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Tribe of Dan | Northern Kingdom of Israel | Northern Kingdom of Israel
However, on the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the House of David to re-form a Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom. |
Tribe of Dan | Assyrian conquest and demise | Assyrian conquest and demise
As part of the Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Dan was conquered by the Assyrians and many in the tribe were exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. Some of the territory's inhabitants fled south into the Kingdom of Judah, gradually assimilating into the kingdom's Israelite population. |
Tribe of Dan | Claims of descent from Dan | Claims of descent from Dan
A 15th-century Latin chronicle, "Chronicon Holsatiae vetus", found in Gottfried Leibniz's Accessiones historicae (1698), states the Danes were of the Tribe of Dan.Quoted in Sharon Turner's "History of the Anglo-Saxons" vol.I., 1799–1805, p. 130 and Suhm: Critisk Historie af Danmark, Vol. 1 (1774), p. 175 The antiquarian Henry Spelman in 1620 had made a similar claim that the Danes were the Israelite Tribe of Dan, based on the apparent similarity in name. Additionally, proponents of Nordic and British Israelism have made similar claims about descent from the tribe of Dan. British Israelite authors such as John Cox Gawler and J. H. Allen identified the Tribe of Dan with Denmark.J. H. Allen, Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright, 1902, p. 263–64; John Cox Gawler's Dan, the pioneer of Israel (1880) While another prominent British Israelite author, Edward Hine, took the view that the tribe of Dan had colonized Denmark and Ulster in Ireland.Edward Hine, The English Nation Identified with the Lost House of Israel by Twenty-Seven Identifications, (Manchester: Heywood, 1870), p. v; Life From The Dead, 1874, Vol. I, pp. 327-328.
Some of the Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, claim descent from the Tribe of Dan, whose members migrated south along with members of the tribes of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, into the Kingdom of Kush, now Ethiopia and Sudan,"From tragedy to triumph: the politics behind the rescue of Ethiopian Jewry", Mitchell Geoffrey Bard. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. , . p. 2 during the destruction of the First Temple. This position is supported by former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef."Ideology, policy, and practice: education for immigrants and minorities in Israel today", Devorah Kalekin-Fishman. Springer, 2004. , . p. 274 They are said to have fought with the natives."The image of the Black in Jewish culture: a history of the other", Abraham Melamed. Psychology Press, 2003. , . p. 153 |
Tribe of Dan | Characteristics | Characteristics
The primary characteristic of the tribe of Dan was seafaring.Mediterranean archaeology, Volume 16. University of Sydney. Dept. of Archaeology. 2003. p. 117 In the Song of Deborah the tribe is said to have stayed on their ships with their belongings."The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times", Raphael Patai. Princeton University Press, 1999. , . p. 59"King, cult, and calendar in ancient Israel: collected studies", Shemaryahu Talmon. BRILL, 1986. , . p. 97"Women in scripture: a dictionary of named and unnamed women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books, and the New Testament", Carol L. Meyers, Toni Craven, Ross Shepard Kraemer. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2001. , . p. 270 |
Tribe of Dan | Iconography | Iconography
thumb|The scales of justice emblem of the tribe of Dan.
Modern artists use the "scales of justice" to represent the Tribe of Dan due to referencing Dan "shall achieve justice for his kindred". More traditional artists use a snake to represent Dan, based upon Genesis 49:17, "Let Dan be a serpent by the roadside, a horned viper by the path, That bites the horse's heel, so that the rider tumbles backward." |
Tribe of Dan | Book of Revelation | Book of Revelation
Revelation 7:4–8 prophecies that people from the twelve tribes of Israel will be marked on the forehead with the seal of God. The list does not mention the tribe of Dan, although it was included among the twelve tribes described as having settled in the Promised Land in the book of Joshua. It has been suggested by some biblical scholars that this omission could be a punishment for pagan practices conducted by the tribe."The uttermost part of the earth: a guide to places in the Bible", Richard R. Losch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2005. , . p. 83 This led Irenaeus,Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter XXX, paragraph 2 Hippolytus of Rome and some Millennialists to propose that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan."Understanding Dan: an exegetical study of a biblical city, tribe and ancestor", Mark W. Bartusch. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003. , . p. 4"The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology", Jerry L. Walls. Oxford University Press, 2010. , . p. 371 |
Tribe of Dan | See also | See also
Book of Judges
British Israelism
Dan (biblical figure)
Denyen
Ten Lost Tribes |
Tribe of Dan | References | References |
Tribe of Dan | External links | External links
Dan, Tribe of
Category:Denyen |
Tribe of Dan | Table of Content | Short description, Biblical narrative, Conquest and territory, United Monarchy, Northern Kingdom of Israel, Assyrian conquest and demise, Claims of descent from Dan, Characteristics, Iconography, Book of Revelation, See also, References, External links |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Short description | The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), literally translated as National Confederation of Democratic Trade Unions, also known as Minju-nochong (; an acronym for "KCTU" in Korean), is a national trade union centre in South Korea officially established in 1995. Its predecessor was the National Council of Trade Unions (NCTU), established in 1990 as an independent, democratically operated alternative to the Federation of Korean Trade Unions.
Following the 2016–17 South Korean protests (Candlelight Demonstrations), the KCTU has seen accelerated growth in union enrollment, reaching 1,134,056 members in 2020 and making it the second largest industrial union confederation in Korea. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | History | History
After the liberation from Japanese rule in 1945, and Park Chung Hee's subsequent coup d'état in 1961, there existed only one legal trade union federation in Korea, the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU). Park's regime was truly authoritarian, and suppressed the activities of all political and business leaders it deemed corrupt. Park restructured the unions, permitting only those he and his regime regarded as "loyal" to their cause.
As a result, for almost two decades under the military regime of President Park, the FKTU was substantially weakened and subordinated to the repressive state, as well as the family-owned conglomerates or Chaebol, which dominated and monopolized the industries in South Korea and expanded incessantly with government help. As a result, the labor movement became very fragmented. It continued to operate through localized unions, such as the miners, textile workers, anti-government activists, and various Catholic groups.
By the 1990s, with the demise of the military regimes, the Chaebol groups began to reassert themselves with the introduction of automation production processes, decentralized factory location of production sites, and began to relocate production to overseas, which worsened the situation for organised labour. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Gaining strength and support | Gaining strength and support
To sever the relationship from the FKTU, whom many regarded as a government proxy for their subordination to the military regimes, various national federations of the chaebol-based unions emerged, including the Kia and Hyundai Group, as well as regional unions, such as the Masan and Changwon Unions Association. In the public sector, the National Teachers Union was formed in 1989, to counter the perceived authoritarian nature of education in Korea.
However, many trade unions felt the need to consolidate and overcome the fractured nature of the trade unions at the national level. As a result, they formed a national organization, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in 1995. Subsequently, their membership increased from 861 unions and 391 000 members in December 1995 to 896 unions and 490,000 members in December 1996. The KCTU had become a formidable force, regarding themselves as an indispensable "check" to the power of the state, employers, and the FKTU. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Rise of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Rise of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions
Despite the internal struggles and factionalism of KCTU, their methods were nonetheless highly effective. In the early 1990s, there was a shift from domestic growth to national competitiveness: one of the major economic policies of Korea became "growth first, and distribution later." The KCTU regarded this as detrimental to the interests of the workers, and adopted the counter-policy of "strike first, bargain later." Korean workers used strikes as a weapon to seek political change, better working conditions, and for higher wages.
In 1996, a significant event occurred that catapulted the KCTU to both the national and world stage. The New Korea Party, led by President Kim Young Sam, unilaterally passed and amended labor laws without the presence of the opposition party in the middle of the night, in a six-minute session. In essence, the amended laws made it significantly easier for the employers to lay off the workers at will. The amended laws did not allow federal unions at either the local or the national level. This made the 500,000 member KCTU illegal. It was not legally recognized until 2002. These provisions prompted the KCTU to successfully mobilize 150,000 Korean workers and FKTU leaders, who previously displayed a pro-government propensity, to strike together.
As a result of the government's decision to amend labor laws, President Kim Young Sam and his administration were censured by the OECD for their failure to honor the reforms which were promised to the people of South Korea, and for displaying "backwardness" with respect to labor-law reform. International organisations, including the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and International Metal Workers Unions both criticized and condemned the actions of the Korean government.
The foreign union representatives held joint news conferences with Korean unions, closely observed the strikes, and held various demonstrations outside Korean diplomatic missions abroad. Despite the overwhelming rebuke from the international community, the South Korean government chose to adhere to their initial decision and even threatened to arrest the strikers. It has been estimated that the three weeks' strikes cost $3.4 billion in lost production.
