Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: dvnspc1!tom@tredysvr.tredydev.unisys.com (Tom Albrecht) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: a dog, a woman and a prayer of a man Message-ID: Date: 24 Dec 90 09:10:13 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Unisys Corporation, Devon Engineering Offices Lines: 42 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article chin@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Angela Chin) writes: >I have a stupid question. I remember there is a passage in the >Bible (probably O.T.) a man's prayer went like this: > > Thank God I am not a dog, > Thank God I am not a woman.... > >Can anyone tell me where is it? It's not in the Bible. There are a series of Jewish prayers, baruchas, that goes something like this: Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a gentile. Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a slave. Blessed are you Lord God for you have not made me a woman. The intent of these prayers is to remind the free Jewish male that he alone was blessed in that he could observe all of the 613 mitzvoh, or commandments, of the Torah. According to Jewish tradition, a woman was only required to keep the negative mitzvoh, i.e., "Thou shalt not ... ." She was not required to keep all the positive commands, such as those relating to the observance of sacrifices, feasts and holy days. Likewise, a slave could not keep all the commandments, neither would a gentile. It's interesting to compare these baruchas with the words of the apostle Paul found in Galatians 3:28,29: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Paul is responding to the legalism of the Judaizers who wished to require that Gentiles follow the Jewish Law in order to identify with the Church. Paul seems to be pointing out that all those ceremonial commandments that previously separated Jew and Gentile have been abolished in Christ. -- Tom Albrecht -- Tom Albrecht