Forgive me

Autumn is a busy time for the Jews holiday-wise. Just as you've managed to put away the apples and honey of Rosh Hashana, it is time to concentrate in Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is often considered the most important holiday in Judaism, even for those who are not that religious. Yom Kippur lasts only for 25 hours, and it is about atonement: confessing your sins and asking for forgiveness.

I kind of like the idea of Yom Kippur. It could be called the day of the year when you come clean, both spiritually and literally.You keep your body clean by fasting for the duration of Yom Kippur, it is a tradition to wear white (= the color of purity), and you atone your sins between yourself and G-d. What is noteworthy is that sins committed against another person are not cleared ”automatically”: this you need to take separately with the person in question, before Yom Kippur.

(www.messiahmandate.org)

Comparing to Lutheranism, the religious context I pretty much have grown up in, I can't recall any particular time or day when forgiveness particularly is asked for. In fact, Lutheranism is based on the assumption and attitude built in every Lutheran that you are sinful and unclean no matter what you do. The cardinal sin is within us and no matter what you try to do, it is up to G-d's forgiveness to see the good in us. This is actually quite a gloomy take on things. Every day of the year a Lutheran carries this sin, acknowledging the fact of impurity, imperfection and unworthiness. Mix that with the coldness and darkness of the North, and you've got a road paved to depression and suicide. Sounds much like Finland, actually!

In the Roman Catholic church, there is a custom of confessing your sins to a priest every now and then. You can do it anonymously in a booth, the priest listens to you and gives you the recipe for purging yourself from these sins. 10 times Ave Maria and so forth. And I probably don't have to point out all the money the Catholic church has made with this sin business over the years. Uh.

Therefore, I think the Jewish way is kind of a fair and reasonable way of looking at the imperfection that lies within all of us. Instead of feeling guilty of your faults every day with ”no way out” like Lutherans, or buying and bargaining yourself clean whenever you feel like it like the Catholics, there's a period each year in which you rightfully are allowed and even expected to purge yourself from sins and wrong-doings. It is timed right after the new Jewish year has started, making perfect sense to have a fresh start. And most importantly, the earthy wrong-doings you don't settle with G-d but with the people, showing you need to have the morals and guts not to leave it all up to G-d, but actually act on your own mistakes already in this world to get them right.

Nomen est omen

The Latin proverb that got the honor of serving as this post's header is something I sometimes believe in. The name is an omen. The RMS Titanic sank – after all it was named after the gods that were overthrown by a better race in Greek mythology. Titanic nor the Titans lasted to see the future. Or what about the Finnish football team called Atlantis? Needless to say, they declared bankruptcy and nowadays have disappeared and are never to be found, much like their more famous namesake island.

Jewish names, both first names and family names are a very interesting topic for anyone interested in etymology and history. This is where the nerdy part of this post begins, so stop reading unless you really are interested :). There is the most obvious source for first names: Biblical writings. Abraham, Jacob, Adam, Noah, Ruth, Sarah, Deborah... All familiar names even to the Christians. On a more general note, nearly all names that have an ending -el can be traced back to the Hebrew language: Daniel, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael... Other common first names used by the Israelis or Jews have a more simple explanation in the Hebrew language.

There is a superstition in Judaism (especially among the Ashkenazim) that you must not name a child after a living relative. The Angel of Death might confuse these two persons carrying the same name – and accidentally grab the new-born from here to eternity. And by the way, how is a Jewish naming ceremony of a baby since there is no baptism or Christening? For boys it is at the brit milah ceremony (circumcision, at the age of 8 days) and for girls at a ceremony in a synagogue.

There is a trend among the Jews returning to Israel that they change their change or translate their last name of more foreign origin into Hebrew. Sometimes the Hebraization of the name is very literal: Abrahamovich (the -ovich/-owicz/-owitz ending meaning “son of” in Slavic regions) becomes Ben Avraham. The famous Israel Prime Minister David Ben Gurion chose a more of a free styling change for his name: Gryn became Ben Gurion. Some chose a more thorough road and abandoned their old name altogether, and started using e.g. Ben-Artzi, meaning “son of my land”.