President Kim Young Sam, recognizing the growing popular support for the KCTU, decided to revise the laws and to meet with opposition leaders. In March 1997, parliament passed a more diluted version of the labor laws and the President's chief economic adviser, who was the proponent of the earlier laws, was fired along with other advisers. Finally, during a meeting with the opposition leaders, President Kim stated that the KCTU would be legalized. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Conflicting results of the January 1997 strike | Conflicting results of the January 1997 strike
The results of the January strike varied. Ostensibly, the strike was of historic significance - it was extremely well managed and organized on a national level, and achieved lasting legal reform. It was successful in both political and economic terms. But more importantly, for the first time, labor had emerged as a leading social force in South Korea. The KCTU obtained their long-sought recognition by the government. Furthermore, they were granted the right to form multiple unions at the industry level (although they were prevented from forming unions amongst the teachers and public servants).
Conversely, many people believed that the revised law was very deficient in its substance. For example, the employers still retained their right to lay off workers at their discretion, after only a two-year deferment. The "no work, no pay" rule and no payment to full-time union leaders was still applicable in the revised laws, including the flexible workday policy in an effort to reduce wages. Hence, the employers were able to strengthen their power while the workers lost protection from lay-offs and the job security they sought so desperately. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Limitations of the KCTU | Limitations of the KCTU
1997 was a devastating year for both the people of South Korea and the country when an economic crisis happened. By November 1997, many conglomerates including Hanbo, as well as several chaebol groups, were bankrupt. In addition, numerous banks became insolvent. In spite of both the Bank of Korea and the government's effort to curtail the economic turmoil, the exchange rate and the stock market went into a free-fall. Korea was in danger of defaulting on its foreign debt obligations. On December 3, 1997, the International Monetary Fund decided to give its largest ever bailout package to South Korea, consisting of $57 billion. Included in the package, various harsh conditions were attached.
The IMF demanded stringent requirements. In addition to restructuring its financial and corporate sectors, Korea was to "liberalize" its markets - it needed to open up its markets in such a way that would benefit the foreign investors. In an effort to secure the jobs of the workers, KCTU implemented a nationwide signature campaign for the guarantee of jobs for workers and sought to punish the people responsible for the devastating economic crisis. Moreover, they organized approximately 30,000 people at a rally and demanded political reforms and sought protection from the impending arbitrary layoffs, hence the General Strike of 1997. The General Strike was supported by the blue collar and white collar workers, including the financial sector and clerical workers.
The strike was also supported by the general population, and despite the state control of the media, the Internet acted as a conduit in providing real time information to the outside world, for the first time. Despite the efforts of the KCTU in organizing the General Strike, the results were very disappointing. Whether it was imposed by the IMF or by the government, the bailout requirements gave significant discretion to the chaebol with respect to laying off the workers. Moreover, those upper and mid-level workers who had failed to unionise in fear of losing their jobs, were caught completely off guard. The economic crisis also compelled the government to enact laws without seeking the input from the unions, exacerbating the ongoing conflicts. As a result of the mandated restructure by the IMF, labor disputes inevitably escalated from 78 in 1997, to 129 in 1998. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | 2013 police raid | 2013 police raid
On 22 December 2013, hundreds of riot police raided the KCTU's headquarters in Seoul injuring hundreds. Six senior KCTU leaders were arrested for supporting a national railway strike which the government declared "illegal". According to the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Transport Workers’ Federation: "The government of South Korea and its anti-union behaviour is again in the spotlight of the international community. Its actions run contrary to its obligations to the ILO and also the labour standards in trade agreements with the US and the EU. Further, the government is failing to fulfill its original commitment to the OECD, upon accession, to respect international labour standards."Korean Police Attack KCTU Headquarters |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | 2024 martial law | 2024 martial law
When president Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to declare martial law the KCTU called for a general strike to reverse the declaration of martial law and impeach the president. Following shortly after this call to action the KCTU further called for an indefinite general strike until Yoon stepped down. The union further stated that "The KCTU’s general strike will mark the beginning of ending inequality and polarization, paving the way for a new era of labor respect. Through this resignation strike, let us move toward a new society where labor rights and public welfare are guaranteed."https://www.businesskorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=231032 |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Factions | Factions
There are three main factions of KCTU: the Nationalists(국민파), the Centralists(중앙파), and the Activists(현장파). The Nationalist faction inherited the student group tendency "National Liberation (NL)" in the 1980s that advocated leftist nationalism. The Nationalists is generally favorable to Democratic Party of Korea and Progressive Party, and is strong among construction workers.
The Centralists inherited the student group tendency "People's Democracy (PD)" in the 1980s that advocated marxism-leninism. However, it now has a social democratic tendency, and mostly centre-left positioning. It is favorable to Justice Party. The Centralist faction's main support base is chemical workers.
The Activists is an ultra-left faction that advocates revolutionary socialism and Trotskyism. Although it has a small number of members internally, it has strong influence on KCTU general. It mainly supports the Labor Party, and its support base is transportation workers.
The exact number of members of the three major factions cannot be estimated, but Korean media outlets analyze that the Nationalist is the largest faction with a 60% share of the total. Next are the centralists with 30% and the activists with 10%.
After the 2020 KCTU leadership election, the Nationalists was divided into the Social Agreement faction(사회적 합의주의) and the National Conference faction(전국회의). The Social Agreement faction, lead by former KCTU leader Kim Myeong-hwan, is a right-wing faction that is favorable to the Democratic Party and values class compromise. By contrast, the National Conference faction is a socialist left-wing faction that supports the Progressive Party and emphasizes traditional class struggle. The National Conference faction has been leading the KCTU since winning decisive victories in leadership elections, which held in 2020 and 2023. The current KCTU leader, Yang Kyung-soo, is also from the National Conference faction. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Other activities | Other activities
The KCTU is a labor union with a prominent leftist tendency and has traditionally supported the labor movement of foreign workers living in South Korea. In 2001, a labor union of only foreign workers under the KCTU was formed, which is said to be the first in South Korean history. As of 2022, the KCTU has spoken on the issue of human rights violations against foreign workers.
On 29 May 2024, the National Democratic General Labor Union, a member of the Confederation of Trade Unions, the approved the creation of the Native Teachers' Union, a union for foreign teachers teaching their native language in public and private schools around the country, as well as in universities. The Teachers' Union claimed 200 members and three regional branches (Seoul, Busan, and Chungcheong) at the time of launch.http://www.ilban.co.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=kglu3&wr_id=12
During the 2024 South Korean martial law declaration, the KCTU called for a general strike to reverse the declaration of martial law and impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Criticism | Criticism
Within three years of its existence, KCTU managed significant achievements, including legally recognized by the government and gained substantial national prominence. With more than half a million members and its ability to mobilize tens of thousands of workers at any given time, KCTU was now a legitimate force that could not be ignored. Nevertheless, voices of discontent within the union were growing.
On January 14, 1998, the Labor Management Government Tripartite Council was formed, as mandated by the IMF. It was a concerted effort on all three parties to equally "share" the pain and suffering associated with the economic crisis. As a part of the "share" of the union, KCTU leadership conceded the redundancy layoffs in the case of emergency affecting the companies, something that the union members had consistently rejected. And consequently, the union members of the KCTU voted out the leadership who they deemed were responsible for the grave mistake and elected a hard liner, Lee Kap-Yong as their new president.
In response to the economic crisis, KCTU membership levels had also declined. It fell by 9 per cent or 40,783 members, between January and October 1998. To mitigate further layoffs by the employers, KCTU affiliates have engaged in strike action at the Hyundai Motor Company in August and September 1998. Although the company had intended to layoff 1500 employees, as the result of more than a month of stoppage during which some union members went on hunger strikes and national support was given by other trade unions, Hyundai was compelled to reduce the numbers being laid off to 277. But nevertheless, they could not prevent the membership of KCTU from declining.
One of the more important dynamics of labor has been left in obscurity thus far, the treatment of the female workforce in Korea. In this respect, all trade unions including, KCTU were criticized in unison for their lack of interest of the female workers. Their failure to address the concerns of harsh working conditions and numerous labor rights violations are extremely unfortunate and incomprehensible. KCTU was also criticized for being indifferent to the issue of employment of the disabled and for not showing efforts to improve the equal working rights of the disabled.
The trade unions in South Korea had been historically repressed by their governments for almost five decades. From the creation of the First Republic of Korea, from President Syngman Rhee and subsequent military generals who ruled for the next thirty years, all suppressed the unions and deliberately dishonored the constitution of the country, for the sake of the "progress" of the nation. However, with the inception of KCTU in 1995, South Korea and its people began to see a glimpse of hope. They in essence, profoundly changed the dynamics of the relationship between the capitalists, state, and the workers. KCTU, from its meager start successfully solidified themselves as an indispensable partner with respect to the workers’ rights of Korea.
From an illegal entity, they were invited by their government to be a "partner" in the national decision-making process. Stated differently, they were recognized as a formidable force that could no longer be ignored. The culmination of their status came during the presidential election of 1997, when KCTU now the second largest union, nominated Kwon Young-Gil, as the fifth presidential candidate of South Korea.
