Devil's Arithmetic is a great film. My daughter was in a play at our Temple with a similar theme. I will be ordering your book, as well. I'm glad I found your blog.

Robert:

Happy Hanukah to you and the Avrech mishpocha.

And Merry Christmas to your Christian readers.

Greetings from the Great Wet North - today in Nova Scotia it is 50F and raining!!

Mark

Robert, surely Seraphic Secret could not have remained a secret for too long. Yes, your blog has changed/evolved since its early days, and countless new readers continue to get on the bandwagon. But it's all for the good -- we enlighten one another, we entertain one another, we comfort one another, sometimes we disagree with one another. In essence, I think we enrich one another's lives...and that's all that matters.

Happy Holidays to all your readers. May 2009 offer many brighter tomorrows.

Robert - I stumbled onto your site through a friend who is a devout Jew. I enjoy your commentary on Hollywood from an insider's perspective.

You have stated something that I believe radio host Dennis Prager believes - that conservative Jews and Christians have more in common with each other than our liberal counterparts.

And may I wish a Happy Hanukkah to you, Karen, and your Jewish readers.

Robert,

Clumsy is not a word I would ever associate with something you would write. Precise, honest and enlightening are more what come to mind.

Thank you for your Christmas wishes. Happy Hanukkah to you and your Jewish readers. (Why is it spelled with an "h" by some and a "c" by others?)

Two nights ago it was 6 degrees here in Kansas. This Global Warming is killing us.

Gary

Not clumsy at all. I would say, humble and well timed.

Robert your words are heart-felt and reached me. And in reading about Ariel I believe that God was within him, and that he was a righteous man. Humility is always a sign of the righteous, and to teach the Talmud with the reverence and humility that he did...he has to be talking with Moses now.

May God look over and protect you and your family.

Dear Mr Avrech,

I have been reading your blog for a year now, everyday. My family is Mexican and Irish, and we all support Israel and hate Muslim terrorism. I enjoyed your story about how you married your wife- aren't men clumsy in the face of love! I admire your courage in the face of your enormous loss- I just wanted to say I am sorry.

Best wishes to you and your family on Hannukah. BTW- Though my family is Christian, I've always considered myself to be Sephardic.

sincerely
James

R..

And a happy Chanukkah to you and yours as well. Although must agree with previous commenters ... "clumsy" is not a word that comes to mind when I read your posts.

"Devil's Arithmetic" is one of the few films I have seen that was (IMNSHO) better than the book from which it was drawn.

Also, the whole idea of using time travel as a way of bringing modern readers/viewers into an earlier time psychologically has a lot of power when used well. Connie Willis does it very well in her "Doomsday Book" and in some of her other works as well.

Your Christmas greeting is not clumsy, but appreciated.

I cannot remember when or how I found Seraphic Secret. Thank you for your writing and sharing your thoughts and life.

You will be interested to know that one of the presents our son requested for Christmas was The Seven Samurai! (I ordered it for him and then a few days later I read for the first time about Karen meeting The Seven Samurai).

Happy Chanukkah to you and your family!

Not clumsy at all, Robert, and much appreciated. Very best wishes from my family to yours, with much gratitude for this blog and your good work.

Deborah:

Glad you enjoyed my film. Let me know how you like the novel.

Mark:

Happy Chanukah to you and yours. Watch out for that, ahem, global warming:-)

Pearl:

We do enrich each other, and you have done much of the enriching since you were one of the first to read and comment on Seraphic Secret.

Happy Chanukah to you and yours.

Bill:

Karen and I and Dennis all went to the same Yeshiva.

It's true, I have more in common, values-wise, and I'm much more comfortable with conservative Christians than with secular leftist Jews.

Gary:

In Hebrew there is a "ch" sound, that is not in English. The sound comes from the back of your throat, as if you're clearing phlegm. Most Americans transpose the "ch" sound into an "h." That's why there are divergent spellings.

Hey, you've got global warming too. Amazing. That's why the loonies have started using the phrase, "climate change." Anything not to fight true evil: Islamic terrorism.

