Well said. And very accurate.

: This has been discussed here before. The Kol Nidre prayer
: originated in medieval Spain, in the days of the
: Inquisition. Jews were being forced, under threat of
: torture and death, to renounce their faith and proclaim
: themseves Christian. It is these coerced vows of belief in
: Christ that were the original subject of the Kol Nidre,
: which was at first said in secret by these so-called
: conversos . That they even found it necessary to create
: such a prayer, considering the circumstances under which

: their Christian "vows" were made, should tell you
: that they actually placed a very high value on promises and
: vows. That is, their false vows of Christianity bothered
: their consciences even though made to save their lives, and
: this prayer was created to deal with that.

: Over the centuries since, Kol Nidre has become a traditional
: part of the Jewish liturgy. Modern English versions
: generally specify that it is only vows made to God, not
: promises to other people, that are its subject.

: For an example of just how seriously Jews take promises,
: consider the international diamond trade. The major trading
: centers in Amsterdam and New York are operated by Orthodox
: Jews, who make deals for millions of dollars worth of gems
: on the basis of handshakes alone. How many Christian
: businessmen would be trusted with a million dollars in
: diamonds on the basis of a handshake, with no written
: contract? Probably none. But Jews are trusted to make good
: on these verbal deals every day, and they consistently do
: so.

: It was never my intention, when I signed up as an RMN Agent,
: to become a resident "defender of Judaism", but I
: find myself taking that role because of the ignorant and
: bigoted attitudes toward Jews that seem to be all too
: commonplace here. I have come to expect it from the Rogue
: Moth (she is surely no butterfly), and from Mark Seely. The
: former has the semi-excuse that she believes she was
: seriously mistreated as a child by one or more Jews. Since
: she has shown herself to be impervious to logic, I don't
: bother with her anymore. And Mr. Seely has publicly stated
: that he thinks the "natural" order is for
: humanity to be divided into small tribes, the memebrs of
: which would constantly war on each other and respect the
: rights of no one except members of their own tribe. So no
: one who doesn't care for that vision should put much stock
: in what he says. But I think that Hannibal is simply
: uninformed about the real facts behind what he posted here,
: which is why I am responding.