Despite their achievements, they had their share of deficiencies that included internal fragmentation, decline in their memberships, and the neglect of female workforce in Korea. Therefore, although KCTU had elevated the political and social status of organized labor, ironically, they were impelled to accept various labor changes that would ultimately harm and hinder the worker's positions in Korea. |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | See also | See also
Trade unions in South Korea
Working hours in South Korea
Democratic Labor Party (South Korea)
Korean Government Employees' Union
History:
1996–1997 strikes in South Korea |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | References | References |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | External links | External links
KCTU Website
Category:National trade union centers of South Korea
Category:ICFTU Asia and Pacific Regional Organisation
Category:Trade unions established in 1995
Category:1995 establishments in South Korea
Category:Immigration political advocacy groups in South Korea
Category:Organizations based in Seoul
Category:Progressivism in South Korea |
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions | Table of Content | Short description, History, Gaining strength and support, Rise of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Conflicting results of the January 1997 strike, Limitations of the KCTU, 2013 police raid, 2024 martial law, Factions, Other activities, Criticism, See also, References, External links |
Tribe of Joseph | Short description |
thumb|Synagogue in Bnei Brak with the name of Joseph and his symbol, a sheaf of wheat.
The Tribe of Joseph is one of the Tribes of Israel in biblical tradition. Since the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (often called the "two half-tribes of Joseph") together traditionally constituted the "tribe of Joseph", it was often not listed as one of the tribes, in favour of Ephraim and Manasseh being listed in its place; consequently it was often termed the House of Joseph, to avoid the use of the term tribe. Even though Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s sons, they were considered heads of two of the twelve tribes of Israel because Joseph’s father, Jacob (renamed in later life by God as “Israel”), adopted Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons (Genesis 48:1-16).
According to the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, the ensign of both the House of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) and the Tribe of Benjamin was of silk of three colours, corresponding with the precious stones in the priestly breastplate, leshem, shəvo, and aḥlamah (amber, agate, and amethyst); and upon it expressed and set forth the names of the three tribes, Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin; having the figure of a young man upon it, with the inscription: "And the Cloud of the LORD was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp." (Numbers 10:34).
There were obvious linguistic differences between at least one portion of Joseph and the other Israelite tribes. At the time when Ephraim were at war with the Israelites of Gilead, under the leadership of Jephthah, the pronunciation of shibboleth as sibboleth was considered sufficient evidence to single out individuals from Ephraim, so that they could be subjected to immediate death by the Israelites of Gilead.
At its height, the territory of Joseph spanned the Jordan River, the eastern portion being almost entirely discontiguous from the western portion, only slightly touching at one corner—northeast of the western portion and southwest of the eastern portion. The western portion was at the centre of Canaan, west of the Jordan, between the Tribe of Issachar on the north, and the Tribe of Benjamin on the south; the region which was later named Samaria (as distinguished from Judea or Galilee) mostly consisted of the western portion of Joseph. The eastern portion of Joseph was the northernmost Israelite group on the east of the Jordan, occupying the land north of the tribe of Gad, extending from the Mahanaim in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, and including within it the whole of Bashan. These territories abounded in water, a precious commodity in Canaan, and the mountainous portions not only afforded protection, but happened to be highly fertile;Hosea 9:13Genesis 49:22Deuteronomy 33:13-16Isaiah 28:1 early centres of Israelite religion—Shechem and Shiloh—were additionally situated in the region. The territory of Joseph was thus one of the most valuable parts of the country, and the House of Joseph became the most dominant group in the united Kingdom of Israel. |
Tribe of Joseph | Origin | Origin
thumb| Moses counting Joseph's kin
According to the Old Testament, the tribe consisted of descendants of Joseph, a son of Jacob and Rachel, from whom it took its name;Genesis 30 however, some Biblical scholars view this also as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. In the Biblical account, Joseph was the brother to Benjamin, the other son of Rachel and Jacob, and the eponym of the Tribe of Benjamin, which was located to the immediate south of the tribe of Joseph.
Though the biblical descriptions of the geographic boundary of the House of Joseph are fairly consistent, the descriptions of the boundaries between Manasseh and Ephraim are not, and each is portrayed as having exclaves within the territory of the other. In the Blessing of Jacob, and elsewhere ascribed by textual scholars to a similar or earlier time period,e.g., Joshua 17:14–18 a single tribe of Joseph appears where passages written later place separate tribes of Ephraim and of Manasseh. From this scholars believe that Joseph was originally considered a single tribe, and only split into Ephraim and Manasseh later.
A number of biblical scholars and archaeologists (most notably William G. Dever) theorize that the Joseph tribes represent a second migration of Israelites to Israel, later than the main tribes; and that it was only the Joseph tribes who were enslaved into Egypt and returned, while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and had remained in Canaan throughout. In the narrative in the Book of Joshua, which concerns the arrival in (and conquest of) Canaan by the Israelites from Egypt, the leader is Joshua, who was a member of the Ephraim tribe.
According to this view, the story of Jacob's visit to Laban to obtain a wife began as a metaphor for the second migration, with Jacob's new family, possessions, and livestock, obtained from Laban, being representations of the new wave of migrants. According to textual scholars, the Jahwist version of the story is notable as having only the Joseph tribes among these migrants, since it recounts only Jacob as having met Rachel, and the matriarchs of the other Israelite tribes—Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah—do not appear.Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (Harper San Francisco) (1987) |
Tribe of Joseph | Fate | Fate
As part of the northern Kingdom of Israel, the territories of Manasseh and Ephraim were conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and the tribe was exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost.
Despite the loss of the additional history of Manasseh and Ephraim, several modern-day groups claim descent from them, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. The Yusufzai tribe (literal translation The Sons of Joseph) of the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, who collectively refer to themselves as the "Bani Israel", have a long tradition connecting them to the exiled Kingdom of Israel. The Samaritans claim that some of their adherents are descended from these tribes, and many Persian Jews claim to be descendants of Ephraim. Many Samaritans claim descent from the grandchildren of Joseph under four main septs, his grandsons Danfi, Tsedakah, Mafraj and Sarawi.
In Northeast India, the Mizo Jews claim descent from Manasseh and call themselves Bnei Menashe; in 2005 Shlomo Amar, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, announced that he regarded this claim to be true, which under the Law of Return allows them to migrate to Israel as long as they formally convert to Israel's Orthodox form of Judaism. Similar traditions are held by the Telugu Jews in South India, who claim descent from Ephraim and call themselves Bene Ephraim.
Considered less plausible by academic and Jewish authorities are the claims of several western Christian and related group. Some adherents of Messianic Judaism also identify as part of Joseph on the basis that, regardless of any genetic connection which may or may not exist, they observe the Torah and interpret parts of the Bible in certain ways. |
Tribe of Joseph | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that a significant portion of its members are descended from or adopted into the tribe of Ephraim, believing that they are charged with restoring the lost tribes in the latter days, as prophesied by Isaiah. Along with members of the tribe of Judah, members of the tribe of Ephraim are believed to be playing an important leadership roles for covenant Israel in the last days. Members' lineage is declared through patriarchal blessings.
Latter-day Saints also believe that the main groups of the Book of Mormon (Nephites and Lamanites) were part of the tribe of Manasseh. They believe that this would be the fulfilment of part of the blessing of Jacob, where it states that "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall" (Genesis 49:22, interpreting the "wall" as the ocean). The idea being that they were a branch of Israel that was carefully led to another land for their inheritance. |
Tribe of Joseph | See also | See also
Ephraim
Joseph
Manasseh
Yousafzai 'Sons of Yusuf'
House of Joseph (LDS Church)
Gathering of Israel |
Tribe of Joseph | References | References
McConkie, Bruce R, The Millennial Messiah, 1982, Chapter 16.
Joseph, Tribe of
Joseph
Category:Joseph (Genesis)
Category:Gilead |
Tribe of Joseph | Table of Content | Short description, Origin, Fate, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, See also, References |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Short description | The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, often shortened to the Catholic League, is an American Catholic organization whose stated purpose is to "defend the right of Catholics – lay and clergy alike – to participate in American public life without defamation or discrimination." The Catholic League states that it is "motivated by the letter and the spirit of the First Amendment ... to safeguard both the religious freedom rights and the free speech rights of Catholics whenever and wherever they are threatened." According to the Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics, the league "is regarded by many as the preeminent organization representing the views of American lay Catholics."
Founded in 1973 by the Jesuit priest Virgil Blum, the Catholic League was formed to counter discrimination against Catholics in American government and popular culture. The low-profile group initiated public education campaigns and some lawsuits. In 1993 the group became much more aggressive with a new president, the former sociology professor Bill Donohue, who also increased its size to become the largest Catholic advocacy organization in the US. The Catholic League is known for press releases about what it views as anti-Catholic and anti-Christian themes in mass media.
The Catholic League has taken a stand against anything they perceive as anti-Catholic, including the entertainment industry, certain art exhibits, school programs for sex education, government-funded contraception and abortion, media bias, restrictions against anti-abortion activism, and restrictions on religious schools. It publishes a journal, Catalyst, and operates a website.
