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saturnianoracle · 22 days

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Whole Signs v Placidus - which house system is better?

Ah yes, ye age olde debate... which house system to use?

When first getting into astrology, the majority will use the placidus house system whether or not they know it. Placidus is the default for modern/ pop astrology; every chart generation website automatically uses it. Nowadays, the most common runner up house system to placidus is Whole Signs (often used by traditional/hellenistic astrologers). Yet, there are many house systems...:

➔Whole signs ➔Placidus ➔Koch ➔Equal/ Equal (MC) ➔Porphyry ➔Regiomontanus ➔Morinus ➔Alcabatius ➔Campanus ➔Meridian ➔Vehlow ➔Meridian

In this post, however, I will give my own argument on why I use whole signs and why I disagree with placidus. If you disagree with me thats fine, but I hope to at least educate on how these house systems even work and the deeper meaning behind why using whole signs is improtant.

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First, how does Placidus work?

The ascendant (as well as the dsc, mc, ic) is a mathematical point based on the on the sign on the Eastern horizon. Placidus works by marking the cusps of the houses into two-hour intervals starting from the time of your birth. This is then pushed every 2 hours for the 12th 11th 10th 9th 8th and 7th house cusps ( because by the 7th house cusp it has completed 6/6 of its daily solar arc ) and then mirrored for the houses below (already an...interesting method). It is a quadrant system.

How does Whole Signs (WS) work?

Whole signs is not a time based system like Placidus. Whole signs split the houses into equal 30 degree segments, much like how the zodiac signs are split, so each house is equal in size and all the signs start at 0 degrees. The ascendant point, MC, IC, and DC float within the house instead.

Main issues:

Historical

➥The maths for this was laid out by Ptolemy for the purpose of understanding primary directions, of which most people now believe was actually used to predict lifespan - not for a house system. And then eventually an astrologer called Abraham ibn Ezra interpreted Ptolemy's works as a house system which Placidus then came along and validated. ➥During the 17th century British astrologers took this and ran. The Church did not like Placidus' works and so the astrologers essentially pushed the system as revenge against the Church/a big F you to them, making it the popularised system to use. This sacrified accuracy. Placidus rests on a foudnation not even designed to be a house system in the first place which creates a lot of problems as we will see below. P.S. I would HIGHLY recommend reading this article on the popularisation of placidus for a more indepth, better explanation.

Functional

➥Placidus simply falls apart at extreme latitudes (which people ARE born at). Take this chart for example:

Is everyone born at extreme latiudes suddenly inherently special for having such a chart where the houses are so vastly unequal and inutile in size? How does one go about interpreting the significance of this? Houses are literally swallowed up/duplicated or are massive or tiny. Just because your houses might not change so much in WS or placidus does not mean its still valid - a house system has to work for everybody universally. In WS however:

This works and makes SENSE. It is not an issue of being able to interpret the so-called intercepted house (which placidus has the issue of as the maths for it was never intended to be a house system in the first place) or not, it is about being accurate in how to read a chart. ➥Notice how in the placidus chart it appears the ascendant is in the 12th house. This is another visual issue with placidus, for instance apps like CoStar will even tell you that your ascendant is in the 12th house... Placidus or not though the ascendant is always in or at the first house, the ascendant can never be in any other house - the 1st house is literally YOU. The cusps just looked messed up because of the intercepted houses. And chart generating platforms like CoStar relying on placidus mess up even further...

➥ Intercepted houses mean a sign/s is "swallowed up" and doesn't influence any house cusp, which contradicts the principle that every zodiac sign has a clear role in the chart (every house and sign matters whether or not a house is empty etc). The idea that a sign is somehow blocked or inaccessible is untrue, whether or not you think it relates to you (certain aspects in your chart for explain that feeling when read properly rather than this, either way astrology does not care about how you feel or how you wish your chart was; many people get upset that their sun sign moves from the 5th to 6th house for example in WS).

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Rebutting common arguments for placidus

"Whole signs doesn't take into account the rotation and curvature of the earth!"

✣First, as explained above, WS houses remain consistent regardless of the observer's latitude, avoiding the distortions and inaccuracies systems like Placidus introduce, particularly at extreme latitudes. WS houses rely on the zodiac's natural, unchanging divisions, which are independent of the Earth's curvature and geographic location (as explained in this post), providing consistent and straightforward house boundaries. ✣WS matches the universe's system. The signs, and therefore the houses are all about the sun rising from zero (its declination/ going from 0 degrees of whatever sign up till 29 and into the next) as the system follows every 30 degree section of the ecliptic , and correlates with the length of the sign's period. If the ascendant involves the ecliptic meeting the horizon , the ascendant point is a specific coordinate that is located within the first house whose cusp starts at 0 rather than marking the beginning of the cusp. Why should the house system not match what is going on above from which we observe and practise.

"Why not a time-based system if astrology is all about predictive techniques and seems so time sensitive?"

✣ Time doesn't exist in space in the same way it does here, time is just our tool to pinpoint moments against a measurement from which we can organise things (generally speaking). Time is, however, crucial for predictions only in how translate what happens up there to below, less so for diving the sky which is basically already divided for us. ✣ Time-based divisions, like placidus, introduce unnecessary complexity without adding real astrological value, as the essential qualities of the houses are fully captured by the zodiac's natural 30-degree segments in WS anyway as explained above.

