Judaism divided into three parts

Orthodox Judaism says that the torah, is very important no madder if it’s the written or the oral form. It states that practices such as circumcision, are very important. A person could give up is or her believe in god as long as he or she follows the practices. Reform Judaism says that the practices are no longer required. It tries to blend with today’s society. It modifies some things to fit modern times. I was confused when I read that it was coming back to the traditional ways. Conservative Judaism is in a way, the blending of orthodox and Reform Judaism. It states that the practices are very important As well as the laws of the Talmud and the torah. It tries to adapt modern things when it is necessary. It talks about an evolutionary process and that, “halachic authority can continue the halachic evolution today.” God is real and therefore, really important.

The brotherhood

"Islam" as peace, People are not thinking of that when they hear info about this religion. The brotherhood is an Islamic organization that helps provide a different religious view of Islam that the media, politicians, and others don’t seem to have. It seems as if the brotherhood is trying to reestablish Islam by educating people. An example is that people should pray. They also teach other religious values. It seems as if their goal is unity. This is what the profit would have wanted. So far, this organization is following Islam. Surah 90 talks about the Ascent, “It is the freeing of a slave, or the feeding, in a day of hunger, of an orphaned near of kin, or a needy man in misery.” This is what the brotherhood is doing in over 20 countries. According to surah90, those who free the slaves, and those who counsel one another, for example, shall be on the right hand. I believe that because of the political things that are going on, soon, the brotherhood will be unable to give out anymore. I fear that the world will be dominated by the people who are in power and who don’t care about the poor. I think that over time, this organization will disintegrate little by little. They will be seen as an organization that helped.
I was really bothered by a headline that was mentioned in an article. "Let the Workers Eat Cake," blared a headline on the front page of the April 30 edition of Al Akhbar, a Lebanese daily newspaper allied with the Shiite. Although some groups are “winning”, in the end, everyone is going to suffer the consequences of their actions. We should follow closely what is happening in the Middle East. By now, it should be clear that bible prophesies are becoming reality. From the first one up to now, people did not believe that the bible was truth although all the prophesies have become true so far. There is more to come, and we should be prepared. Always keep searching for the truth.

about religion

I will try to answer a few questions about Religion in general. Also, there are some terms that I will try to explain because they are not in English.
Religion is a term that refers to an organized system which attempts to explain things, answer questions, or come to a conclusion about a myth or idea. Further more, it tries to put that which cannot be seen together with the things that people could perceive with the five senses, and it is based on tradition.

For example, Buddhism and Hinduism for they provide a path for people to follow. In Hinduism, MOKSHA is the liberation from Samsara Which means flowing together. Samsara is a wheel. Better yet, it is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. MOKSHA is a way to be one with god.

In Buddhism, the 4 Noble Truths provide a way for the Buddhists to be at peace. Dukkha, which could be translated to unsatisfactory, tells us that nothing remains forever. The second one is tanha which means a thirst or craving for something. nirvana Is the third one. It means to extinguish. Learning not to crave or be thirsty for material things is the object. Getting rid of unsatisfactory things is a goal. What I got from the text is that we must extinguish these things. The last one is the Eightfold Path Which has to do with being in a good moral behavior, don’t harm others, understand others, understand the teachings known as darma, and being in the right state of mind. In other words, The Eightfold Path consists of Sila, Prajna, and Samadhi.

Religion’s role in human life is to lead people to some kind of spiritual awareness, and it also tries to guide people on how to live. An example of this would be Christianity for it gives guidelines to become a better person. These are known as the 10 commandments which were given to Moses by Jehovah. Judaism is another example which has certain things that they need to do to be closer to god. This is known as Halakha, Which could mean “the path" or "the way of walking." Halakha encompasses religious and non religious laws. Something similar is in Islam, and it is known as the shariah law which means the way or path to the water source.

Places, Things, or practices can be considered religious. People can recognize this if a place has been widely known to hold some type of meeting to discuss or preach spiritual things. In some cases, but not necessarily, people are able to know if a place is religious by the title that has been given to it. Titles include: mosques for Muslims, temples for Buddhists and Hindus, churches for Christians, or some other sacred place or space.

A thing can be recognized as something religious if people are wearing it or have it in their possession , if it is an accepted item by a group of people or by an organization, and if it has some historical significance.