(Mind you, a similar trend aspired in Finland during the 1800s when independence was still a dream – but a desire for a Finnish nation lived among the people. Many people with a Swedish last name changed or translated their last name according to whatever circumstances the family had. Even I would be called Eriksson nowadays if there hadn't been a switch by my great-great-grandfather.)

Many of the Ashkenazi Jews have a very German-sounding last name. Only three family names are of pure Jewish origin to begin with (Cohen, Levi and Israel). But as most did not have a family name but were merely called the son or daughter of someone, the German and Austro-Hungarian empire that in the 1700s imposed the Jews living in the region to adapt a last name... There are beautiful examples of e.g. Edelstein (“precious stone”), Rosenthal (“rose valley”) to more humble names such as Klein (fine, it means “small” but is associated a big fashion house nowadays) or Fisch (needs no translation). You can't judge a person by their last name though: not all German names mean that the person is Jewish. The Sepharic Jews had, by the way, adopted the use of family names much earlier.

Those going through conversion to Judaism usually adapt a Hebrew name for themselves. Traditionally, males pick Abraham and females Sarah. These names are favored because Abraham is quoted in the holy book to be “the father of a multitute of nations” (= hence, he can be the father of a convert having a totally non-Jewish background) and Sarah was his wife. Not everyone goes with the flow, of course. Madonna is known as Esther, and Marilyn Monroe never revealed which Hebrew name the Rabbi gave her from the Bible. My first name would not need much Hebraization: change one letter and there you have it...

This post is merely a scratch on the surface of the interesting world of names. If you're interested to learn more, dig in at behindthename.com, for example.

Hey there heresy!

It has been a bit over a month now since my resignition from the church was handled and made official. Life as a pagan has not been all that different.

What are the practical differences in my life right now?

1. I can't become a godmother to anyone anymore. But those two blessed children that I already have been assigned to, will keep receiving my material godmotherly guidance going forward.

2. I can't get married in a church. Unless my future spouse is a member. Doubt it.

3. I will save somewhat 400€ next year on church taxes. Yay, cash - book a flight where to?

4. My mailbox isn't filled with the church newspaper anymore on every Wednesday. Wonderful, this should save at least one tree per year!

5. I won't have the right to vote in the church elections. Uh, and never did...

To be honest with you, being a well-brought-up G-d-fearing Lutheran girl, I did let my mind wander... Does this make me a bad person? Will G-d hate me now? Shall I go to hell? How can I go to a church to a friend's wedding now?

All these thoughts were utter bullsh*t. Yesterday alone, 296 Finnish people made the same decision as I did and resigned. I don't feel any different now. Not being a member of the church doesn't stop me from e.g....

"treat others as one would like others to treat oneself"

or living up to any other values that by common sense are considered good. Ugh, the Nordic pagan shiksa has spoken and will go on to celebrate Yule with her family and loved-one while wearing a hamsa around her neck. Hold the ham, though.

Meet me at the synagogue

A couple of weeks ago I visited inside a synagogue for the first time. Even though I have seen a couple of them in Israel (peeked inside one of them) and walked by the one in Helsinki, I never had actually been inside any synagogue before.

The name synagogue comes from the Greek word  "sinagogi" which means to get together or assemble. Compared to Christian churches, synagogues often are quite modest or normal-looking buildings and do not necessarily feature any religious symbols on the outside. No bell towers, high rooftops, crosses (or in this case Star of David) are necessarily visible. But the synagogue is full of interesting little details, if you know where and what to look!

The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam dates back to 1675 and was built for the Sephardi Jews who migrated to the North from Spain and Portugal because of the inquisitions. It is actually the center of a bigger complex: the synagogue is surrounded by buildings (that include e.g. a library, treasure chambers, a gift shop:) and forms an inner court together with them.

There was no service - or no one else inside for that matter when I entered the synagogue. The inside is quite modest with wooden floors and benches, but there are beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. No wonder that thousands of candles are burnt here every year. The candles weren't lit this time, but one of the chandeliers has ner tamid (the eternal flame) burning - just like in the Temple of Jerusalem back in the day.