"The MC and IC cannot be in houses which are not 10th and 4th!"

✣ Yes they can, this is quite straightforward. In WS, the IC can be in the 2nd-6th house and MC in 8th-12th (extremely rarely it can be in the 1st/7th house too). It is a floating mathematical point (like the asc and dsc) and does not mark the beginning of the 4th house and 10th house cusps like in Placidus. ✣ This is because the MC is the point where the sun culminates at its highest position in the sky at a given location, corresponding to the local meridian. The IC is directly opposite, marking the lowest point below the horizon. The MC and IC are not tied to the zodiac signs but are based on the intersection of the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path) with the meridian line of the observer's location. This intersection varies based on the time of birth and latitude, and these points can occur at any degree of the zodiac. Because WS houses are aligned with the zodiac signs and the MC/IC are specific points along the ecliptic, the MC and IC can fall at different degrees that don't align with the 10th and 4th house cusps. ✣ This adds more nuance to readings. For instance, if the MC is in the 9th house instead of the 10th, it might indicate that one's career/public life/legacy/how they come off is strongly influenced by 9th house themes like higher education, travel, or philosophy. Thus, they add more information to how 10th and 4th house themes manifest. ✣ Here is a must-read article if you want more information (thorough analysis of MC/IC through the houses) on this topic: Patrick Watson- What To Do When the Midheaven Is Not in the 10th Whole Sign House.

Ending thoughts

People find it difficult to move on from placidus because they think their placidus charts makes complete sense/they resonate deeply with it/ they simply prefer their house placements in placidus to WS. All this is because of, for lack of better wording, a skill issue. You think it makes more sense but thats because you don't actually know how to properly delineate a chart - end of. And that's fine, astrology is complex and interpretation requires a lot of practise and deep study, especially into hellenistic works for a richer understanding of astrology.

Using placidus makes readings and your understanding of astrology unnecessarily complex and undermines the true art of chart intepretation, allowing for pop astrologers to import their own 'psychological' analysis, for instance, onto you via astrology - a deep misuse. Astrology has never been about psychologically explaining yourself - it is a map of your entire life of which you will not always 'relate' to, especially at different points in your life because those energies simply won't be pertinent/obvious when we are 5 vs 50 for example. I have spoken about the problems of using "resonating" to determine the accuracy of your astrological studies in my introductory post already, but it is a point which keeps needing to be re-emphasised.

The Whole Sign system is the oldest of all house systems, used effectively by ancient astrologers for thousands of years. It provides consistent and reliable results, particularly in predictive work, without the unnecessary and inaccurate complications introduced by varying house sizes and interceptions. If you want to use profection charts for instance, or many other traditional techniques, placidus will not work.

Placidus (as well as modern rulerships and the ABC house system which I will make posts on later) will take a while to unlearn - it certainly took me a long time to adjust out of the grips of modern pop culture's inaccurate and misleading yet addictive astrology. This is okay. But at the end of the day, wrong is wrong no matter how you try to justify it.

However, it is your personal choice. Posts like mine can only hope to encourage you to explore the deeper layers of astrology. Things like WS can take a while to accept, or you may never accept it - but as long as you make that decision fully informed. Yours sincerely, an ex-Placidus user xoxo

#astroblr #astrology #whole signs #placidus #regiomantus #koch #equal houses #astro notes #astrology observations #astrology masterlist #house systems #tropical astrology #astrology transits #astro observations #hellenistic #hellenistic astrology

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drbarty · 1 year

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While frogs is the usual translation, in the 12th century Rabbi Abraham Ben Meir Ibn Ezra suggested tzefarde'a actually means "crocodile."

#dr barty #plague doctor #plaguecore #sharpies #my art #traditional art #dr barty vs the plagues of egypt

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ariel-seagull-wings · 11 months

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SEPHARDIC BNEI ANUSIM IN BRAZILIAN TELENOVELAS AND MINISSERIES

@themousefromfantasyland @gravedangerahead @tamisdava2 @princesssarisa @professorlehnsherr-almashy @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9 @faintingheroine @budcortfancam

A Converso, Marrano, New Christian, Crypto-Jew: these terms are intermittently applied to the men and women of 15th-17th century Spain and Portugal whose identities lingered somewhere between Jews and Christians. In most cases, multiple labels can be used to describe the same individuals, because the boundaries between their identities were porous. For both contemporary observers and for modern historians, the label used reveals more about the labeler than about the phenomenon described.

Jews first settled in the Iberian Peninsula, (the region now known as Spain and Portugal) before the arrival of the Phoenicians in about 900 BCE. Jewish merchants settled along the coast of Spain during the time of King Solomon when this region was called Tarsus, or Tarshish. Iberia was referred to as Sefarad by its Jewish inhabitants and Hispania by the Romans from which the name “Spain” was later derived. More Jews immigrated after the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem. When the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, there were already large well-established Jewish settlements throughout Iberia.

The first recorded persecution of Jews in Spain began about 489 CE when Jews were forbidden to marry non-Jews or to hold public office, and any children already born of inter-marriage were forcibly baptized into the Catholic Church.

From this time forward, the Iberian Jews were periodically subjected to progressively worse persecution until finally from 653 to 672 CE, Jews were beheaded, burned alive, or stoned to death for the crime of relapsing from forced conversion to Catholicism back into Judaism. It was during the period of 489 to 711, under Frankish and Visigothic rule, that Crypto Jews (Secret Jews) first emerged as a large group.

