[Avodah] Nittelnacht

[T613K at aol.com]

From:  Richard Wolberg _cantorwolberg at cox.net_ (mailto:cantorwolberg at cox.net) 


>>Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik used to comment that "he is  willing to see  
the Hell  he gets                                                             
                                                                              
                                                  for learning Xmas eve....
.

Does  anyone have an answer for:  If one of the reasons for this minhag   
was the danger of getting beaten up outside, then why isn't there a   
such minhag for  Easter? <<


>>>>>
I heard it said about the Sochachover (IIRC) that he was willing to  risk 
whatever Gehenom he would get for learning Torah on Tisha B'Av.   Can anyone 
confirm that?
 
Your question about Easter -- xmas is especially associated with the night,  
with the darkness of night -- that's when their god was born and that's when  
they are all outside, going to church.  Easter is mainly celebrated on  Sunday 
morning and indeed I think that Jews did tend to stay indoors and keep  their 
heads down on Easter, but there isn't the same association with danger  
simply because it is celebrated by day and not by night.  
 
Also Easter often overlaps Pesach so people aren't learning so much  anyway, 
they're busy with other mitzvos.  And the first night of Pesach  especially is 
"Leil Shimurim."  I imagine in Europe when they opened  their doors and said, 
"Shfoch chamascha" they had special kavana for Easter  churchgoers and 
pogromists.  Also, speaking  mystically/kabbalistically/cosmically, Yoshka's birth 
unleashed all kinds of  evil into the world for us Jews, his alleged 
resurrection not so much.  All  this is just speculation.
 
(PS I said "for us Jews" because for goyim, on the whole, Christianity was  
an improvement over paganism and was better than any other religion  around at 
the time it started, or around today.  Can the same religion be  an elevation 
for goyim and a curse for Jews?  Yes.  Of course those  Christians who were 
"inspired" by their religion to commit murder lost whatever  benefit their souls 
might have had from their religion.)


--Toby  Katz
=============



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