The league under Donohue's leadership is criticized for its conservatism and for its combative responses to high-profile media stories. Besides education campaigns, the group issues condemnations, initiates boycotts and protests, defends priests against accusations of child sexual abuse, fights proposed legislation and threatens legal action against what it sees as bigotry against Catholics, irreverence against religious figures, and attacks on Catholic dogma. However, the Catholic League stresses that "it does not speak authoritatively for the Church as a whole." |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Organizational overview | Organizational overview |
Catholic League (U.S.) | History | History
The league was founded in Milwaukee on May 12, 1973, by Virgil Blum. Blum served as president of the Catholic League until 1988. John Tierney served as president from October 1990 to 1993. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Bill Donohue | Bill Donohue
Since 1993, the league has been led by its board of directors president, Bill Donohue, who works with a small number of organizational staffers. In a 1999 New York Times article, a reporter said Donohue is pragmatic in regards to religion, "media savvy" and "steers clear of divisive debates on theological doctrines and secular politics". The article said Donohue "fans simmering anger with inflammatory news releases, a Web site and newsletter" with "scathing attacks on the blasphemous and the irreverent". In a 2007 interview, Salon Life staff writer Rebecca Traister discussed Donohue with Frances Kissling, former head of the organization Catholics for Choice, which opposes Catholic teaching on abortion, who characterized Donohue as "abusive", and stated she avoided doing media interviews with him for this reason. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Operations and organization | Operations and organization
The league is organized under a board of directors chaired by Walter Knysz. The league also has board of advisors, consisting of prominent lay Catholics like Brent Bozell, Linda Chavez, Mary Ann Glendon, Alan Keyes, Tom Monaghan, and George Weigel. The league issues a journal, Catalyst, as well as reports, such as Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust, books, brochures and an annual Report on Anti-Catholicism. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Association with the Catholic Church | Association with the Catholic Church
The Catholic League is a lay Catholic organization that is independent of the Catholic Church. However, it is listed in The Official Catholic Directory (see the Miscellaneous section under the Archdiocese of New York). According to a New York Times interviewer, the organization "maintains close ties to the New York Archdiocese leadership. Several bishops make personal donations. John Cardinal O'Connor spoke at the group's 25th anniversary reception in 1998 and vacated part of his suite for its expanding operations, said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York." Timothy Cardinal Dolan spoke at the Catholic League's 50th anniversary celebration on April 27, 2023. The league includes on its website endorsements from many prominent clerics. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Membership | Membership
The New York Times reported that the Catholic League had 11,000 members when Donohue took over the group in 1993. By 1999, membership had grown to 350,000, two-thirds of whom were paying members. This is the last estimate of overall membership that the league made. The league's 2003 statement showed 15,000 members in Nassau and Suffolk counties of New York alone.“The Battle Is Joined Over Bishop Murphy” The New York Times, 3 August 2003 Annual donations entitle members to home delivery of the print version of Catalyst, the group's monthly journal, which is also available for free on the Catholic League's website. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Political alignment | Political alignment
The Catholic League says it is politically neutral, which is mostly required of non-profits. The website states, "The League wishes to be neither left nor right, liberal or conservative, revolutionary or reactionary." Although often characterized as conservative the league has at times been at odds with conservative figures and organizations. For example, they criticized the anti-illegal immigration group, the Minutemen, for opposing a San Diego priest's facilitation of employment for Latino immigrants and for condemning the church as a whole in public statements about the matter."San Diego Minutemen Gin Up Catholic Bashing" Catholic League website, 10 July 2007 The Catholic League also condemned pastor and televangelist John Hagee for what they called "anti-Catholic hate speech" and called upon John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign to renounce this alleged bigotry.
Christian Leftist John Swomley criticized the Catholic League as the "most dangerous of the far-right organizations." Donohue has been called "right-wing" and "a conservative reactionary who wants to undo the work of Vatican II and suppress varying opinions within the Church." |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Activities | Activities |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Joan Osborne | Joan Osborne
In 1996, Donohue took issue with Joan Osborne over her song "One of Us", which explores the question of what it would be like if God were a human being. Donohue questioned the point of the song and brought up her activism calling for support of Rock for Choice and other pro-choice groups stating, "It is no wonder that Joan Osborne instructs her fans to donate their time and money to Planned Parenthood. It is of a piece with her politics and her prejudices. Her songs and videos offer a curious mix of both, the effect of which is to dance awfully close to the line of Catholic baiting."Grammy Nominee Joan Osborne "Relishes" controversy , The Catalyst Vol. 23, No. 3, April 1996 Religious educator Paul Moses stated that Donohue's was a "tortured reading" and he saw Osborne as having "the Catholic imagination" with the song "awakening ... spiritual hunger". Osborne said, in a letter to fans, that "the church's attitudes toward women and gays make the pope look far more ridiculous than any pop song could" and that she did not write the song, which "speaks of the pope only with respect."Paul Moses "'One Of Us' - dad listens to daughter - religion and Joan Osborne's hit pop record". Commonweal. June 14, 1996. FindArticles.com. 11 December 2007. Donohue also admitted that he was treating the issue in a "kind of a prophylactic approach" because "cultures are changed as a result of patterns." |
Catholic League (U.S.) | ''Nothing Sacred'' | Nothing Sacred
In 1997, Donohue declared the ABC show Nothing Sacred as deeply offensive to Catholicism, although not anti-Catholic in the traditional sense.Nothing Sacred Episode Guide Donohue, William Catholic League's 1997 Report on Anti-Catholicism , Catholic League, 1997 Calling for a boycott, he stated that the show portrayed Catholics with a traditional view as cold or cruel while glorifying more the maverick, irreverent voices in the community. However, the show was defended by some Catholics and had been written with the consultation of Jesuits, from which it later won the Humanitas Prize. Many Catholics agreed with him that the show was hostile to the beliefs and values of the Catholic Church, and ABC canceled Nothing Sacred after less than a season, reportedly for poor ratings. Observers think Donohue may have played a significant role in the show's rapid demise as advertisers often become leery of shows deemed "controversial".Top 100 Catholics of the century, Daily Catholic, Vol. 10, No. 164, August 31, 1999Seal, Cynthia Hollywood's treatment of Catholicism , San Francisco Faith, November 1997 With regard to the controversy, Henry Herx, director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Office of Film and Broadcast (successor to the National Legion of Decency), emphasized that the Catholic League is not an official agency of the church.Despite boycott, 'Sacred' draws Catholic applause - ABC-TV series 'Nothing Sacred' National Catholic Reporter, Oct 10, 1997 by John Allen |
Catholic League (U.S.) | ''Dogma'' | Dogma
The year 1999 saw the release of Kevin Smith's controversial film Dogma. Smith was a practicing Catholic, as Kevin Smith confirmed in an interview on the film's DVD. Several religious groups, especially the Catholic League, said the film was anti-Catholic and blasphemous, and organized protests, including one that took place at the October 4 premiere of the film at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Smith said that several of the protests occurred before the film was even finished, suggesting that the protests were more about media attention for the groups than for whatever was controversial about the film.Penhollow, Steve Director Kevin Smith calls himself a devout Catholic and says his latest comedy, Dogma, is "pro-faith, pro-Catholic, spiritually uplifting." , The Journal Gazette The Catholic League's main complaints were that the film's main character is supposedly a descendant of Mary, who happens to work in an abortion clinic, which were seen as ironic conventions for a Catholic. The film's distributor, Miramax, removed its name from the production, and hired attorney Dan Petrocelli to defend it publicly. Petrocelli accused Donohue of trying to stir a violent reaction to the film. Donohue responded by taking out an op-ed ad in the New York Times on September 12, 1999, quoting attempts by Petrocelli and Smith to stifle his free speech.
According to Smith, "[Donohue] actually invited me out to have a beer after making my life hell for six months."Croft & Reiter, The Fix , Salon.com Jan. 23, 2004 |
Catholic League (U.S.) | ''The Passion of the Christ'' | The Passion of the Christ
Donohue is a staunch defender of Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. On the December 8, 2004, broadcast of Scarborough Country, he stated: "Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not afraid to say it. That's why they hate this movie. It's about Jesus Christ, and it's about truth. It's about the Messiah.""'Scarborough Country' for Dec. 8", Transcript for 10 p.m. ET show updated 12/9/2004 10:48:12 AM ET. Retrieved 2012-12-12.
In Donohue's book, Secular Sabotage: How Liberals Are Destroying Religion and Culture in America, he responded to what he believed was a misrepresentation of his comments via taking them out of context. For example, in that same interview, he said the following: "You have got secular Jews. You have got a lot of ex-Catholic priests who hate the Catholic Church, wacko Protestants in the same group." Later in the debate, in that same segment of the interview, he said, "There are secularists from every ethnic and religious stock," emphasizing that when people talk about Hollywood, they are "talking mostly about secular Jews."