In 711 CE the Moors of northern Africa conquered the region and there resulted approximately three hundred years of what is known as the “Golden Age of Tolerance,” when the Muslim rulers coexisted with Jews and Christians. Non-Muslim people were allowed great freedom as long as they paid a special tax, to which the Jews gladly agreed. Jewish art, music, medicine, education and religious study flourished, and the Jewish population increased greatly and prospered, many Jews becoming fabulously rich and famous.

During the Golden Age, Spain became the world center for Talmudic Studies, with some of the world’s most famous rabbinical academies. Some of the greatest Jewish scholars lived in Moorish Spain during the years of transition just after the end of this period of time. Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born in Tudela, Spain, in 1089. He was a poet, mathematician, grammarian, astronomer, commentator of Torah and philosopher. Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, known as “The Rambam” or “Maimonides,” was born in Cordoba, Spain, in 1135, and earned his living as a physician. He is most famous for his codification of Jewish law, entitled Mishne Torah, and for his philosophical work Guide for the Perplexed. Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, known as “The Ramban,” was born in 1194. He, like Maimonides, was a physician and scholar who was the first to incorporate Cabala, or Jewish mysticism, into the Torah teaching, and was a strong proponent of taking possession of the land of Israel. Jews and Crypto Jews flourished in relative peace and plenty, enjoying the Golden Age and the free exchange of ideas, a relatively high level of education for that time in the world, and the benefits from living among Torah and Talmudic scholars. Cities such as Lucena, Granada and Tarragona were populated by Jews magnificently wealthy in culture and material goods.

However, the so-called Golden Age in Spain was also marked by occasional violent upheavals and political turmoil that affected the Jews and Crypto Jews, who were subject to the whims of the frequently changing governments. For example, violence erupted in 1002, when two politically powerful and wealthy Muslims fought to rule Granada; unfortunately the Jews had backed the loser and suffered from Muslim suspicion thereafter. In 1066 a Jewish chief minister of Granada was crucified, followed by the slaughter of more than 1500 Jewish families. The original Moorish dynasty was overpowered by the fanatical Muslim Almoravides in 1086, who were in turn overpowered by the even more fanatical Muslim Almohades from Morocco in 1112. By 1149 the Almohades had overrun the entire peninsula which had become fragmented into about twelve small kingdoms. The lack of centralized control caused constant power struggles among neighboring kingdoms, such that the Almohades were unable to gain a strong hold on the peninsula.

Although the Jews had coexisted relatively peacefully with the Muslims, the Catholics bitterly resented the loss of Christian control of the peninsula since 711 and had perpetuated unrest and uprisings, and by 1212, outright rebellion. The centuries-long “Reconquista,” or reconquest, of the entire region was considered a holy obligation. Unfortunately, to the Christians, the Jews were identified with the death of their Christ and with the Muslim rulers under whom the Jews had enjoyed privilege and power. Also during this period of time, the Black Plague was ravaging Europe, killing as many as one in every four people, but far fewer of the Jewish population. Relatively few Jews died from the Plague perhaps because of better hygiene. Jews washed their hands before eating bread, bathed weekly prior to Shabbat and before holidays, washed their clothing regularly, maintained sanitary households (especially the kitchen and toilet facilities), consumed only fresh and kosher meats from healthy animals, were required to be distant from sewage and other forms of uncleanliness when reading Torah, and buried their dead within twenty four hours. All of these practices in combination with segregated all-Jewish neighborhoods provided some measure of protection from the Plague, albeit not total immunity. The Catholics did not observe such hygienic lifestyles, and seldom washed or bathed. The Catholics hated the Jews for their apparent immunity to the Plague, and widely believed the canard that the Jews were the source of the “Black Death” by poisoning wells.

The Catholics united against the Muslims who were absorbed in fighting one another and slowly took over most of the small kingdoms, one by one. Catholic rule was not kind to the Jews. Widespread pogroms in 1391 resulted in the deaths of fifty thousand Jews, such that, in fear for their lives, tens of thousands converted to Catholicism. These people were called “Conversos” (converts), “New Christians”, and “Maranos” (a derogatory term meaning “pig people.”) In 1412, the Laws of Catalina were promulgated, which excluded Jews from any economic interchange with Christians. From this time until the Edict of Expulsion in 1492, Jews were strictly confined to ghettos and had to wear identification badges prominent on the outside of their clothing. Hard-pressed to survive, many Jews, perhaps as many as 600,000, converted to Christianity by the end of the fifteenth century. Many of the New Christians were in reality Crypto Jews, outwardly Christians, but tenaciously and secretly practicing Judaism.

The Spanish Edict of Expulsion of 1492 stated that all Jews must leave the country. Those who stayed faced the Inquisition. A small number fled to Italy, Amsterdam, and the Americas, but most went to neighboring Portugal. When the Inquisition came to Portugal in 1496, the Jews were forced to leave, convert, or die. Of those Conversos who opted not to emigrate, many, if not most, were murdered by the “Holy” Inquisition. By 1500, estimates of as few as 40,000 and of more than 200,000 Jews were forced to leave the Iberian Peninsula. Exact numbers are not available because many of the Crypto Jewish family names had been changed after the pogroms of the 1300s in anticipation of future persecution.