An example is the cross for Catholics. It is important because that was where Jesus was put to death. It represents the pain that Jesus had to go through. Another example is the Koran because it is the complete message of god, according to Islam. Islam also says that other holy books such as the bible have been corrupted or altered making them the incomplete word of god. The Koran was dictated to Muhammad over 23 years. According to him, the angel Gabriel came to him and told him to write down what he was going to be told.
According to Islam, Muhammad is the profit of Allah

A practice can be considered religious if it is done frequently. Also, it must have to do with something that a person can connect or be in touch with. For example, people could be connected with a higher being or with a person’s own spirit. A practice could be done alone ore with a group of people.

An example of a practice is prayer which is a way of communicating with a higher being. It could be done alone or with other people. Other examples include sacrifice. This involves killing an animal so people could be right with god. Chanting is a way to invoke a spirit. People could have a contact with one if they are concentrated.

Review of the book of Mark.

This review was written on April ninth, 2008.
Review of the Gosple of Mark
The gospel of mark is about Jesus and his three year ministry. Jesus is the son of a carpenter whose name is Joseph and a virgin by the name of Mary. He was born in a stable in the city of Jerusalem in Bethlehem. He is the main character in this book. His 12 disciples are also important. One of them, does something that later comes to haunt him. I feel that Jesus as well as the 12 disciples want to save the world. There objective is that everyone could have eternal life and declare that Jesus is the son of god. However, they will find themselves tempted.
The book of mark starts by talking about Jesus and how the lord sent him to earth as a messenger. The gospel also says that Jesus will prepare the way. It moves on to talk about John the Baptist being in the wilderness eating locusts. He was also baptizing people in the Jordan river. When Jesus came to john, John baptized him. Then Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, and he was tempted by Satan.
After this had happened, he began to select the men who were to become his disciples. Some of these men were Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Simon and Andrew were brothers, they were also fishermen. Jesus told them to follow him, and he would make them fishers of men. James and John were also brothers, and they were helping their father when Jesus found them. Later, Jesus began to cure people and to cast out demons. Jesus had enemies in a very short time. They were the Pharisees and the scribes. At one point, they said that he was doing the works of Ba‘al Zebûb which is another name for Satan. They did not like him because he did not follow there laws. They also tempt him. For examples, Jesus went to parts of Dalmanutha on a ship. The Pharisees wanted a sign from heaven. Jesus understood what they were trying to do and sighed deeply in his spirit. Then, he said, “Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this
generation. Jesus always spoke in parables to the ones who did not believe in him. However, he made the parables known to his disciples. As Jesus and his disciples were going to the towns of Caesarea and Philippi, the master asked his disciples What did men thought of him. Who did they think he was. The disciples answered by saying that some of them thought that he was John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and Others say that Jesus was a profit. Then, he asked them who was he. Peter said that he was the Christ. After some time, Jesus wanted to know what were the disciples talking about, but they were silent. Because Jesus already knew, he told them that he who considers himself the first should be the last and should be a servant to the others.
The last hours of Jesus in this world were very sad. After staying in the garden of Gethsemane which was in the Mount of Olives, he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot one of his apostles. After this, he was arrested and tried for sedition. Then, he was sentenced to be crucified as Barabbas who was a criminal, was freed. It was a custom for them to do that every year during the Passover feast. After Jesus had received a crown of thorns, they took him to Golgotha where he was insulted, mocked, and where they also offered him vinegar to drink when he said that he was thirsty. Within a few hours, Jesus died. Judas Iscariot had killed himself after he knew that what he did was wrong.
This book clearly demonstrated that Jesus was not liked. It still amazes me that people cannot see. Furthermore, Because of this book and others, I learned that spiritual or mental blindness is worse than physical blindness because people are not able to understand simple concepts.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

