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The parts where it goes from 'seriously trying to follow the precepts of my religion' to 'rules lawyering' to me is the stuff like the eruv that encircles most

by rtkwe 6y ago

The parts where it goes from 'seriously trying to follow the precepts of my religion' to 'rules lawyering' to me is the stuff like the eruv that encircles most of Manhattan [0] extending the 'private' zone where jews are allowed to carry things on the Sabbath or the decision that you can keep food warm in an oven so long as you take it all out at once so the additional burning that takes place after you open the door (your actions changing the functioning of the machine) is wasted and therefor unintentional (similar to the Sabbath mode on elevators). [0] https://www.npr.org/2019/05/13/721551785/a-fishing-line-encircles-manhattan-protecting-sanctity-of-sabbath https://www.npr.org/2019/05/13/721551785/a-fishing-line-enci...

pugio 6y ago
Both of the cases you mention are still 'seriously trying to follow the precepts' (for many Jews, at least). A lot of (Orthodox) Jews seem to have this idea that an Eruv is this big wink-wink-nod-nod loophole which blatantly circumvents a biblical prohibition through somewhat arbitrary (ie. Lacking in essential religious meaning) legal gymnastics. This is not the case. An Eruv is actually a beautiful example of the halakhic (translate: "Jewish law") process working as it's supposed to. Its implementation combines sharp hermeneutics with a sensitivity to the needs of real communities and a strong understanding of the meta-halakhic principles which drive the entire process I'm not really sure if a sub- comment on HN is the right place to expand on this, but I'm happy to discuss it via some other medium.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  > I'm not really sure if a sub- comment on HN is the right place to expand on this, but I'm happy to discuss it via some other medium. I'm interested in subscribing to whatever that turns out to be.
  - pmiller2 6y ago
    You know, I realize it's karmic suicide and fairly gauche to complain about downvotes on HN, but who the hell downvotes this? Seriously, people. Who? Edit after 1 hour: Maybe the same people who downvote this? lol You know, when a legitimate and curiosity-motivated request for information such as the parent of this comment is downvoted, you know there's a problem with the forum.

by rtkwe 6y ago

pugio 6y ago

Both of the cases you mention are still 'seriously trying to follow the precepts' (for many Jews, at least). A lot of (Orthodox) Jews seem to have this idea that an Eruv is this big wink-wink-nod-nod loophole which blatantly circumvents a biblical prohibition through somewhat arbitrary (ie. Lacking in essential religious meaning) legal gymnastics. This is not the case. An Eruv is actually a beautiful example of the halakhic (translate: "Jewish law") process working as it's supposed to. Its implementation combines sharp hermeneutics with a sensitivity to the needs of real communities and a strong understanding of the meta-halakhic principles which drive the entire process I'm not really sure if a sub- comment on HN is the right place to expand on this, but I'm happy to discuss it via some other medium.

pmiller2 6y ago
> I'm not really sure if a sub- comment on HN is the right place to expand on this, but I'm happy to discuss it via some other medium. I'm interested in subscribing to whatever that turns out to be.
- pmiller2 6y ago
  You know, I realize it's karmic suicide and fairly gauche to complain about downvotes on HN, but who the hell downvotes this? Seriously, people. Who? Edit after 1 hour: Maybe the same people who downvote this? lol You know, when a legitimate and curiosity-motivated request for information such as the parent of this comment is downvoted, you know there's a problem with the forum.