The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition continued for three hundred and fifty years. Accurate recorded accounts of the names, numbers, dates and punishments were kept by the officers of the Inquisition, such that today anyone who cares to recount the horrors may read of them. Of those Jews and Crypto Jews who chose to not leave, or could not afford to leave the Iberian Peninsula, many later bought passage or a commission on a sailing ship bound for safer destinations, preferably as far as possible from the nearest Office of the Inquisition.

Some purchased the proper documentation for “temporary” (which frequently became permanent) business trips to Italy or Germany, whereas poorer people fled to the north through the mountains and into France. Entire communities of “Portuguese Christians” were documented in southern France, while others continued northward to Amsterdam, England, Scandinavia, and eastward to the German provinces, Austria, Hungary and Poland. In most of these European destinations, these “Portuguese Christians” eventually revealed their true identity as Jews, and then subsequently blended into the established Jewish populations; thus, we do not find long histories of Crypto Judaism throughout Europe.

Many Jews and Crypto Jews immigrated to the New World, now known as the Americas, or the Western Hemisphere. Their choices were limited to the colonies of Spain and Portugal, so that when the Inquisition came to Peru in 1570, to Mexico in 1571, and to Cartagena in 1610, these same people were forced again to choose to convert or to die. The Inquisition spread throughout what is now the southern United States of America, Mexico, Central and South America, the islands of the Caribbean, and Cuba. No Jew or "Converso" was safe from suspicion, accusation and persecution, thus the numbers of Crypto Jews swelled to encompass almost all people of Jewish descent. The experience of the Crypto Jews in the Western Hemisphere was a litany of suffering, continual fear, social, political, professional, and religious suppression and murder. As late as the 1850s the Inquisition was finally officially ended in Mexico, and elsewhere a little sooner; however, overt discrimination and random incidents of lynching and murder continued until well into the 1950s in what we now call "Latin America".

The final result of approximately one thousand years of persecution and murder of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews (minus the three hundred years of the "Golden Age") caused many families who immigrated to the New World to become Crypto Jewish, while living their public lives as Catholics. In the Americas, some of the Crypto Jews reverted to being openly Jewish, only to find a few years later that the Inquisition had followed them to their new homes, and they were forced to go back into hiding again. All of these people, the "Conversos" or "New Christians", were forced to submit to Catholicism, thus in Hebrew they are referred to as the "Anusim" or "those who were forced."

It has been approximately fifteen-hundred years since the emergence of Crypto Jews in the Iberian Peninsula, and five-hundred years since Crypto Judaism moved to the Americas. Today we find a large Crypto Jewish presence throughout the Western Hemisphere. No one knows for sure how many there really are, however in Brazil alone an estimated 10 to 25% of the total population are Crypto Jews, which translates to 15 to 40 million people.

Some period setting audiovisual productions in Brazil took interest in the history of the Anusim during the colonial period, and two teleivision productions included Anusim characters as main figures in their narratives.

Xica da Silva (1996-97)

This telenovela produded by Rede Manchete, set in 18th century Brazil, told the story of Xica da Silva, a black woman who was born in Brazil and was enslaved, until a white and rich portuguese man named João Fernandes fell in love with her, made her his lover and gave her freedom, making her one of the most rich and powerfull people of Arraial of Tijuco (now the city od Diamantina, Minas Gerais).

Among the side characters who were part of Xica da Silva and João Fernandes's story, were the Pereira family, who were jewish people that came from Portugal to Brazil hoping to escape the Inquisition, and were atracted to the Arraial of Tijuco because of the diamonds that were found there.

Teodoro (António Marques) was the patriarch, Guiomar (Lídia Franco) was his wife (who threw tantrums when she saw a slave naked) and Joaquina (Rosa Castro André) and Graça (Anabela Teixeira) were his daughters.

Both sisters were in love with the gentile travelling merchant Felix (Jayme Periard) who, despite loving Graça, is forced by tradition to marry Joaquina (in a plot inspired by the hebrew tale of how Laban tricked Jacob to marry Leah, despite having promised the hand of Rachel).

Like most characters in the narrative, being to the historical period being portrayed on screen, the Pereiras were slave owners, and Teodoro sexually abuses Fatima (Ilea Ferraz), one of the black woman who is enslaved in his house, and this results in the conception of an illegitimate child.

Later, when Fatima falls in love with another enslaved black man named Jerônimo (Alexandre Moreno) the two join forces to find a plan to take revenge on the Pereira family and get their freedom.

This plan takes form during the visit of a representative of the Inquisition to Arraial of Tijuco: The two reveal to the Inquisitor that the Pereiras had a 7-pointed candlestick (which the representative recognizes as a description of the jewish menorah), hidden in a chest.

At the end of the telenovela, the Pereiras are put under arrest by orders of the Inquisitor, who will take them to trial in Portugal. Felix comes to rescue one of the women, and the baby he had with Joaquina. Joaquina is to ill to run with him trough the woods, so she sends her sister Graça (who she always knew was Felix's true love) to go with him and her child, and Guiomar asks her son-in-law to take away the family's menorah, so her grandson will always remember his jewish origin.

Xica da Silva was a story of black and gray morality: most characters were capable of being simpathetic, and also held prejudiced beliefs and take part in cruel acts, because those were normalized by the political system, rather than a question of individual morals.

This ambiguity was also shown in the Pereiras, who were both victims of opression for being targets of antisemitism, and perpetrators of opression for participating in the widespread enslavement of black people, when owning slaves was considered prestigious and respectable.

