sisters, nephew and former roommate all watch 24 and those same siste...

I recently finished Eldest and I was rather disappointed. I felt like Eragon's training started out promising but then dragged on for way too long. It was also very reminiscent of Luke's jedi training with Yoda but not nearly as interesting. I also didn't like [ spoiler ] Eargon's transformation tow...

Nel , I marvel at your ability to respond so articulately and with such clarity (and so quickly :oops:) :bow:. I appreciate your willingness to be so open and honest with me. It will take me a bit more time (and numerous venti lattes :help: :P ) to formulate a complete response, but just to briefly...

Once again, Nel , I'm sorry for the delay in posting my response. 1. As you know, the prohibition in Leviticus extends only to male homosexual behavior (some would argue, only to anal intercourse between males.) The prohibition on female homosexual behavior is a post-Tanakh rabbinic prohibition that...

Cerin , did you miss all 4 hours of the premiere? Here is a link to the 24 Website that actually gives a minute by minute sum up of each hour: http://www.fox.com/24/episodes/6am.htm You may also be able to download them from itunes and they are now officialy avaible on DVD as well. To just briefly ...