Women's balcony on the left, supported by the columns. Eternal flame is burning opposite the Herchal (the Ark in the back wall).

As any Orthodox Jewish synagogue, there is a separate seating section (up on the balconies) for women with own entrance. One of the Ionic columns supporting the balconies is slightly fractured - a deliberate imperfection that is placed in all synagogues in the memory of the destruction of the Temple. The separate seating arrangement for the different sexes is somewhat unfamiliar to me - but I have once seen a similar setup in a Christian church, too.

Ladies only!

The buildings around the synagogue include many interesting places, and some of them are protected by the Dutch law as they are considered the country's heritage. Like for instance, the treasure chambers...

The collection also includes valuable cloths and fabrics in addition to these beautiful silver objects.

And for the first time, I saw in real life a mikveh (or more familiarly in English known as a bath) that is used for ritual cleansing in Judaism. For converts, it also resembles the final stage of the conversion process when the person walks in the water and immerses, re-born, as a Jew.

The Portuguese Synagogue forms an interesting historic, Jewish cultural sight in Amsterdam. Not only is it possible to visit the synagogue itself, the surrounding lower buildings add a little extra to the experience. I have not listed everything here, so go have a closer look yourself if you have the chance and see all the things this complex has to offer...

The apple fell far from the tree

I have always lived under the impression that since Christianity is a ”spin-off” from Judaism, there must be some underlying similarities between these two religions. Something that binds together, something fundamentally shared. In reality, it is actually a lot easier to list differences between these two religions than find similarities. Basically, Judaism is based on what Christians call the Old Testament, while Christians have built their their belief, for the most, on the guy called Jesus or Christos, Ancient Greek for ”the anointed”.

Let's take traditional, religious festivities. The Jewish celebrations and holidays honor the stories of Israelites: Passover, Sukkot, Hanukkah. Yom Kippur is also stated in the Old Testament, and neither Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) nor Purim can be found in the Christian calendar. Needless to say, Christmas and Easter - Christian holidays that commemorate the life of Jesus - mean nothing to the Jews in return. And I don't blame them. I've read before that these two holidays were originally pagan anyway, and ”disguised” in the Christian faith by the Roman Catholic Church in order to convert more pagans. Easter was an old fertility festivity (Eggs, fertility? Coincidence?) to the goddess known as Eostre (=Easter). Christmas was an old celebration for winter solstice. But Passover, for example, is accounted in the Bible and most likely the Last Supper of Jesus was a seder dinner, too.

dorinny.com

That is perhaps where the whole difference culminates. Whereas Christianity is about G-d and his alleged son, for Jews Jesus was a mere false prophet. It is interesting how Christianity boasts about virgin birth and resurrection, while fellow Jews living during the same times write a totally different story about this man. According to them, Jesus is the result of an adulterous affair between a Jewish mother and a Roman soldier, and he studied black magic in Egypt. You will not find these descriptions in the New Testament.

This brings us to another disagreement between these two religions. Both are considered monotheistic, meaning there is only one G-d. In Christianity, though, the Holy Trinity is taught in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost. According to this, there is just one G-d but is constituted in these three persons. I personally find this hard to believe, as Jesus of Nazareth is proclaimed has a historic person, an individual. Therefore he cannot be an incarnation of one deity, one G-d?

I apologize if I sound negative towards Christianity, but it does seem that many habits in Christianity are artificially made. OK, the divine word is filtered through human beings anyway, so no wonder it has become secular and there's room for error. But it still is absurd to blindly believe that 25^th of December is Jesus' birthday when historians think he was born in September and the Bible itself gives no confirmation on an exact date or month. And especially for the Finns out there: Northern European pagans celebrated ”Yule”, birth of Mithras, the pagan god of the sun, on the shortest day of the year. Yule = joulu. Rest assured, I do not want to deny anyone of the spiritual guidance or comfort they might find in Christian habits and teaching. To me, ”joulu” has been long dead anyway (ever since presents stopped coming ;), and there's just one God, no trinity.