A Muralha (2000)

In the year of 2000, during the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the portuguese squad to brazilian shores (which started the proccess of colonization), Rede Globo produced a minisseries set in the early 17th century called A Muralha (literal translation The Wall, titled The Conquest for international markets) , based on a novel written by Dinah Silveira de Queiroz, that told about the everyday life of the people who lived trough the proccess of colonization, economic exploitation and territorial expansion led by the portuguese and their descendants born here, during the period known as "Bandeiras".

The point of view which we followed those stories was primarily of the women living through that period, and one of these women was the portuguese jewish Dona Ana Cardoso (Letícia Sabatella), who arrives in Brazil to get in an arranged marriage to Dom Jerônimo Taveira (Tarcísio Meira).

Dona Ana owes a moral debt to Dom Jerônimo: he is the brother of the inquisitor who saved her father from death in Portugal. Falsely converted to Catholicism and originally resigned to her fate, Dona Ana's resignation is put into question when she is courted by the rich merchant Dom Guilherme Shetz, a libertine man who lives in harmony with nature and the Indigenous people.

The man who marries Dona Ana, Dom Jerônimo, knows how to be a scoundrel and a pretender before the authorities, but he does not respect them, and he is foolish towards the priests, but in reality he is a cruel man, who imprisons Ana on his property to satisfy his most perverse desires.

After denouncing several residents to the Inquisition for alleged heresy, Dom Jerônimo orders the arrest of those who defy his authority, including Ana and Guilherme. To everyone's astonishment, everyone is condemned to the stake. But Guilherme stabs the villain, who ends up dead in one of the fires he lit himself.

Ana and Guilherme run to live in a cabin built in the woods, and end the story living happy, expecting their first child.

Another jewish character present in the narrative was the jolly Master Davidão (Pedro Paulo Rangel): whereas Ana is more resignated, Master Davidão, while also being carefull in hiding his jewish faith, is more confident and optimistic, not letting himself be afrayed of those in power.

His joifull personality and kidness eventually win the love of Antônia Brites (Claudia Ohana), a former prostitute who came to Brazil in search of a happy marriage, and at the end, having also survived the rage of Dom Jerônimo, the two get married.

While Davidão and Ana refused to convert to Christianity, Simão (Paulo José) was an Anusin who fully embraced it years prior, having become a priest and acting as a leader of the Jesuit Order that comes to the colonies to convert the natives.

His position was in a complex middle ground: While he really believed in Christianity as the only path to salvation, he also called out those who, like Dom Jerônimo and the Inquisition, wanted to impose it trough violence, and frequented acted as a healer and confident of Dona Ana in the moments where she was enduring abuse.

Whereas Xica da Silva was more dark and dealt in black-and-gray morality, A Muralha had more heroic characters, who represented the views on the search for social progress among those who viewed religious and racial hierarchy as natural.

#judaism #jewish representation #the history side of tumblr #brazil #telenovelas #being a child in latin america

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mae-the-wiz · 11 months

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1. **Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra:** Ibn Ezra's commentary often includes philosophical and rationalistic interpretations of biblical texts. His focus on linguistic and grammatical aspects could be of interest to those exploring the interplay between language and reality, a key theme in process thought.

2. **Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides):** Maimonides, known for his philosophical works like the "Guide for the Perplexed," integrated Aristotelian thought with Jewish theology. His emphasis on God's attributes and the nature of God's existence can resonate with process theologians and panentheists.

3. **Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel:** Abarbanel's commentaries often delve into historical and philosophical aspects of the Torah. His exploration of human free will, divine providence, and theodicy may be of interest to those concerned with process theology and panentheism.

4. **Rabbi Solomon ibn Gabirol:** Although not a direct commentator on the Torah, Solomon ibn Gabirol was a Jewish philosopher and poet whose works explored metaphysical and panentheistic themes, particularly the interconnectedness of God and creation.

5. **Rabbi Yehuda Halevi:** Halevi's philosophical works, particularly "The Kuzari," discuss the relationship between God, humanity, and the physical world. His ideas on divine immanence and revelation may resonate with panentheists and process theologians.

1. **Rabbi Moses Cordovero:** Cordovero, a 16th-century Kabbalist, wrote extensively on Jewish mysticism. His work "Pardes Rimonim" touches upon the interconnectedness of God and the world, which has been interpreted as a form of panentheism.

2. **Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook:** Rabbi Kook, the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine, is known for his mystical and philosophical writings. His ideas about the divine soul and the ongoing creation of the world align with panentheistic concepts.

3. **Rabbi Arthur Green:** Rabbi Arthur Green is a contemporary Jewish theologian and scholar who has explored panentheistic ideas in his writings. His book "Torah of the Earth" discusses the relationship between God, creation, and ecological concerns.

1. **Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson:** Rabbi Artson has explored theological concepts that align with process thought, such as divine immanence and the evolving understanding of God in his book "God of Becoming and Relationship."

2. **Rabbi David Ray Griffin:** While not a traditional rabbi, David Ray Griffin is a prominent process theologian who has written extensively about process theology. His work may be of interest to those looking for a process-oriented perspective from a Jewish background.

3. **Rabbi Harold Kushner:** Rabbi Kushner, best known for his book "When Bad Things Happen to Good People," has addressed theological questions about suffering and God's relationship with the world, which are topics that intersect with process theology.

