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From: teitz@aecom.UUCP (Eliyahu Teitz)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish,net.women
Subject: Re: Re: Paranoia and Morning Blessings
Message-ID: <979@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Nov-84 14:49:41 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.979
Posted: Wed Nov 28 14:49:41 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Dec-84 20:36:31 EST
References: <46@mit-athena.ARPA> <1061@ulysses.UUCP>
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 21

> The prayer giving thanks that one was not created a woman is part of a
> threefold group, giving thanks that one was not created a foreigner, a
> woman, or a slave.  By some curious "coincidence", the Greeks had a similar
> threefold saying.  The evidence indicates, in fact, that that prayer entered
> Judaism as part of the Hellenization of Judaism around 200 B.C.E.

     The gemara in Menachot ( I think on page 44, I'M not positive ) lists
 three blessings which mus be said every day. That I was not made an idolator 
 ( she'lo asani aku"m [ oved kochavim umazalot ]), that I was not made a slave,
 ( she'lo asani eved ), that I was not made an unlearned person ( she'lo asani
 am haaretz ). We, because of censorship, changed he first blessing from aku"m
 to goy, meaning a non-Jew, not a foreigner. The third blessing was also changed ( I don't remember why now but I'll look it up ) and we now say that I was not
 made a woman ( she'lo asani isha ).
    It would be interesting if we could find out where we got these blessings
 from, and if indeed we copied it from some other people. I tend to look rather
 skeptically at people who think we got everything in our religion from other
 groups. Why were these necessarily taken from the Greeks? Maybe we had them
 first. I don't know. Maybe I never will. Does anyone on the net have proof one
 way or the other ? 

				Eliyahu Teitz.