PS. Dear Cousin, if you are reading this, I have discovered new-found respect and interest to the field of study you chose for yourself back in the day. Kudos! :)

Christian Crisis

We have the following saying in Finnish: tieto lisää tuskaa. Freely translated, it means ”knowledge brings agony”. Meaning, the more you know, the more aware you are and the more this might cause you anxiety and worry.

Ever since starting to explore the back shelves of the nearby library for some books on Judaism, WWII etc. I have made some agonizing discoveries. The horrible events of the holocaust are a thing in their own league, but now from another point of view I am personally shocked to read that Martin Luther was antisemitic. Probably, because he was disappointed that Jews didn't accept Jesus as the Messiah. He condemned Jews as a danger to Christians who had found their faith, and wrote the Jews are ”strangers who can be tolerated only to a certain extend in a society”. This kind of writings, from 1530s until his death.

And my country is Lutheran after Martin Luther. And that makes me Lutheran as well. Why didn't anyone mention this man's hostile take on the ”mother religion” and the Jewish people before? Sure, if these were just some random texts written over 500 years ago and on theoretical level studied in universities only, it might not be that bad. But Hitler himself and the Nazis justified their actions based on Luther's – a fellow German by the way – writings. This was less than 100 years ago! Luther was a source of inspiration for a genocide.

Fine, even if Martin Luther had antisemitic thoughts, it doesn't make all Lutherans antisemitic. But to me personally it is a disturbing fact to know that I officially in this country's books (and my tax statement) support an institution based on this man's legacy. Has the time come to reconsider what I really get out of my church anymore anyway? My last ray of hope was to get a church wedding one day – but even that seems to have gone down the drain, so what's keeping me there?

albanbooks.com

Little did he know who would be inspired by his writings later on...

The great conversion

What do Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Banks have in common? Yes, they have all made a career on the silver screen but also have converted to Judaism. In most of these cases it was because of love.

I'm Lutheran, just as I was baptised 20+ years ago. I see my family over Christmas for dinner and to spend some time together, but that's pretty much it. I don't go to church, read the Bible or light candles at home. At my college job, I used to fight for Sunday shifts to get double pay. So you could call me a typical habitual Christian in Finland, just like roughly 77% of the population.

Would I ever consider converting to Judaism then, like the leading Hollywood ladies mentioned before? The thought crossed my mind, sure, even though my Jewish boyfriend isn't a religious fanatic. He has never asked me to convert, which means he accepts me the way I am and doesn't want to change me. That's nice to know. So if I did ever convert, it would be out of my own free will to do so.

Taking it to a deeper level, converting to Judaism isn't a just a picnic. I believe if you consider joining a religion, out of respect you should go all the way. Not to be a ”fair-weather Jew”. I should abandon things I take for granted (like doing household chores on Saturdays or having a cheeseburger every now and then). Abandoning my ”former” life and Christian habits would mean that another door for new holidays and way of life would open up. However, since I'm not religious now, I don't see myself being respectfully religious if converting. Sorry, but following all the 613 commandments would be too hard for me, I'm too human for that.

One could argue back that not all Jews themselves keep kosher or Shabbat. Different movements in Judaism or different individuals observe the rules and laws differently. This leaves me wondering if it is alright for a convert to have their cake and eat it too? After all, if religion is something private and personal between you and G-d - why not do it your own way? The way I've learnt to understand it, though, is that if you're not born a Jew, you need to go a really long extra mile to become one and to be considered as one. :)

(toptenz.net)

 Elizabeth Taylor, or Elisheba Rachel, wasn't allowed to enter Egypt in 1962 to finish filming "Cleopatra". The reason given was because she had adopted the Jewish faith and supported the Israeli causes.

Annoying as Neighbor J(ew) Jones

Recently, a columnist wrote in a Finnish newspaper about the growing disagreements between Jews and [choose correct alternative]:

(a) Arabs

(b) Muslims

(c) other Jews.

Yes, I know that (a) and (b) are pretty safe guesses but this time the correct answer is actually (c).