1. **Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:** Heschel, a prominent Jewish theologian and philosopher, wrote about the dynamic, living God and the divine-human encounter. His ideas about God's pathos and God's involvement in the world share some common ground with process theology.

2. **Rabbi Lawrence Kushner:** Rabbi Lawrence Kushner has written about mystical and Kabbalistic themes in Judaism. His works often touch on ideas of God's interaction with the world and the evolving nature of the divine-human relationship.

3. **Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan:** Although primarily known for his development of Reconstructionist Judaism, Kaplan's theology emphasized the evolving nature of Judaism and the idea of God as the "Power that makes for salvation," which has some resonance with process thought.

4. **Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan:** Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, in books like "Jewish Meditation" and "Meditation and Kabbalah," explored mystical and contemplative aspects of Judaism, which may intersect with process-related ideas about the divine's ongoing interaction with the world.

1. **Rabbi Reuben Zellman:** Rabbi Reuben Zellman, who is transgender, has written and spoken on the intersection of transgender identity and Judaism. While they may not be widely known for books, their articles and essays have contributed to discussions on gender and Jewish tradition.

1. **Rabbi Elliot Kukla:** Rabbi Elliot Kukla, who is transgender, is known for their activism and writing on issues of gender and Judaism. They have written articles and essays on gender, spirituality, and inclusion.

1. **Rabbi Rachel Adler:** Rabbi Rachel Adler is a feminist theologian and scholar who has written extensively on issues of Jewish feminism, sexuality, and ethics. Her book "Engendering Judaism" is a significant work in the field.

2. **Rabbi Judith Plaskow:** Rabbi Judith Plaskow is a feminist theologian and co-author of "The Coming of Lilith: Essays on Feminism, Judaism, and Sexual Ethics, 1972-2003," which explores feminist perspectives in Jewish theology.

3. **Rabbi Tamara Cohen:** Rabbi Tamara Cohen is known for her work in feminist and queer theology within Judaism. She has contributed to various anthologies and articles that explore these topics.

4. **Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg:** Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is a writer and theologian who addresses issues of feminism, spirituality, and ethics in her books, including "Surprised by God" and "Nurture the Wow."

5. **Rabbi Laura Geller:** Rabbi Laura Geller, a prominent Reform rabbi, has written about the role of women in Judaism and co-authored books on feminist theology, such as "Here All Along: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)."

1. **Rabbi Arthur Green:** Rabbi Arthur Green is known for his work in Jewish mysticism and contemporary Jewish thought. He has incorporated post-structuralist ideas into his writings, exploring the evolving nature of Jewish theology and spirituality.

2. **Rabbi Elliot Kukla:** As mentioned earlier, Rabbi Elliot Kukla, who identifies as transgender, has explored gender identity and Judaism. While not strictly post-structuralist, their work engages with deconstructive ideas related to identity and gender.

3. **Rabbi Irwin Kula:** Rabbi Irwin Kula, a writer and speaker, has explored contemporary Jewish identity and spirituality in a post-modern context, which sometimes intersects with post-structuralist themes.

1. **Rabbi Lawrence Kushner:** Rabbi Lawrence Kushner is known for his mystical and contemplative writings. His work often reflects postmodern themes, including the fluidity of language and interpretation in Jewish mysticism.

2. **Rabbi Irwin Kula:** Rabbi Irwin Kula has written on contemporary Jewish identity and spirituality, often from a postmodern perspective. His works address the evolving nature of Judaism and Jewish practice in a changing world.

3. **Rabbi Art Green:** Rabbi Art Green, a leading scholar in Jewish mysticism, has explored postmodern and deconstructive themes in his writings. He has examined the evolving nature of Jewish thought and spirituality.

4. **Rabbi Michael Lerner:** Rabbi Michael Lerner is known for his work in Jewish progressive thought and social justice. His writings often engage with postmodern ideas, particularly concerning ethics, politics, and spirituality.

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pargolettasworld · 1 year

Video

youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tn1K86Clxo

“Agadelcha” is a piyut composed probably some time in the middle of the 12th century by the rabbi and paytan Abraham Ibn Ezra. He was born in Spain -- he claimed Cordoba, but it was more likely Tudela in Navarre. He was a friend of Yehuda Halevi. This particular piyut speaks of the poet’s desire to exalt the creative power of the Divine.

The setting here is in the Arabic maqam Nahawand. Interestingly, Nahawand is a maqam that speaks of romance, passion, and yearning. Agadelcha isn’t necessarily a particularly romantic piece of poetry (that was more Yehuda Halevi’s department), but it is quite passionate, and there’s a certain amount of yearning for the perfect glorification of the Divine power, so . . . yeah, I’d say it fits. Not quite in the way you’d expect, but it does work.

#jewish music

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postverechiel · 1 year

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Spinoza ur. 24 11 1632 r. w Amsterdamie. Zapoznał się z pismami żydowskich myślicieli Abraham Ibn Ezra i Mojżesza Majmonideza. Przyswoił też idee krytyków biblii i idee współczesnej mu nauki.

Spinoza - ekskomunikowany, żył biednie szlifując soczewki, zmarł w wyniku infekcji spowodowanej przez szkło.