In his book, Donohue also wrote the following: "The Forward, a Jewish weekly, published an editorial in 2004 saying it was merely a 'sociological observation' to note that 'Jews run Hollywood.' The newspaper quite rightly said that to say 'the Jews run Hollywood' is an entirely different matter, one that smacks of anti-Semitism. So it concluded that 'No, 'the Jews' don't run Hollywood. But Jews do, just as Koreans predominate in New York dry-cleaning and blacks rule in basketball.'" |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Bush holiday cards | Bush holiday cards
After US President George W. Bush used the term "Holidays" instead of "Christmas" on the White House 2005 Christmas cards, Donohue stated "The Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and ... they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture."Davis, Matthew Lines drawn in battle over Christmas, BBC News, December 10, 2005 |
Catholic League (U.S.) | John Edwards campaign staffers | John Edwards campaign staffers
Donohue demanded that John Edwards fire two of his presidential campaign staffers in February 2007, charging that they were "anti-Catholic, vulgar, trash-talking bigots." He cited a blog written by Amanda Marcotte regarding the church's opposition to birth control, saying it forces women "to bear more tithing Catholics". He also cited another posting called "Pope and Fascists". Donohue also objected to one of the staffers describing President Bush's "wingnut Christofacist base".
Donohue called the statements "incendiary" and "inflammatory", saying, "It's scurrilous and has no place being part of someone's resume who's going to work for a potential presidential contender." On February 8, John Edwards addressed the writings of the staffers, Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, saying "that kind of intolerant language will not be permitted from anyone on my campaign, whether it's intended as satire, humor or anything else." Donohue insisted that Edwards fire the pair immediately.
After the complaints, Marcotte wrote, "The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal where God is viewed as so powerful he can impregnate without befouling himself by touching a woman, and women are nothing but vessels." After Marcotte parted with the campaign, Donohue stated, "It is not enough that one foul-mouthed anti-Christian bigot, Amanda Marcotte, has quit. Melissa McEwan must go as well. Either Edwards shows her the door or she bolts on her own. There is no third choice – the Catholic League will see to it that this issue won't go away." He continued, "The Edwards campaign is in total disarray and the meltdown will continue unless McEwan is removed from his staff. The fact that Marcotte had to quit suggests that Edwards doesn't have the guts to do what is morally right." McEwan resigned on February 13, 2007, citing the hostility of the Catholic League and emails threatening rape and murder. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Kathy Griffin | Kathy Griffin
On September 8, 2007, Kathy Griffin won her first Emmy for season two of reality show Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List. Griffin stirred up controversy with her acceptance speech, saying that "a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus. He didn't help me a bit." She went on to hold up her Emmy and say, "Suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now!"
Her remarks were quickly condemned by Donohue, who urged the TV academy to "denounce Griffin's obscene and blasphemous comment." After the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences decided to censor Griffin's remark, Donohue said, "The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences reacted responsibly to our criticism of Kathy Griffin's verbal assault on 85 percent of the US population. The ball is now in Griffin's court. The self-described 'complete militant atheist' needs to make a swift and unequivocal apology to Christians. If she does, she will get this issue behind her. If she does not, she will be remembered as a foul-mouthed bigot for the rest of her life."
In a statement issued by her publicist, Griffin responded to the denouncement by the Catholic League with a question: "Am I the only Catholic left with a sense of humor?" |
Catholic League (U.S.) | ''The Golden Compass'' | The Golden Compass
As part of a two-month protest campaign, Donohue called for a boycott of the film The Golden Compass, believing that while the religious elements of the film would be "watered down" from the source novels, the film would still encourage children to read the series, which Donohue says "denigrates Christianity" and promotes "atheism for kids", citing author Philip Pullman as saying that he is "trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief." Donohue hopes that "the film [will fail] to meet box office expectations and that [Pullman's] books attract few buyers." The call for a boycott resulted in action by some Catholic groups in the US and Canada, and a Catholic school board in Ontario has ordered the source novel removed from its library shelves. Pullman has since said that the books do not have a religious agenda, saying of Donohue's call for a boycott, "Why don't we trust readers? Why don't we trust filmgoers? Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world." Pullman described the Catholic League as "a tiny, unrepresentative organisation," suggesting that "the only person Bill Donohue represents is himself."
A lay person who reviews movies for the bishops' conference gave the movie high marks, but after the protest by the Catholic League, the bishops ordered this review to be withdrawn.
Other evangelical groups, such as The Christian Film and Television Commission, adopted a "wait-and-see" approach to the film before deciding upon any action, as did the Roman Catholic Church in Britain.
Some commentators indicated that they believed the criticism would prove ultimately impotent and that the negative publicity would prove a boon for the film's box office.
According to Donohue, this prediction proved to be false. The movie did so poorly at the box office, Donohue says, that Pullman decided not to go forward with the sequels and blamed Donohue for his decision.
Donohue's position on this controversy was spelled out in a 31-page booklet, "The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked". It details his objections to what he said were Pullman's anti-Catholic comments, his books, and the movie.Donohue, Bill "The Golden Compass: Agenda Unmasked" 2007, Catholic League website |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Eucharist incident | Eucharist incident
In July 2008, a controversy arose surrounding a Communion rite altercation involving Webster Cook, a student and member of the University of Central Florida (UCF) student senate. Cook attended a Catholic Mass on campus and was given the Eucharist but walked out without consuming it. This action was allegedly related to his protest of the use of public funds for organized worship in the student union hall. According to Donohue, Cook's actions were a form of desecration of the sacrament. Cook was proposed for censure by the student senate and was criticized by local media. He also received numerous death threats.
On his blog Pharyngula, biologist and University of Minnesota Morris (UMM) professor PZ Myers publicly expressed support for Cook as well as outrage that Fox News appeared to be inciting readers to cause further problems for the student. Myers invited readers to acquire some consecrated Eucharistic Hosts, which he described as "crackers", for him to treat "with profound disrespect."
The Catholic League accused Myers of anti-Catholic bigotry and asked UMM and the Minnesota State Legislature to take action against Myers. Myers then also received threats and hate mail. The Catholic League also called for Cook to be expelled from the university, with Donohue describing his confiscation of the Eucharist as a hate crime as well as a form of kidnapping. Donohue also accused those who supported Cook of anti-Catholic bigotry, and sent a letter to the UCF asking them to take legal action against Cook. A week after the initial communion Cook apologized and returned the Host. The Catholic League, however, continued to lobby the university for his expulsion. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Boycott of Roger Smith Hotel | Boycott of Roger Smith Hotel
In March 2007, a sculpture created by the Italian-Canadian artist Cosimo Cavallaro was to be displayed at Manhattan's Roger Smith Hotel. The sculpture, entitled "My Sweet Lord", was of a crucified Christ, nude, in molded chocolate. Although the artist is a practicing Catholic, Bill Donohue decried the work as "hate speech", "garbage", and "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever," describing Cavallaro as a "loser artist" and telling him in a television interview on Anderson Cooper 360, "You're lucky I'm not like the Taliban, because you would lose more than your head."
Under the leadership of Donohue, the Catholic League organized a boycott of the hotel aimed at forcing it to remove the statue. The hotel's management stating that the protests "brought to our attention the unintended reaction of you and other conscientious friends", eventually agreed to the league's calls, prompting the curator of the gallery, Matt Semler, to resign in protest. Semler said the six-foot sculpture was the victim of "a strong-arming from people who haven't seen the show, seen what we're doing. They jumped to conclusions completely contrary to our intentions." |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Church child sex abuse issue | Church child sex abuse issue
Donohue said, in October 2009, that the Catholic Church has a "homosexual", not a "pedophilia", problem, citing the John Jay Report.The Advocate: Donohue: Gay Adoption Against Nature. October 16, 2009. The Catholic League has blamed the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), for having "hired, hidden, defended, enabled, ignored and concealed the crimes of child molesters." The Catholic League defended attacking SNAP on the grounds that they were "a menace to the Catholic Church."
In a November 18, 2009, Politics Daily column about Smith's research, David Gibson reported that sexual identity should be "separated from the problem of sexual abuse," according to criminologist Margaret Smith. Smith said, "we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and an increased likelihood of sexual abuse." Nevertheless, Donohue says that this is a homosexual problem in the Catholic Church and not a pedophile one.
Donohue has been asked to respond to Smith's position many times. He argues that "if the acts were of a homosexual nature, and we know they were, it does not matter what the self-perception of the victimizers were." |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Irish Child Abuse Commission | Irish Child Abuse Commission
On May 20, 2009, Reuters reported the results of a nine-year investigation by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, which looked into decades of endemic sexual abuse against children in Catholic-run reform schools in Ireland. In reaction to this report, popularly known as the Ryan Report, Donohue issued a statement downplaying the seriousness of the cases, questioning the inclusion of voyeurism and "inappropriate sexual talk" as instances of sexual abuse along with the more serious charge of rape. Donohue said that rape constituted only 12 percent of the listed sexual abuse cases in the Ryan report, and that priests committed only 12 percent of the listed rapes – the other 88 percent were committed by laypersons and religious brothers.
Since the Ryan Report was released, Donohue has been defending the church and saying that much of the outrage is "moral hysteria". While stating that he agrees that rape and physical abuse are wrong and that he would not defend those actions, he says the report has conflated these abuses with "lesser" forms of punishment and is therefore not as serious. He also says many of the purported forms of abuse found by the commission were present and acceptable in the time period.