Karen:

If my words please you, then I am happy.

Bill:

Thanks so much for the lovely words about Ariel ZT'L. You have describe our son perfectly.

Sephardic James:

Thanks so much for writing, and for oyur words of consolation. They help more than you could ever imagine.

Glad you enjoyed "How I Married Karen." When I look back at my clumsiness I'm just amazed that Karen married me.

Kay:

I felt clumsy as I was writing the post. I'm glad to see that so many disagree with me.

David:

I admired Jane Yolen's book enormously but warned her that I was going to make substantial changes for the sake of clarity, simplicity and to make the Jewish characters, well, even more Jewish. Jane was supportive and just loves the film, which makes me quite proud.

I Carpenter:

The Seven Samurai, how exciting! Let me know how your son likes the film. Or will he have Karen's reaction?

Thanks so much for writing, do stay in touch.

Dr. Carol:

Thank you for your wise comments, your support, and your generosity of spirit. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Maybe this year we can get you into a pair of Christian Louboutin's:-)

Dear Robert: Regarding your statement that European Christians were and are marinated in a culture of Jew-hatred: The Righteous Gentiles were, virtually all, devout Christians.
The Hebrew "ch" is very similar to the Scottish "ch," as in "loch."

Dear Robert: Happy Chanukah. Is there really global warming in Hollywood?

Hello BOB; these old mexicanos open up tp you with a wealth of human knowledge.

There is an old poem, it goes like this according to the Aztec:

You tell me now
that I must perish
against the laws
that I cherish
nothing remembered of my name
nothing remembered of my fame
yet the songs I remembered still
are young
and the songs I sang will still be sung.

Gary Jennings Aztec.

Pardon me, the word are:

you tell me now
that I must perish
like all the flowers that I cherish
nothing remembered of my fame,
nothing remembered of my name,
but the dances I remembered still are are young,
and the songs I sang will still be sung.

Just throwing in some literature
Sephardic James

Miranda:

The reason there is a roll-call of Righteous Gentiles at Yad Veshem is because they were an exception to the rule.

There is no such thing as global warming. Back in the 14th Century there was a Little Ice Age, was that man-made? Of course not. The weather is always changing. That's what it does. In fact, California, like the rest of the U.S., is unseasonably cold right now.

Happy Chanukah

A merry Christmas to all here...and despite some peoples wishes...a happy and prosperous new year.

Even though the weather is always changing, the current fluctuations are large enough not to fit into naturally observed patterns. The IPCC 2007 report stated this, and President Bush (may God keep him safe and healthy) endorsed their conclusions.

Dear Robert: I was under the impression that there really WAS a period of global warming, in around Chaucer's time. It was a period of global warming that melted the glaciers after the last ice age. The earth's climate has undergone massive upheavals, none of them man-made. One such upheaval found its way into the bible as the story of Noah and into Greek mythology as the story of Deucalion.

The WHY? of Terrorism in Islam… (and Hamas)

When it comes to dealing with Hamas (other than with bullets and bombs) Israel really has no choice. Let me explain.

I am an American living in Asia. I am not Moslem, but I am a writer and historian. I would like to share some information with you: information concerning Moslem violence and terrorism, and why the United States and its military allies must both continue to be vigilant, and when appropriate, respond to individual acts of violent Islamic terrorism with relentless, overwhelming, and deadly force, while at the same time, practicing moderation and restraint, when dealing with moderate Moslems.

This information may help you understand what is going on not only in Israel and the entire Middle East as well as India, Pakistan, and China, along with other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, and (soon) even the United States. In the not too distant future, Moslem extremists hope to involve you and your loved ones, as well as a vast number of other innocent victims in a man-made catastrophe: an organized and violent calamity of biblical proportions that is based on teachings that were deliberately added to the Koran, decades after the faith was founded.

Disregarding the social, economic, and political factors that serve as underpinnings for Islamic terrorism, I will address the more fundamental issue: the religious teachings that sanction violence against non-Moslems and AGAINST ALL WOMEN. Here are seven verses from the Koran. These scriptures have been translated into modern English.