#filozofia #spinoza

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cmatain · 2 years

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Literatura hebraica en la Navarra medieval: Yehudá ha-Leví

La ciudad de Tudela, y en concreto su judería (la más importante de Navarra), fue el lugar de nacimiento de tres navarros ilustres y universales: Yehudá ha-Leví, Abraham ibn Ezra y Benjamín de Tudela. Hemos de tener presente que la cultura hispano-judía alcanzó un gran desarrollo en torno al reino de taifa de los Banu Hud en Zaragoza y que Tudela sería una prolongación de la taifa zaragozana…

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#Escritores navarros #Historia literaria de Navarra #Jarchas #Literatura hebraica #Poesía hebraica #Tudela #Yehudá ben Semuel ha-Leví #Yehudá ha-Leví

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alwaysalreadyangry · 4 years

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from Poems for the Millennium v.4: The University of California Book of North African Literature

#abraham ibn ezra #robert mezey #lit #poetry

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thesimplyone · 2 years

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❝Wisdom is to the soul as food is to the body.❞

:~:~: Abraham ibn Ezra

#Abraham ibn Ezra

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philippequeau · 3 years

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Foi et Loi

– Le rabbin Chaoul, disciple du rabbin Gamaliel – A un moment crucial de l’Exode, juste après que Moïse lui eut lu le « livre de l’Alliance », le peuple d’Israël, tout entier rassemblé, prononça d’une voix ces paroles : נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע na’assèh vé-nichma’, « Nous ferons et nous entendrons » (Ex 24,7). Quelque temps auparavant, le peuple avait déjà utilisé, seule, l’expression: vé-nichma’,…

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#Abraham #Abraham ibn Ezra #Moïse #Paul

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magica-pseudoacademica · 7 years

Quote

An important function of Jewish esotericism was that, in claiming access to initiated understandings of holy texts, esotericists of the period forged novel connections between scripture and various philosophical and occult-scientific discourses - all while claiming to reveal the primordial essence of Jewish scripture. As Halbertal puts it, "[t]he esoteric idea provides a new and powerful tool to exegesis as a means of receiving ideas and transforming them into an integral part of the tradition." [Abraham i]bn Ezra, for example, reads Torah against the grain of the mainstream exegetical tradition to "reveal" layers of cosmological and astrological meaning that he claims as the inner meaning of scripture known only to the elite few, even going to far as to interpret ancient Jewish ritual practices as a means of drawing down power from the heavens à la an astral talisman from Ghāyat al-ḥakīm. [Aḥmad a]l-Būnī similarly locates the metaphysical underpinnings of an astrologically-charged cosmos in the hidden meanings of the Qur'ān, legitimating thereby the utilization of various elements of astrology while still vouchsafing the superiority of Islamic revelation

Noah Gardiner, “Stars and Saints: The Esotericist Astrology of the Sufi Occultist Aḥmad al-Būnī” in Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft (2017) 12(1):39-65

#quotes #original post #islam #muslim #jewish #judaism #abraham ibn ezra #ahmad al-buni #noah gardiner

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forgottengenius · 11 years

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Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī

Abu'l-Barakāt Hibat Allah ibn Malkā al-Baghdādī c. 1080 – 1164 or 1165 CE) was an Islamic philosopher and physician of Jewish-Arab descent from Baghdad, Iraq. Abu'l-Barakāt, an older contemporary of Maimonides, was originally known by his Hebrew birth name Nathanel before his conversion from Judaism to Islam towards the end of his life.[1]His writings include the anti-Aristotelian philosophical work Kitāb al-Muʿtabar ("The Book of What Has Been Established by Personal Reflection"); a philosophical commentary on the Kohelet; and the treatise "On the Reason Why the Stars Are Visible at Night and Hidden in Daytime". Abu'l-Barakāt was an Aristotelian philosopher who in many respects followed Ibn Sina, but also developed his own ideas.[2] He proposed an explanation of the acceleration of falling bodies by the accumulation of successive increments of power with successive increments of velocity. His thought influenced the Illuminationist school of classical Islamic philosophy, the medieval Jewish philosopher Ibn Kammuna,[3] and the medieval Christian philosophers Jean Buridan and Albert of Saxony

Life

Abu'l-Barakāt, famed as Awḥad al-Zamān (Unique One of his Time), was born in Balad, a town on the Tigris above Mosul in modern-day Iraq. As a renowned physician, he served at the courts of the caliphs of Baghdad and the Seljuk sultans.[5]He converted to Islam in old age. Abu'l Barakat does not refer to his conversion in his writings, and the historical sources give contradictory episodes of his conversion. According to the various reports, he converted either out of "wounded pride", fear of the personal consequences of the death of Sultan Mahmud's wife while under his care as a physician or fear of execution when he was taken prisoner in a battle between the armies of the caliph and that of the sultan. Ayala Eliyahu argues that the conversion was "probably motivated by convenience reasons".[6][7][8][9]Isaac, the son of the Abraham Ibn Ezra and the son-in-law of Judah Halevi,[9] was one of his pupils,[6] to whom Abu'l-Barakāt, Jewish at the time, dictated a long philosophical commentary on Ecclesiastes, written in Arabic using Hebrew aleph bet. Isaac wrote a poem in his honour as introduction to this work.[5]

Philosophy

Experimental method

Al-Baghdaadi described an early scientific method emphasizing repeated experimentation, influenced by Ibn Sina, as follows:[10]

"Because of the frequency of the experience, these judgements may be regarded as certain, even without our knowing the reason [for the phenomenon]. For there is certain knowledge that the effect in question is not due to chance. It must accordingly be supposed that it is due to nature or to some modality thereof. Thus the cause qua cause, though not its species or mode of operation, is known. For experimental science is also constituted by a knowledge of the cause and by an induction based on all the data of sensation; whereby a general science is reached. ... But in the cases in which an experiment has not been completed, because of its not having been repeated in such a way that the persons, the time and the circumstances varied in everything that did not cause the determining cause, whereas this cause [remained invariable], the experiment does not prove certain knowledge, but only probably opinion."

