chin@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Angela Chin) (12/19/90)
I have a stupid question. I remember there is a passage in the Bible (probably O.T.) a man's prayer went like this: Thank God I am not a dog, Thank God I am not a woman.... Can anyone tell me where is it? [I don't think it's in the Bible. This is a supposed Jewish prayer, which I've heard quoted, but have never been sure is more than an "urban legend". Perhaps one of our Jewish readers can enlighten us? (Also, the version of the urban legend I heard claimed that women had a similar prayer that thanked God they weren't men.) --clh]
hammer@sp29.csrd.uiuc.edu (David Hammerslag) (12/24/90)
[Angela Chin asked about a prayer Thank God I am not a dog, Thank God I am not a woman.... I noted that I believed it is part of an ancient Jewish prayer, but that I had also heard of a similar prayer for women that thanked God for not making them a man. --clh] I have seen the above prayer cited (with references) in a (NT) commentary. It is from a BCE Jewish prayer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Hammerslag | Keep an open mind, but not so open that people hammer@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu | throw garbage in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
tom@tredysvr.tredydev.unisys.com (Tom Albrecht) (12/24/90)
In article <Dec.19.04.52.06.1990.28586@athos.rutgers.edu> chin@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Angela Chin) writes: >I have a stupid question. I remember there is a passage in the >Bible (probably O.T.) a man's prayer went like this: > > Thank God I am not a dog, > Thank God I am not a woman.... > >Can anyone tell me where is it? It's not in the Bible. There are a series of Jewish prayers, baruchas, that goes something like this: Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a gentile. Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a slave. Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a woman. The intent of these prayers is to remind the free Jewish male that he alone was blessed in that he could observe all of the 613 mitzvoh, or commandments, of the Torah. According to Jewish tradition, a woman was only required to keep the negative mitzvoh, i.e., "Thou shalt not ... ." She was not required to keep all the positive commands, such as those relating to the observance of sacrifices, feasts and holy days. Likewise, a slave could not keep all the commandments, neither would a gentile. It's interesting to compare these baruchas with the words of the apostle Paul found in Galatians 3:28,29: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Paul is responding to the legalism of the Judaizers who wished to require that Gentiles follow the Jewish Law in order to identify with the Church. Paul seems to be pointing out that all those ceremonial commandments that previously separated Jew and Gentile have been abolished in Christ. -- Tom Albrecht -- Tom Albrecht
bjstaff@zds-ux.zds.com (Brad Staff) (12/24/90)
[In response to the question about the prayer > Thank God I am not a dog, > Thank God I am not a woman.... I commented that I had heard that women had a similar prayer that thanked God that they were not men. --clh] I just came across this in the book _What is a Jew_? by Rabbi Morris N. Kertzer: There was also among our ancestors the feeling sometimes echoed by feminists today that men led a far less circumscribed life than their sisters. In the old Orthodox ritual a man recited a special blessing each morning thanking God that he had not been made a woman, while a woman prayed: "Thank God that He fashioned me according to His will." Brad Staff bjstaff@zds-ux.zds.com
levene@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu (Robert A. Levene) (12/25/90)
In article <Dec.24.04.10.11.1990.16378@athos.rutgers.edu> dvnspc1!tom@tredysvr.tredydev.unisys.com (Tom Albrecht) writes: [an excerpt from the weekday morning blessings:] > Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a gentile. > Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a slave. > Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a woman. > > The intent of these prayers is to remind the free Jewish male that he alone > was blessed in that he could observe all of the 613 mitzvoh, or > commandments, of the Torah. Roughly accurate. > According to Jewish tradition, a woman was > only required to keep the negative mitzvoh, i.e., "Thou shalt not ... ." > She was not required to keep all the positive commands, such as those > relating to the observance of sacrifices, feasts and holy days. That is not correct. Women are freed from most time-dependent obligations, i.e., praying at the set times daily, wearing phylacteries, etc. They are still subject to the other commandments, including observance of the kosher laws, the Sabbath, and the holy days. (This is an oversimplification, but details are not relevant here.) -- Robert A. Levene Internet: levene@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu Bitnet: RXL1@APLVM Disclaimer: I speak neither for my race, my culture, my country, my religion, my political party, nor my employer, but for me alone.