…murder, crucify, or cut off the hands and feet of non-Moslems…Chapter 5 Verse 33 - The Koran
…create terror in the hearts of non-Moslems …cut off their heads…Chapter 8 Verse 12 - The Koran
…and fight non-Moslems until Allah’s religion is the only one…Chapter 8 Verse 39 - The Koran
…of all the loot you plunder from non-Moslems, 20% belongs to Allah and to Mohammed. Chapter 8 Verse 41- The Koran (Author’s note: Loot included kidnapped female sex-slaves.)
…Take as many as four wives from the women you are sexually attracted to … Chapter 4 Verse 3 - The Koran
…God has made men superior to women… Virtuous women are obedient. If a woman becomes disobedient, beat her. Chapter 4 Verse 34 - The Koran
…When it comes to marriage, Allah makes it legal for you to take as wives, women whom your right hand possesses. Chapter 33 Verse 50 - The Koran (Author’s note: This verse talks about the “loot” non-Moslems call… kidnapped female sex-slaves.)

Most people in the western world have never heard of these astonishing scriptures, but they are in the Koran … along with a relatively short list of others, just like them. This is important because not all Moslems are the same; there are two very different types. Militant Moslems view these verses as commandments from their god – a primitive desert god, from an ancient land of heat, sand and scorpions. Militant Moslems think these teachings apply to life in the Twenty-first Century and they try to use them, regardless of the suffering and mayhem they create, whereas moderate Moslems ignore such verses because they were uttered a long time ago, when the Arabian peninsula, from whence Islam came, was a wild and savage place.

Historians tell us these terrorist teachings are part of a cluster of ferocious beliefs that were deliberately added to one specific part of the formerly peaceful and tolerant Koran. These startling changes were made, decades after Islam was first founded in the Arabian city of Mecca. By the time of these changes the original (and real) prophet of Islam was dead. Thereafter the religious headquarters was uprooted and moved to the city of Medina. In its new environment, with new leadership at the helm, Islam mutated; it turned cruel and predatory.

In fact, historians also tell us Islam didn’t simply fall from the sky as a full-blown religion, but rather evolved from a persecuted sect of Jewish-Christians. The first Moslems lived in the city of Mecca were actually part of a larger group of Jesus’ followers called the Ebionites.

Ebionites were peace-loving disciples of Christ, who shared their wealth with fellow believers, and taught that a man should marry only one wife.

In fact, women were much more independent in the Ebionite Jewish-Christian days of Islam. They were more influential too. I say this because my research has determined that the first prophet of Islam may have been someone other than Mohammed: I believe the first prophet was a very special Arabian princess named Khadija the Pure. Khadija was Mohammed’s first and only wife for twenty-four years. Khadija was fifteen years older than Mohammed. She was considered to be fabulously wealthy, and she was Mohammed’s employer, before she became his wife.

Mohammed on the other hand, before he became Khadija’s employee, was an impoverished youth who had been raised as an orphan. Ultimately Mohammed worked his way up to a position as Khadija’s business manager. With time, Khadija grew fond of Mohammed. She even married him. However, Khadija was a liberated woman. In fact, Khadija was the one who initiated the marriage proposal to Mohammed! And after their wedding, she never allowed Mohammed to take other wives, or have other women in her house.

Throughout her lifetime, even though Khadija had already converted to Christianity, Mohammed’s first and only wife for twenty-four years remained an important Arabian princess in the ruling family that controlled worship in the Kabba Temple, with it’s pantheon of more than three hundred pagan gods and goddesses. Clearly, in the early days of Islam, Khadija was a person of great influence in Arabian society: and clearly Mohammed, her husband… was not. www.TheMoslemInstitute.com

After Khadija’s untimely death from a terrible illness, Islam was hijacked by a cartel of corrupt men, headed by Mohammed himself. The faith was abruptly relocated to the city of Medina and new beliefs were added to the Koran; at the same time, old beliefs were deleted or relegated to unimportance, and the religion was changed beyond recognition. In the end, Islam abandoned many of its Ebionite Jewish-Christian teachings. Women suffered the most: they became the focus of repression, scorn, and violence.