I will review four stories from the book “Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.” by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki.
This is a collection of 101 zen stories
These stories have to do with Buddhism. There are different characters in each story. These stories have a thing in common and that is to teach. In these stories, the characters want to achieve or have achieved enlightenment. They want this because they want to end their problems. Some are in the process of succeeding. Others, it seems have felled to achieve this enlightenment. I have numbered these stories, so you could find them later. I will provide the web address at the of the review.
67. What Are You Doing! What Are You Saying!
There was a master whose name was Mu-nan. He had only one successor, and his name was Shoju. As they were talking before a brazier, Mu-nan wanted his successor to take over and also to take a book with him. This book was important because in it were all the writings of other masters. Also, it was handed over from master to master. As Shoju took it, he through it into the flames. The teacher asked, “What are you doing!” Shoju asked his master, “What are you saying!” It seems that after so many years of being a teacher, the older man did not learn one of the most important things. This is that In Buddhism, material things should not be important. I agree with that. The Things that someone says should not always come from a book, but they should come from someone’s hart. Furthermore, it is possible that people will get much more from a person’s hart than from a book.
82. Nothing Exists
Yamaoka Tesshu was a young student of Zen. He believed that nothing existed. After studying with different people he called Dokuon of Shokoku. As he told Dokuon of Shokoku what he had learned, MR. Shokoku was smoking when suddenly he hit the young student and asked him where did that anger come from.
First of all, I wonder where did the student learn that nothing existed? Also, why would he think that he had reached enlightenment? This is taking something to the extreme. If I am not wrong, the first Buddha did this and it did not work. This story makes me think of the middle way. I also think that this story could expand a person’s mind. for example, Lets take the young man of this story. From now on, he will be more careful, and he will ask questions if he did not used to do it.
83. true friends
This story is about two friends. one who would play the harp and sing, and the other would listen. This happened until the listener got sick and died. The harp player cut the strings from his harp and never played again. Talk about selflessness! What I got out of this story was that this harp player was devastated. It seems as if he wanted to honor his friend by doing something big. That something was not playing again. Today, many people are not willing to go to that extreme if they were to experience something like that. I believe that a little is too much these days.
87. Three Kinds of Disciples
A Zen master named Gettan, used to say: "There are three kinds of disciples: those who impart Zen to others, those who maintain the temples and shrines, and then there are the rice bags and the clothes-hangers." Another person whose name was Gasan thought the same thing. In this story he says that his teacher used to beat him. Because this teacher was so severe, some students would quit. Gasan then said, “A poor disciple utilizes a teacher's influence. A fair disciple admires a teacher's kindness. A good disciple grows strong under a teacher's discipline.” I used to have a teacher in high school. Although she never hit me, she was really bad when it came to helping out students. I had to stay in the class until she left. This experience made me stronger as a person. I have learned that people could learn from bad experiences. I don't know how this is a Buddhist text but this story reminds me of the first Buddha. He experienced bad weather, and he did not quit. He went through so much, and he learned a lot. I would have to say that these stories make a person think. They could change a person, and he or she could start to be more loving, caring, and many other things. This could lead to people helping one another. I would say that if people started to do this, more people would make their dreams become a reality. I was just reminded of what a person told me a few years ago." read whatever you find even if it is something not interesting. This person has changed his mind since then, and I never took his advice. I always check the title of things, and I read the first few pages. If I don't like what I am reading, I stop doing it.
These stories could have been better if they could have been expanded a bit. I did not like the fact that they were very short. If this would not have happened, I would not be asking myself questions. Also, My comments would had been much better. I would definitely recommend this book to others because it is inspiring.
Go to,
www.101zenstories.com

Review of "The Chosen", a novel.

