[etni] Fw: re: Just Wondering

From: "Ask Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
To: "Etni" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 15:42:55 +0200
Hi all,

Note that the following message (which appeared on the list)  was sent by 
mistake through my email address (david@xxxxxxxx), rather than through the 
ask@xxxxxxxx address.
The message is from Avraham Roos and couldn't be sent directly to the list 
because of a problem with the way the automatic handler converted his 
message into text.

David


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Avraham Roos <avrahamroos@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Just Wondering

18 Tevet 5767

Dear Eva, Adele and anyone else

Concerning the question of how to present the idea of celebrating New Year:
what I usually do is present the students with the following text and let
THEM decide:
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/NewYearsHistory.htm

Quite informative.

I personally do not see any logic in HAVING to celebrate a holiday just
because all the world does it (by the way, the Chinese for all I know, also
celebrate a different date). It is true that we use the Georgian dates but
why celebrate? I USE Eged buses but have never considered celebrating the
date Eged was established. Does that make me a hypocrit?!

The fact that so many of us do not know the Hebrew date is, though true,
more something we should be ashamed of rather than a reason to diminish its
importance.

I also totally disagree that celebrating New Year unites us with the rest of
the world. In what way does it unite us? Do THEY feel closer to us because
we celebrate it or do YOU feel closer to THEM? I have the feeling the latter
is the case. If so, let's celebrate Christmas as well. And how about
Thanksgiving? By the way, why keep that ancient confusing Hebrew alphabet?
Let's start using Latin letters ,something already suggested by Itamar Ben
Avi, son of Eliezer Ben Yehuda the founder of the modern Hebrew language!
And let's try in every other way to imitate the "world" (or do we mean
America here?) so that we can feel closer to them.

(Sorry for the tirade, but you have hit on a sensitive spot for me ;)

Avraham Roos


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[etni] Fw: re: Just Wondering

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