<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Dec 4, 2007 9:40 AM, <<a href="mailto:T613K@aol.com">T613K@aol.com</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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<div>From the American Heritage Dictionary:</div>
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<div>myth n. 1. A traditional story presenting supernatural beings,
ancestors or heroes that serve as primordial types in a primitive view of the
world. 2. A fictitious or imaginary story, person or thing.
3. A false belief.</div>
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<div class="Ih2E3d"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" lang="0" size="2"><br><b>--Toby
Katz</b></font></div></div></div></font></div></blockquote></div><br>another definition:<br><br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote">
<font size="-1">a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people <br><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&start=0&oi=define&q=http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn%3Fs%3Dmyth&usg=AFQjCNE_B7zGO1uc0hPolVkr7Oz5N97aGg">
<font color="#008000">wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn</font></a></font></blockquote><br>[note nothing about falsehood here]<br><br clear="all">In Nishmablog's recent survey of what was the principle purpose for giving the Torah this was one of the options, giving the Jewish People a common story/history.
<br><br>Star Trek New Generation had an episode where Captain Picard is stranded with another captain who spoke ONLY in metaphors reflecting his civilizations cultural "mythology"<br><br>Some yekkes have an expression for fleeing "vayivrach ...." that refelcts what Ya'akov did when he escaped Esav [from the haftora for Vayetze in many kehillos"
<br> <br>As a people are common language includes the Torah and the Haggadah of Pesach which provides a common set of concepts to transmit our story to our progeny - lema'an asher yetzaveh<br><br>Micha:<br><blockquote style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;" class="gmail_quote">
although I think only the Rambam goes so far as to condemn those who make a farce out of the Torah (in his opinion) by believing every medrash. <br></blockquote><br>Permiyi me to qualify this quote a bit<br>I think he meant belieivng every Midrash to be literally true. I thinkthe Rambam did no DISBELIEVE any Midrash per se. IOW There is a true message between the lines of every Midrash, but taking them literally leads to farce.
<br><br>-- <br>Kol Tuv / Best Regards,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com">RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br>see: <a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a>