Today, although moderate Moslems are loath to admit these ideas, and many of them are terrified to voice criticism of their militant Islamic brothers, because of fear that violence will come to them and their families, the fact remains that these added teachings are not the original beliefs of Islam; they are amendments: They are the terrorist teachings of Islam.

In the near future, militant Moslems hope to unleash a Jihad: a Moslem holy war upon the non-Moslem world; not only upon Israel, the United States and Western Europe, but also throughout parts of Asia, including India and maybe even China, and Japan. Because the terrorist teachings of Islam sanction treaty breaking, deception, and war, as well as looting, murder, kidnapping, terrorism, and human slavery (including sexual slavery), so long as these crimes are directed against non-Moslems, there is no limit to the things these fanatics can do. But the scariest part: Militant Moslems will do everything… in the name of their primitive desert god.

Once victory is attained in this violent holy war, these fanatics believe Allah will bless them with harems of kidnapped sex slaves taken from destroyed cities and nations, as well as enormous fortunes of loot plundered from the non-Moslem world. They believe this because of the terrorist teachings that were added to the Koran. These terrorist teachings even say ransoms paid to Moslem terrorists, to redeem stolen property (like hijacked oil tankers and cargo ships) as well as kidnapped men, women, and children, are part of the Islamic loot these vicious criminals are entitled to receive.

These same terrorist teachings even allow Moslem men to force their kidnapped female sex slaves to marry them in Moslem wedding ceremonies, and bear children for them: whether the women want to or not. Terrorist Moslem teachings mandate only two requirements: The women must come from Christian or Jewish backgrounds, and secondly, if the unfortunate women resist, these same terrorist teachings say the Moslem husbands must beat them, and imprison them in their own homes.

If the Moslem fanatics die while committing these crimes against humanity, as an eternal reward for their cruel deeds Islamic extremists believe their fierce desert god will admit them to paradise and bless them with luxurious palaces filled with riches and populated by seventy-two virgin brides, who are exquisitely beautiful, yet modest enough to struggle to control their unbridled lust to have sexual intercourse with a dead Moslem terrorist.

With these stinging indictments against terrorist Islamic doctrines entered into the record, it is important to remember that the majority of Moslems are moderate, decent people who love God and practice acts of charity and kindness to their neighbors, both Moslem and non-Moslem. Such moderate Moslems recognize these violent teachings as obsolete and out of place in the Twenty-first Century. In the author’s opinion, in spite of enormous cultural and ideological differences that exist between the non-Moslem world and the followers of Islam, it is with this moderate Moslem majority that any long-term resolution to the Islamic terrorism issue will ultimately be negotiated.

However, given the massive population increases taking place in the Moslem world, at a time when poverty, chaos, criminality, and religious fanaticism are burgeoning, the numbers of Moslems worldwide who declare themselves militant is increasing; the influence their growing networks of terror cells exert on Islamic governments throughout the world has reached crisis levels. Because of the terrorist teachings of Islam, modern civilization faces a nightmarish future; the attacks on Mumbai, India, the World Trade Center in New York, and the subway bombings in Spain and London are simply previews of things to come. In this ferocious Jihad, nuclear and biological weapons are almost certain to come into play.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill: The road before us will be long and dangerous and terrifying; the United States and Europe and Asia must be resolute… and take courage. We must work together to neutralize militant Islamic movements… and if necessary… wage war against the governments that sustain them. At the same time, the non-Moslem world must also nurture moderate Islamic states and establish strong alliances with them. The very survival of our civilization depends on it.

Are you are interested in learning more about an array of Islamic topics including:
1. Who are The Seventy-two Virgins of Islam and how did they become part of militant Moslem dogma?
2. What role did the Ebionites and Khadija the Pure play, in founding the original (peaceful) religion of Islam?
3. What role does militant Islam play in modern human slavery?

Visit The Moslem Institute website: www.TheMoslemInstitute.com

Regards,
Dane Dahl
Author and Historian