Motion

According to Alistair Cameron Crombie, al-Baghdaadi was a follower of the scientific and philosophical teachings of Ibn Sina.

proposed an explanation of the acceleration of falling bodies by the accumulation of successive increments of power with successive increments of velocity.[11]

According to Shlomo Pines, al-Baghdaadi's theory of motion was thus

the oldest negation of Aristotle's fundamental dynamic law [namely, that a constant force produces a uniform motion], [and is thus an] anticipation in a vague fashion of the fundamental law of classical mechanics [namely, that a force applied continuously produces acceleration].[12]

Al-Baghdaadi's theory of motion distinguished between velocity and acceleration and showed that force is proportional to acceleration rather than velocity.[4][13] The 14th-century philosophers Jean Buridan and Albert of Saxony later refer to Abu'l-Barakat in explaining that the acceleration of a falling body is a result of its increasing impetus. Abu'l-Barakat also modified Ibn Sina's theory of projectile motion, and stated that the mover imparts a violent inclination (mayl qasri) on the moved and that this diminishes as the moving object distances itself from the mover.[4]Al-Baghdaadi also suggested that motion is relative, writing that "there is motion only if the relative positions of the bodies in question change." He also stated that "each type of body has a characteristic velocity that reaches its maximum when its motion encounters no resistance."[3]

Space and Time

Al-Baghdaadi criticized Aristotle's concept of time as "the measure of motion" and instead redefines the concept with his own definition of time as "the measure of being", thus distinguishing between space and time, and reclassifying time as a metaphysical concept rather than a physical one. The scholar Y. Tzvi Langermann writes:[3]

Dissatisfied with the regnant approach, which treated time as an accident of the cosmos, al-Baghdadi drew the conclusion that time is an entity whose conception (ma'qul al-zaman) is a priori and almost as general as that of being, encompassing the sensible and the non-sensible, that which moves and that which is at rest. Our idea of time results not from abstraction, stripping accidents from perceived objects, but from a mental representation based on an innate idea. Al-Baghdadi stops short of offering a precise definition of time, stating only that 'were it to be said that time is the measure of being (miqdar al-wujud), that would be better than saying [as Aristotle does] that it is the measure of motion'. His reclassification of time as a subject for metaphysics rather than for physics represents a major conceptual shift, not a mere formalistic correction. It also breaks the traditional linkage between time and space. Concerning space, al-Baghdadi held unconventional views as well, but he did not remove its investigation from the domain of physics.

In his view, there is just one time which is similar for all beings, including God. Abu'l-Barakāt also regarded space as three-dimensional and infinite.[14]

Psychology

He upheld the unity of the soul, denying that there is a distinction between it and the intellect.[14] For him, the soul's awareness of itself is the definitive proof that the soul is independent of the body and will not perish with it.[2] On his contributions to Islamic psychology, Langermann writes:[3]

Al-Baghdadi's most significant departure in psychology concerns human self-awareness. Ibn Sina had raised the issue of our consciousness of our own psychic activities, but he had not fully pursued the implications for Aristotelian psychology of his approach. Al-Baghdadi took the matter much further, dispensing with the traditional psychological faculties and pressing his investigations in the direction of what we would call the unconscious.

Works

He wrote a critique of Aristotelian philosophy and Aristotelian physics entitled Kitab al-Mu'tabar (the title may be translated as "The Book of What Has Been Established by Personal Reflection"). According to Abu'l-Barakāt, Kitāb al-Muʿtabar consists in the main of critical remarks jotted down by him over the years while reading philosophical text, and published at the insistence of his friends, in the form of a philosophical work. The work "presented a serious philosophical alternative to, and criticism of, Ibn Sina".[15] He also developed concepts which resemble several modern theories in physics.[3]Abu'l-Barakāt also wrote a short treatise on the intellect, Kitāb Ṣaḥiḥ adillat al-naql fī māhiyyat al-ʻaql (صحيح أدلة النقل في ماهية العقل), which has been edited by Ahmad El-Tayeb.[16]All that we possess in the way of medical writing by Abu'l-Barakāt are a few prescriptions for remedies. These remain in manuscript and are as yet unstudied.[17]

Legacy

Abu'l-Barakāt's thought had a deep influence on Islamic philosophy but none on Jewish thought. His works were not translated into Hebrew,[14] and he is seldom cited in Jewish philosophy, probably because of his conversion to Islam.[7]

The famous theologian and philosopher Fakhr al-Din al-Razi was one of Abu'l-Barakāt's eminent disciples. The influence of Al-Baghdadi’s views appears especially in Al-Razi’s chief work Al-Mabāḥith al-Mashriqiyyah (Oriental Discourses). Abu'l-Barakāt influenced certain conceptions of Suhrawardi.[18].[4]

#Seljuk #Judah Halevi #Jean Buridan #Islamic philosophy #Islam #Iraq #Baghdad #Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī #Abraham Ibn Ezra

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