The Irish politician and child rape victim Colm O'Gorman was highly critical of such statements made by Donohue on the Irish radio show The Last Word. O'Gorman later wrote that Donohue's analysis was shockingly "simplistic". |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home | Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home
In 2014, in the face of a public pressure campaign calling for the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters in Ireland, Bill Donohue began his own campaign to challenge the prevailing narrative, going so far as to author a special report on the subject. Donohue largely dismissed the critics as being motivated by politics or liking "to bash the Church." Donohue took exception with the findings presented by Catherine Corless, who he described as "an amateur historian." Donohue and Corless debated on Irish radio, and he wrote extensively challenging her work and her credentials. Additionally, Donohue found flaws with how the media portrayed the mass graves found at the Mother and Baby Home, claiming that "the statement issued by the Mother and Baby Commission was disturbing, but it never mentioned anything about a mass grave." From 2014 to 2017, Donohue issued two special reports and numerous pieces exploring why he believed this story was evidence of anti-Catholicism. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Harry Knox and the White House faith-based office | Harry Knox and the White House faith-based office
When President Barack Obama named gay activistVitello, Paul, "A 'Marine' for Catholics Sees a Time of Battle", The New York Times, May 15, 2009. Retrieved 2011-07-15. Harry Knox to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships in 2009, Donohue termed Knox "an anti-Catholic bigot who has called the pope a liar." |
Catholic League (U.S.) | David Wojnarowicz and National Portrait Gallery | David Wojnarowicz and National Portrait Gallery
In November 2010, a portion of a video by the late artist David Wojnarowicz, which was included in an exhibit focused on gay-themed art, "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture"
at the National Portrait Gallery, was removed after complaints from the
Catholic League. Columnist Frank Rich said of the intervention and removal that the Smithsonian had been "bullied by bigots" and quoted the Los Angeles Times art critic, Christopher Knight, to the same effect.Rich, Frank, "Gay Bashing at the Smithsonian", Op-ed, The New York Times, December 11, 2010 (December 12, 2010 p. WK8 NY ed.). Retrieved 2010-12-12. Tracing the evolution of the issue, Rich cited a piece by Kriston Capps which in turn said "the role of Penny Starr remains hazy. [However, a]...reporter and conservative advocate, [Starr] deserves much credit for both instigating" the negative attention to the piece of art amongst a number in the show.Capps, Kriston, "A Fire in Her Belly: Penny Starr, the Conservative Activist Who Punked the Smithsonian", WashingtonCityPaper.com, Dec. 8, 2010, 5:41 pm ET.
Donohue's central complaint was the content of the "vile video", as he called it. He objected to the video because it showed "large ants eating away at Jesus on a crucifix," and was hosted in a museum funded by taxpayers. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Mortara case | Mortara case
Responding to David Kertzer's book and Alfred Uhry's play about the Mortara case, in which a Jewish boy was kidnapped on the order of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, the Catholic League charged: "Whether it's based on fact or fiction, or whether it’s portrayed on the stage or on the screen, the Catholic bashers are a busy lot these days. They are as good at twisting the facts as they are at developing fictional accounts. Truth doesn’t matter. What matters is results."
What Donohue said was as follows.Why was Mortara baptized in the first place? Because the servant girl thought he was dying and was in need of salvation. Why was he taken from his family? Because it was the considered judgment of the Church at the time that a baptized Christian could not be raised in a Jewish home. He had to be removed lest the Church be party to apostasy. The validity of Baptism was also being tested. And so what happened to this poor kid? As he grew up he developed a father-son relationship with Pope Pius IX. He even became a priest. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | ''Walt's Disenchanted Kingdom'' | Walt's Disenchanted Kingdom
In January 2023, the Catholic League released Walt's Disenchanted Kingdom. This documentary recounts the cultural shift at Disney. The film was written and directed by Jason Killian Meath. Bill Donohue served as the executive producer. It is hosted by Mercedes Schlapp and features interviews with Donohue, Tony Perkins, Ben Carson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Miranda Devine, Brent Bozell, David Horowitz, and Christian Toto. The film was initially released to SalemNow, YouTube, Rumble, and Amazon Prime Video.
Walt's Disenchanted Kingdom has been aired at several film festivals, including the Indie Short Fest where it won technical awards for "best editing" and "best sound editing" along with an Outstanding Achievement Award. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Los Angeles Dodgers | Los Angeles Dodgers
When the Los Angeles Dodgers planned their annual Pride Night in 2023, they invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a charity group of gay men who dress up as nuns to bring attention to sexual intolerance and gender. The team received backlash from the Catholic League, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Catholic Vote. Catholic League president Bill Donohue sent a letter to commissioner Rob Manfred comparing the group's performances to blackface. The Dodgers subsequently disinvited the group, likely owing to the large Catholic population of the city. KNBC reported that "the Dodgers pulled the Sisters from their Pride Night the day after Bill Donohue, president and CEO of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, had emailed Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to urge the team to yank the group."
In response, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the ACLU, County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, State Senator Scott Wiener, and the Sisters called for the group to be reinvited, and the LGBT Center and LA Pride backed out of Pride Night. The nearby Los Angeles Angels even promised to invite the group to their Pride Night instead. However, the Dodgers reversed their decision on May 22, 2023, and announced the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were once again welcome at the event. The group accepted the team's apology.
Following the decision to reinvite the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Catholic League called for a boycott of the Dodgers' Pride Night. The Catholic League took out 50 radio ads on KABC and contacted many prominent stakeholders in Los Angeles. These efforts purportedly helped contribute to a dip in attendance for the game against the San Francisco Giants. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Criticism | Criticism
In 1997, David Carlin of Commonweal criticized Donohue and the Catholic League for being overly sensitive in the identification of anti-Catholicism."Donohue's crusade: tilting at the wrong windmill - Catholic League for Religious and Civil Liberties head William A. Donohue" column by David R. Carlin, Jr., Commonweal, May 23, 1997 In 1999, the Jesuit priest James Martin, the associate editor of the Catholic magazine America wrote "Often their criticism is right on target, but frequently they speak without seeing or experiencing what they are critiquing, and that undercuts their credibility. Unfortunately, that type of response gives people the idea that the Catholic Church is unreflective." Andrew Ferguson argued that Donohue was doing the cause of anti-Catholicism a service by his overly aggressive tactics, arguing, "The Catholic League president is doing more to discredit the Catholic church than perhaps anyone else.".
Donohue responded to Ferguson in his book, The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse: Clarifying the Facts and the Causes. He criticized Ferguson for citing the Pennsylvania grand jury report of 2018 as though it was authoritative. In fact, none of what is in a grand-jury report should be assumed to be factual.
Former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz knows better:
“The grand jury has a specific function. It’s supposed to only indict or not indict. Indeed, prosecutors generally don’t issue reports for that reason because they only hear one side of the case. They don’t hear the other side. There’s no cross examination of witnesses. That’s why it is regarded as wrong for prosecutors to issue reports.”
It is precisely because grand-jury reports are not factual that the Catholic League filed an amicus brief challenging the right of the Pennsylvania grand-jury report to make public the names of eleven priests who claimed that doing so would violate their reputational rights as guaranteed by the state constitution. On December 3, 2018, our case, handled by Pittsburgh lawyers from Jones Day, won: the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in our favor. In November 2019, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court task force, which had been empaneled two years earlier, vindicated our effort: it recommended abolishing grand-jury reports. |
Catholic League (U.S.) | See also | See also
Anti-clericalism
Alliance Defending Freedom |
Catholic League (U.S.) | References | References |
Catholic League (U.S.) | External links | External links
Category:1973 establishments in the United States
Category:Anti-Catholicism in the United States
Category:Catholic advocacy groups
Category:Catholic Church in the United States
Category:Catholicism-related controversies
Category:Christian organizations established in 1973
Category:Civil liberties advocacy groups in the United States
Category:Conservative organizations in the United States |
Catholic League (U.S.) | Table of Content | Short description, Organizational overview, History, Bill Donohue, Operations and organization, Association with the Catholic Church, Membership, Political alignment, Activities, Joan Osborne, ''Nothing Sacred'', ''Dogma'', ''The Passion of the Christ'', Bush holiday cards, John Edwards campaign staffers, Kathy Griffin, ''The Golden Compass'', Eucharist incident, Boycott of Roger Smith Hotel, Church child sex abuse issue, Irish Child Abuse Commission, Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home, Harry Knox and the White House faith-based office, David Wojnarowicz and National Portrait Gallery, Mortara case, ''Walt's Disenchanted Kingdom'', Los Angeles Dodgers, Criticism, See also, References, External links |
Madrigal (Trecento) | Short description | The Trecento Madrigal is an Italian musical form of the 14th century. It is quite distinct from the madrigal of the Renaissance and early Baroque, with which it shares only the name. The madrigal of the Trecento flourished ca. 1340–1370 with a short revival near 1400. It was a composition for two (or rarely three) voices, sometimes on a pastoral subject. In its earliest development it was simple construction: Francesco da Barberino in 1300 called it a "raw and chaotic singalong".