The Chosen is a book written by Chaim Potok. It takes place in Williamsburg Brooklyn New York in the year of 1945.
The book is written in the first person. It starts by a person talking about a boy named Danny, And describing his community which according to him, it is largely Hasidic. He also talks about the school he goes to, which he calls a yeshiva and how it is different from other schools. He attends a parochial school, and here is Where he is exposed to courses in Hebrew and English. I was becoming aware that the person who was telling the story, was Jewish by some language that he was using. I found out that he was an orthodox Jew.
Then, the book moves on to where the unknown character and other people are talking about a game that they are going to have with another team. The character plays for a Softball teem. A boy by the name of Davey Cantor warns the narrator that the members of the other team are murderers. The character Does not believe this, and he thinks that this game is going to be easy as he is seeing how the other team is practicing.
As the game starts to progress, there seems to be some kind of hatred between the two teams. It was not the typical hatred that teams have towards each other. They hated each other because the two teams believe in two ways of Judaism. For example, The narrator’s team is referred as the apikorsim which are the “secular Jews.” and the other team is referred to as the Hasidim. The differences are that the Hasidim believe that Hebrew is a holy language and should not be used to teach classes.
This hatred between the teams reminds me of the different groups that are there in Judaism. They disagree with one another. I believe that some of these things are very small. For example, the traditions. Some jews, will follow traditions, but they do not believe in god.
the Hasidim seem to follow their customs. They are dressed in a specific kind of uniform. The apikorsim are a group that are dressed casually and speak English instead of Yiddish which is a mixture of German and Hebrew.
At this point, I was introduced to some of the characters. The person who was telling the story is a 15 year old boy named Reuven Malter. Also, there was Danny Saunders whom also is 15 years old, and who is a boy from the Hasidic team. Furthermore, he was the boy whom Danny had introduced earlier. Davey Cantor, is Reuven’s team mate as well as his classmate. When he finds out that Danny and Reuven are friends, he does not approve.
During the game, Danny hit Reuven with a ball breaking his glasses and bringing Reuven to the ground. Reuven had to be taken immediately to the hospital. It is mister Galanter his softball coach, that is with him when he is admitted into the hospital. Already in a hospital room after two doctors check his eyes, Reuven finds out that he has a glass in his left eye.
In the eye ward, Reuven meets Tony Savo, and he is referred to as mister Savo whom also has one bad eye. He also meets a boy by the name of Billy. He later discovers that Billy is blind. These two people, help Reuven feel a bit at ease. It seems as if when one of the two people is speaking about their lives, Reuven’s problems are small in comparison.
I felt as if Reuven as well as mister Savo, were a bit scared to interact with the boy. This could be because they were afraid to say something wrong that could hurt him. I think that because of this, Reuven starts getting worried about his own condition. He wonders how it would be to be blind. At times, he seems to be depressed.
One day, Danny goes to visit him, but he throws him out. After Reuven tells the story to his father, whose name is David Malter, and whom he calls aba, he says that it was not nice what he did, and he should listen to what the boy has to say. When Danny goes for the second time, Reuven apologizes. After a few minutes of talking, Danny explains to Reuven that he wanted to kill him, and he was very sorry for trying to do that. During the next few visits, they are already calling each other by there first names. Also, it seems that a friendship is starting to blossom.
During his stay at the hospital, I learned that Reuven’s father is a teacher. I also learned that Reuven likes math and although his dad wants him to become a mathematician, he wants to become a rabbi. Danny on the other hand, is a Hasidic Jew, and he does not seem too happy with the way his life is going. One of the sad things about this story, is when Danny reveals to Reuven that he does not speak to his dad except for when they are studying the Talmud. Danny is someone who wants to do something else, but he cannot because of the rules that he has to follow. He has to become a Rabbi although he wants to be a psychologist. Because He gets board of reading the Talmud, He spends his time in the library. This is where he meets a man and he recommends different books to the boy. Because Danny has a photographic memory, he is able to read many books, and he is also able to understand them very well. Later, I find that the man whom Danny had been talking to is Reuven’s father. As Reuven begins to recuperate, the hatred that the two boys had for each other starts to fade away.
A few days later, after Reuven is out the hospital, Danny’s father is introduced. He is a leader in the Hasidic community. Some Jews followed him after he made possible a trip to the US which took them out the country they were living in. He is pleased that Danny and Reuven are friends, but disapproves of the work that mister Malter is doing.
There were a few things that I liked about this book. One of them is that the descriptions were very good. Also, the book gives background information about almost all the characters which allows the reader to understand each character very well. This background information also answers some of the questions that the readers might have about the actions of a character.
I am able to identify my self with two characters. The first one is Billy because he is blind. As a blind person, I believe that the character known as Billy was portrayed very well. He asked a lot of questions which I believe was a good thing. Although this is a fictional story, which took place over 60 years ago, It still reflects how people feel today about blind people. I felt bad for him because he did not know what people thought of him or how people were looking at him. Another character that I identified myself with was Danny. I felt as if he was forced to do something he did not want to. A lot of people, who work with people with disabilities, want them to do a specific task. The person has no say on the choice because by the time he or she has reached the point that he or she could make decisions, they already have been brainwashed and have been given too much medication to stop the person from moving forward. Another thing that I have in common with Danny is that like him, I am also interested in psychology. I felt as if danny needed his dad to talk. This would have been good for him. I also feel the same way that Danny felt when he did not talk to his dad, very alone. Almost at the end of the story, Reuven’s father asks Danny If and when he has children, is he going to treat them the same way that his father treated him. Danny tells him that probably he will.
Unfortunately, we have a cicle. I was able to tell that although danny will finally become what he always wanted, He did not learn the most important thing.
This book was made into a movie which I have not seen. I hope it is as good as the book is.
I would have liked it if Reuven would had kept in contact with billy. It is sad that he only made one attempt after he got out of the hospital. I believe that this friendship would have benefited both of them. Reuven would had learned that there are more important things than seeing. He would have been able to understand things much better. For billy, Reuven could have been his best friend. It was very important for Reuven to be there for Billy. He could have given him strength, and He would had become Billy’s eyes.
I would definitely recommend this book. By the end of this book, the reader will have a greater appreciation for the small things in life and he or she will have a better understanding of the Jewish religion