Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!genrad!teddy!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!wmartin From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) Newsgroups: net.religion,net.religion.jewish Subject: Re: Noachic laws (disagreeing with Rosen) Message-ID: <7181@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Thu, 10-Jan-85 14:58:54 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.7181 Posted: Thu Jan 10 14:58:54 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 13-Jan-85 07:06:21 EST References: <463@fisher.UUCP> <20980050@cmu-cs-k.ARPA> Organization: USAMC ALMSA Lines: 25 Xref: watmath net.religion:5263 net.religion.jewish:1247 Just out of curiosity, in relation to that one of the (net-reported) Noachic laws relating to eating the flesh of a living animal, would the practice of the Masai of eating/drinking the blood of their cattle as a standard part of their diet be considered in violation? By the way, I tried explaining and discussing the concept of these "Noachic" laws with my wife (a widely-read fundamentalistic Protestant) and a friend who has had extensive Catholic religious training [spent some time as a monastic novice before deciding against continuing it]; neither knew anything about them. I tried finding references to them in the passages about Noah in both the King James Version Bible and a Torah, and found nothing at all. Later net traffic has referred to them as "Talmudic", which I guess in this case means they came from other sources. So are they really more than a "folk tradition" or do they have any justification in Torah? One last point -- what should the Jewish attitude be to members of a culture whose customs violate these laws, or to individuals who do so personally? (I keep thinking of some famous Chinese banquet dish of a fish which is still alive at the head end, but which is fried at the tail... Seems just what the one law is talking about...) Does not adhering to these laws make them less than human? Or just people to be avoided as bad influences? Or what? Will Martin USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA