<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 20, 2008 at 6:51 AM, Eli Turkel <<a href="mailto:eliturkel@gmail.com">eliturkel@gmail.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;">
<br>
<br>
Now the Rabbanim in the year 19/18 BCE had a serious problem. On the<br>
one hand, the giving of the Holy Half-Shekel is a Torah Commandment.<br>
The problem arises with the motif of the Tyrian Shekel. On the obverse<br>
appears the image of Melkhart, known to us as Hercules, the god of the<br>
Phoenicians. On the reverse, appears an eagle on the bow of a ship<br>
with the legend: "Tyre the Holy and City of Refuge", and the date of<br>
issue.<br>
Reverse side of the the Tyrian shekel from the Second Temple period.<br>
The Half shekel coin had the same motif The obverse and reverse of the<br>
Tyrian half shekel from the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem,<br>
used for the mitva of the Holy Half-shekel<br>
<br>
Both images, a foreign god (or any likeness of man) and an eagle, are<br>
Torah prohibitions. And yet the Rabbanim decided that the importance<br>
of the giving of the Holy Half-Shekel superceded the violations<br>
incurred in using the Tyrian motif. ...<br>
<font color="#888888"><br>
--<br>
Eli Turkel<br></font></blockquote></div><br>I'm still stumped how Hazal permitted Tammuz [the name of a Babylonian deity] as the name of a Jweish month. After all "Sheim elohim Achaeirim lo sazkiru". How did Tammuz get in the mix? couldn't they at least change it a bit [e.g. Gammuz etc.] <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>