The text of the madrigal is divided into three sections: two strophes called terzetti set to the same music and a concluding section called the ritornello usually in a different meter, creating an aaB form. |
Madrigal (Trecento) | History | History
The origins of the madrigal are obscure, and debated, with one school of thought seeing it as a secular mutation of the conductus of the ars antiqua, and another seeing it as deriving from 13th-century secular monophonic song with an improvised accompaniment. Little Italian music from the 13th century has survived, so links between medieval forms such as the conductus and troubadour song and the music of the trecento are largely inferential. The origin of the name (which appears in early sources as madriale, matricale, madregal, and marigalis) is also unclear; two possibilities are derivation from materialis (in contrast to formalis), designating a poem without a definite form, or from matrix, meaning mother, either as in a song in the mother tongue or music used for Mother Church.
The earliest stage in the development of the madrigal is seen in the Rossi Codex, a collection of music from ca. 1350 or earlier, compiled around 1370. It has been suggested that the ornamentation of the upper voices may be improvised above a skeletal structure.Brooks Toliver, “Improvisation in the Madrigals of the Rossi Codex,” Acta musicologica 64 (1992), pp. 165–76.
In the madrigal's later stages of development its uppermost voice was often highly elaborate, with the lower voice, the tenor, much less so. The form at this time was probably a development of connoisseurs, and sung by small groups of cognoscenti; there is no evidence of its widespread popularity, unlike the madrigal of the 16th century. By the end of the 14th century it had fallen out of favor, with other forms (in particular, the ballata and imported French music) taking precedence, some of which were even more highly refined and ornamented.
By the beginning of 15th century the term was no longer used musically. The later, 16th-century madrigal is unrelated, although it often used texts written in the 14th century (for instance by Petrarch). |
Madrigal (Trecento) | Notable composers | Notable composers
Important composers of the madrigal in the Trecento include:
Jacopo da Bologna
Giovanni da Cascia
Vincenzo da Rimini
Maestro Piero
Lorenzo da Firenze
Niccolò da Perugia
Francesco Landini
Donato da Cascia
Johannes Ciconia (later revivalist) |
Madrigal (Trecento) | See also | See also
Music of the Trecento |
Madrigal (Trecento) | References | References |
Madrigal (Trecento) | Further reading | Further reading
Kurt von Fischer, Gianluca D’Agostino (2004) Madrigal: I. Italy, 14th century. Grove Music Online. Accessed June 2013.
Harold Gleason and Warren Becker, Music in the Middle Ages and Renaissance (Music Literature Outlines Series I). Bloomington, Indiana. Frangipani Press, 1986.
Richard H. Hoppin, Medieval Music. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1978.
Category:Music of the Trecento
Category:Medieval music genres |
Madrigal (Trecento) | Table of Content | Short description, History, Notable composers, See also, References, Further reading |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | Use dmy dates | Lucky Leif and the Longships is a 1975 record album by Robert Calvert, produced by Brian Eno.
It is a concept album dealing with how American culture might have been different had the Vikings managed to colonise the continent. The album is a tour through various styles of American music ("The Lay of the Surfers" is a Beach Boys parody), filled with references to modern American culture and ancient Norse myths and legends. The album was re-released in the late 1990s by BGO Records. |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | Track listing | Track listing
All songs by Robert Calvert; arranged by Robert Calvert and Paul Rudolph
"Ship of Fools"
"The Lay of the Surfers"
"Voyaging to Vinland"
"The Making of Midgard"
"Brave New World"
"Magical Potion"
"Moonshine in the Mountains"
"Storm Chant of the Skraelings"
"Volstead O Vodeo Do"
"Phase Locked Loop"
"Ragna Rock" |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | Bonus tracks | Bonus tracks
"Howzat!"
"Cricket Lovely Reggae (Cricket Star)" |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | Personnel | Personnel
Robert Calvert - vocals, trumpet, piano, harmonica
Andy Roberts - organ, guitars, backing vocals
Paul Fraser Rudolph - guitars, bass guitar, backing vocals
Michael Moorcock - banjo
Simon House - violin
Nik Turner - saxophone
Sal Maida - bass guitar
Brian Turrington - bass guitar & piano
Mike Nicholls - drums, percussion
Technical
Brian Eno - producer, synthesizer
Rhett Davies - engineer
Guy Bidford, Robert Ash, Sid Bucknor - assistant engineers
Tony Hyde - illustration
Audio CD Remasterer: Paschal Byrne |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | References | References |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | External links | External links
Lucky Leif and the Longships on Amazon.com
Category:1975 albums
Category:1970s concept albums
Category:Robert Calvert albums
Category:Albums produced by Brian Eno
Category:United Artists Records albums |
Lucky Leif and the Longships | Table of Content | Use dmy dates, Track listing, Bonus tracks, Personnel, References, External links |
Primitive element | In mathematics, the term | In mathematics, the term primitive element can mean:
Primitive root modulo n, in number theory
Primitive element (field theory), an element that generates a given field extension
Primitive element (finite field), an element that generates the multiplicative group of a finite field
Primitive element (lattice), an element in a lattice that is not a positive integer multiple of another element in the lattice
Primitive element (coalgebra), an element X on which the comultiplication Δ has the value Δ(X) = X⊗1 + 1⊗X
Primitive element (free group), an element of a free generating set
Primitive element (Lie algebra), a Borel-weight vector |
Primitive element | See also | See also
Primitive element theorem
Primitive root (disambiguation) |
Primitive element | Table of Content | In mathematics, the term, See also |
Aelius Festus Aphthonius | Short description | Aelius Festus Aphthonius is believed to be the author (otherwise unknown) of a Latin work called De metris omnibus ("About all the metres") incorporated as part of the Ars Grammatica of the fourth-century AD Christian writer Gaius Marius Victorinus.
The manuscripts of Victorinus's Ars Grammatica end with the words: Aelii Festi Aphthonii V.P. de metris omnibus explicit liber iiii ("here ends the 4th book of Aelius Festus Aphthonius's de metris omnibus"). Scholars have taken different views of this. Some, such as Heinrich Keil, the 19th century editor of Marius Victorinus, believed that Victorinus published the work of an earlier writer Aphthonius, to which he added an introduction and an appendix on the metres of Horace. The philologist P. Monceaux, however, writing in 1905, suggested that Aphthonius was later than Victorinus, and replaced part of Victorinus's work with his own.Monceaux (1905), p. 389, quoted by Bruce. A third view is expressed by Bruce (1949), who writes: "In the present state of uncertainty, the uniformity of style and language seems to justify us in treating the whole of the Ars Grammatica as the work of Victorinus."Bruce (1949), p. 138. In the 2012 assessment of Rita Copeland and Ineke Sluiter, 'most of the Ars grammatica, as edited by Keil ... has now been recognized as the De metris of Aphthonius ... Only the opening section of the treatise ... is the work of Victorinus'.Rita Copeland and Ineke Sluiter, Medieval Grammar and Rhetoric: Language Arts and Literary Theory, AD 300-1475 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 124 n. 3; . |
Aelius Festus Aphthonius | References | References |
Aelius Festus Aphthonius | Further reading | Further reading
Bruce, F.F. (1946) “Marius Victorinus and His Works”. The Evangelical Quarterly 18 (1946): 132–153.
Keil, H., ed. (1874), Grammatici Latini, tom. vi (Lipsiae, 1874), including AG 1-4 (pp. 1–173), De Metris Horatianis (pp. 174–184), AG minor (pp. 185–205), De Metro et Hexametro (pp. 206–215).
Monceaux, P. (1905). Histoire littéraire de l’Afrique chrétienne iii, pp. 373–422. |
Aelius Festus Aphthonius | External links | External links
Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum: complete texts and full bibliography
Text of Aphthonius in the Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum.
Category:Classical Latin-language writers
Category:Ancient Roman writers
Category:Grammarians of Latin
Category:4th-century writers in Latin
Category:Ancient linguists |
Aelius Festus Aphthonius | Table of Content | Short description, References, Further reading, External links |
Wapiti (disambiguation) | '''[[Wapiti]]''' | Wapiti, or elk, are a species of large deer.