Jerusalem has always been a territory to cause quarrels and heated debates between different people, but now the variety Jewish residents of the city is taking measures to defend their own view on things. A guerilla-defender of the secular views, Noam Pinchasi, wants to preserve the tolerant, multilateral Jerusalem he is familiar with, while the growing population of the extreme Orthodox Jews have other plans for the city.

The Orthodox wish the swipe the city clean of anything they consider sin. In their neighborhoods, you might see traffic signs forbidding men and women walking on the same side of the street. Or the buses headed to those neighborhoods are packed with women – but only sitting in the back of the bus. Swimming pools can't be unisex anymore – men and women are to swim separately. If they catch you doing something they consider sinful, you might see a stone flying at your direction.

Not many secular Jews appreciate these acts and have moved away to avoid confrontation. But Pinchasi is staying in Jerusalem and sticking to his guns: whether it be glueing Botticelli's Birth of Venus posters on synagogue doors or grilling pork meat on shabbat to the annoyance of his new black & white outfitted neighbors. That's why, the columnist nicknames Pinchasi as the Neighbor J. Jones of Jerusalem – the guy-next-door that intentionally ticks off Donald Duck in Duckburg.

cbarks.dk

As if there wasn't enough conflict in the region, it is saddening to hear that the descendants of Abraham don't seem to get along anymore. Usually when a country is at war with external offenders, it unites the people of the country to stand strong for common good – no matter what your background is. What is going on in Jerusalem then? Why to pick a fight with a fellow Jew?

Pork meat and provocative posters may not sound much now, but these could easily be little things that eventually cause a snowball effect to something worse. I am left to wonder, if there is a time-bomb ticking for something bigger happening within the Israeli society? Without wanting to sound too sinister, I hope the government interferes and clears things out before it is too late. I want this for selfish reasons too. Jerusalem is a special city for me, and I hope to enjoy a visit there in the future the same way as I have before.

artinthepicture.com

 Now you know why this blond shiksa might
appear in unexpected places in Jerusalem.

Follow the red thread

Last week I had the pleasure of going to Madonna's MDNA concert here in Helsinki. It was the Queen of Pop's second visit to Finland and this time over 40 000 enthusiats were gathered together to witness yet another spectacle by this American artist who has been in the business for longer than I have lived.

Madonna is long known for being pro-Israel. Her previous Sticky & Sweet tour ended in Tel Aviv and the current MDNA tour kicked off there in May 2012. Mind you, many artists, to their own loss, don't even bother going to Israel. Madonna on the other hand has stated that the country has some uncomprehensible energy to it – and I must agree...

At the Helsinki concert I was lucky enough to be very close to the stage, and paid attention to the red string Madonna was wearing around her wrist (unfortunately my cellphone camera wasn't as accurate, so I can't share a photo with you). All I know is that this string has something to do with Kabbalah, which I don't know much else about, so I decided to try and find out.

kbbala.info

In Judaism, many cosmological questions and areas of mysticism are left up for personal intepretation - and this is where Kabbalah comes in. Kabbalah is applied to a whole range of Jewish mystical activity and its main focus is to observe G-d's essence on a deeper level – not on what G-d wants from man (i.e.the laws, which quite strongly are present in some movements). More generically speaking, it is a method for studying the spiritual world by other means than physics or other concrete sciences.

Many sources also refer to the common misintrepretations of Kabbalah. It has nothing to do with ”the dark side” or reading Tarot cards - although there is some magic into it, as the story of Golem would suggest. And, uhhh... I must stop writing here because I have lost my red string thread with Kabbalah and what it is.

OK, so the above paragraphs are derived from various sources and at this point I stopped exhausting google.com. There doesn't seem to be any clear, spell-it-out-for-me explanation easily available. Maybe for a reason: dummies, don't bother – so perhaps I should take the hint :). But I won't be too hard on my-shiksa-self, as traditionally Kabbalah is taught only to those above 40 years of age and only after finishing their studies in Torah and Talmud. I am quite far from meeting either of those demands...