Wapiti may also refer to: |
Wapiti (disambiguation) | Animals | Animals
Boulder darter (Etheostoma wapiti), a species of fish |
Wapiti (disambiguation) | Places | Places
Wapiti Pass, a mountain pass in British Columbia, Canada
Wapiti River, a river in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada
Wapiti Lake Provincial Park, a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada
Wapiti Ranger Station, a ranger station in Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming, United States
Grande Prairie-Wapiti, a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada
Wapiti, Wyoming, a town in Wyoming, United States |
Wapiti (disambiguation) | Other uses | Other uses
Westland Wapiti, a British military aeroplane built in the 1920s
The Wapiti tribe, a fictional Native American tribe in Red Dead Redemption 2. |
Wapiti (disambiguation) | Table of Content | '''[[Wapiti]]''', Animals, Places, Other uses |
Leah | Short description | Leah () appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has three more sons, namely Simeon, Levi and Judah, but does not bear another son until Rachel offers her a night with Jacob in exchange for some mandrake root (, dûdâ'îm). Leah gives birth to two more sons after this, Issachar and Zebulun, and to Jacob's only daughter, Dinah. |
Leah | Name | Name
Leah means "wild cow”, a common title with ancient goddesses like Inana, Urash, and Nanshe. Rachel means "ewe lamb." Noegel says there's an irony involving Laban's flocks within this detail, one is on generative acts, - Give me my wife for my days are fulfilled, that I may go into her (אליה) (29:21). Herein also lies a subtle pun on Leah's name, which occurs again in 29:23. however, note that references to bovines and their fertility would not have been an unkind association in the ancient near East, where the cultural attitude toward cattle is reflected by the ubiquity of boviform gods. |
Leah | Biblical narrative | Biblical narrative |
Leah | Overview | Overview
Leah first appears in the Book of Genesis, in Genesis 29, which describes her as the daughter of Laban and the older sister of Rachel, and is said to not compare to Rachel's physical beauty and that she has tender eyes. Earlier passages in the Book of Genesis give some background on her father's family, noting that through him, she is the niece of Rebecca, who is the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau, and the granddaughter of Bethuel, and rabbinic literature goes even further, with the Book of Jasher claiming Leah and Rachel were twins and recording her mother's name as Adinah and her brothers' names as Beor, Alub, and Murash. Rabbinical literature contradicts itself on whether Leah and Rachel were half-siblings to Zilpah and Bilhah, two sisters who would serve as mistresses to Leah's future husband, Jacob, and whose children she and Rachel would raise as their own, as one source lists them as being daughters of Laban, but not his wife Adinah, and another lists them as being the daughters of Rotheus, a man who was close to Laban but not related to him. If Zilpah and Bilhah were indeed half-sisters of Leah, this would make Leah's adoptive sons, Gad and Asher, and Rachel's adoptive sons, Dan and Naphtali, her nephews. According to Genesis 28:2, the family resided in Paddan Aram, an area believed to correspond with the historical Upper Mesopotamia.
Prior to her and Rachel's mentioning, the book of Genesis details how their first cousin and future husband, Jacob, with the help of his mother, Rebecca, willfully deceives his dying father, Isaac, into giving him his twin brother Esau's birthright. Fearful of his brother's wrath, Jacob flees his homeland for Haran, where he meets his maternal family, including Laban and his daughters. Biblical passages are dismissive of Leah and favorable of Rachel, with Rachel said to be beautiful and of Leah, only that she had "weary", "tired" or "tender" eyes. Jacob is eager to marry Rachel and agrees to provide seven years' labor to her father if he can marry her. Laban initially agrees but, on the night of what would've been Jacob and Rachel's wedding, Laban reneges; he insists Jacob marry Leah instead, as she is older. Jacob is ultimately allowed to marry Rachel, which he does immediately after the festivities related to his wedding to Leah end, in exchange for another seven years' labor.
Leah's life as Jacob's wife was distressful. So lonely was she that even the Lord took notice of it and blessed her with many children as consolation. Due to the extreme emotional distress suffered by both Leah (and Rachel) during the marriage, Yahweh later strictly clarified his opposition to uncovering the nakedness of a woman and her sister while both were still living (Genesis 30:1, Leviticus 18:18).
Despite Rachel's infertility, Jacob still favored Rachel over her. He also favored Rachel's sons, Joseph and Benjamin, over Leah's, and made no attempts to hide that from her or his other children. According to 1 Chronicles 5:1, Jacob took the firstborn's birthright, which entitles a firstborn to a larger inheritance in Jewish law, from Reuben, his oldest son, to Joseph, who was his second-youngest son, and, in Genesis 33:2, when he is confronted by Esau, puts Leah, along with Zilpah and Bilhah and all of their sons, in front of himself, Rachel, and Joseph, to be used as something of a buffer or a shield to protect himself in the event the confrontation turned violent. |
Leah | {{anchor | Appearance
The Torah introduces Leah by describing her with the phrase, "Leah had tender eyes" () (Genesis 29:17). It is argued as to whether the adjective "tender" () should be taken to mean "delicate and soft" or rather "weary"Bivin, David,
"Leah's Tender Eyes," at jerusalemperspective.com or "weak".
The commentary of Rashi cites a Rabbinic interpretation of how Leah's eyes became weak. According to this story, Leah was destined to marry Jacob's older twin brother, Esau. In the Rabbinic mind, the two brothers are polar opposites; Jacob being a God-fearing scholar and Esau being a hunter who also indulges in idolatry and adultery. But people were saying, "Laban has two daughters and his sister, Rebekah, has two sons. The older daughter (Leah) will marry the older son (Esau), and the younger daughter (Rachel) will marry the younger son (Jacob).""What's in A Name," Vayetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3) at aish.com Hearing this, Leah spent most of her time weeping and praying to God to change her destined mate. Thus the Torah describes her eyes as "soft" from weeping. God hearkens to Leah's tears and prayers and allows her to marry Jacob even before Rachel does. |
Leah | Marriage to Jacob | Marriage to Jacob
Leah becomes Jacob's wife through a deception on the part of her father, Laban. In the Biblical account, Jacob is dispatched to the hometown of Labanthe brother of his mother Rebekahto avoid being killed by his brother Esau, and to find a wife. Out by the well, he encounters Laban's younger daughter Rachel tending her father's sheep, and decides to marry her. Laban is willing to give Rachel's hand to Jacob as long as he works seven years for her.
On the wedding night, however, Laban switches Leah for Rachel. Later Laban claims that it is uncustomary to give the younger daughter away in marriage before the older one (Genesis 29:16–30). Laban offers to give Rachel to Jacob in marriage in return for another seven years of work (Genesis 29:27). Jacob accepts the offer and marries Rachel after the week-long celebration of his marriage to Leah.
thumb|upright=1.1|Dante's Vision of Rachel and Leah – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1855
thumb|right|Tomb of Leah, 1911 |
Leah | Motherhood | Motherhood
Leah was the mother of six of Jacob's sons, including his first four (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah), and later two more (Issachar and Zebulun), and a daughter (Dinah). According to the scriptures, God saw that Leah was "unloved" and opened her womb as consolation. Through her sons Levi and Judah, she is thus the matriarch of both the priestly (Levite) and royal (Judahite) tribes in Israel.
Seeing that she was unable to conceive, Rachel offered her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob, and named and raised the two sons (Dan and Naphtali) that Bilhah gave birth to. Leah responded by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and named and raised the two sons (Gad and Asher) that Zilpah gave birth to. According to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah are actually half-sisters of Leah and Rachel.Ginzberg, Louis (1909) The Legends of the Jews, Volume I, Chapter VI: Jacob, at sacred-texts.com
One day, Leah's firstborn son Reuben returned from the field with mandrakes for his mother. Leah had not conceived for a while, and the plant, whose roots resemble the human body, was thought to be an aid to fertility.Mandrake in the American Bible Society Online Bible Dictionary, 1865, Broadway, New York, NY 10023-7505 at www.bibles.com Frustrated that she was not able to conceive at all, Rachel offered to trade her night with their husband with Leah in return for the mandrakes. Leah agreed, and that night she slept with Jacob and conceived Issachar. Afterwards she gave birth to Zebulun and to a daughter, Dinah. After that, God remembered Rachel and gave her two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. |
Leah | Rivalry with Rachel | Rivalry with Rachel
On a homiletical level, the classic Chassidic texts explain the sisters' rivalry as more than marital jealousy. Each woman desired to grow spiritually in her (service of God), and therefore sought closeness to the (Jacob) who is God's personal emissary in this world. By marrying Jacob and bearing his sons, who would be raised in the 's home and continue his mission into the next generation (indeed, all 12 sons became in their own right and formed the foundation of the Nation of Israel), they would develop an even closer relationship to God. Therefore, Leah and Rachel each wanted to have as many of those sons as possible, going so far as to offer their handmaids as proxies to Jacob so they could have a share in the upbringing of their handmaids' sons, too.Feinhandler, Yisrael Pesach, Beloved Companions, Vayetze - III, "Jealousy Can Be a Tool for Spiritual Growth," at shemayisrael.com
Each woman also continually questioned whether she was doing enough in her personal efforts toward increased spirituality, and would use the other's example to spur herself on. Rachel envied Leah's tearful prayers, by which she merited to marry the and bear six of his twelve sons. The Talmud (Megillah 13b) says that Rachel revealed to Leah the secret signs which she and Jacob had devised to identify the veiled bride, because they both suspected Laban would pull such a trick.Wagensberg, Abba (2006), "Between The Lines," in Toras Aish, Volume XIV, No. 11, 2006 Rabbi A. Wagensberg & aish.com |
Leah | Death and burial | Death and burial
Leah died some time before Jacob (according to Genesis 49:31). She is thought to be buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron alongside Jacob. This cave also houses the graves of Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah.Richman, Chaim (1995), 1995 Light to the Nations, Rabbi Chaim Richman - All Rights Reserved,
Reprinted from The Restoration newsletter, July, 1995 (Tammuz/Av, 5755) at |
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