rymenhild

The news from the CJLS (the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, in charge of determining religious law for the rabbis of Judaism's Conservative Movement, in case you haven't been following along here) regarding same-sex marriages and ordination of gay and lesbian clergy is apparently no news. The committee asked the authors of the submitted opinions to revise their proposals; the issue will be treated again the next time the CJLS convenes in December.

ETA: The Forward has more details, including news of a recent change in the CJLS policies that requires 80% unanimity, instead of the more usual 24%, to approve legal opinions on "particularly momentous" issues (i.e., given the issues facing the Conservative Movement lately, gays, gays and gays!).

Edited again, on March 7, to add: Either the Forward article was unclear or I misread it. The New York Times article post-non-vote explains that only the most radical proposal on the table, which advocated a complete change (takanah) in Jewish law, would require an 80% vote to pass. The other three opinions only need the normal 24%.

In response to the latest news from the Vatican, cataptromancer has been writing Latin verse.

Sumus omnes peccatores
Humani viles et sunt mores -
Unde haec superbia
Quae te ad arcendos caros
Urget Dei cum ignaros
accipis in familia?

[We are all sinners, and human behavior is vile - whence this pride which drives you to exclude those dear to God and to accept into the family those who are ignorant of him?]

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Thanks to deborah_judge, I have now watched the Battlestar Galactica miniseries. I did enjoy it. The Biblical imagery is very clear, and the conflicts between the human characters are fascinating. President Laura Roslin, especially, is a fully-formed character. I have to admit that I'm not fond of the Cylons, though. Six, especially, earned my loathing from the first moment her dyed-blonde hair appeared on the television screen. Something about the artificiality of her femininity repels me utterly. Before I figured out what her name was, I started calling her Vagina Dentata; that should totally be her name. It's so much more descriptive than Six.

***

My sister is coming tomorrow. In her honor, my apartment is nearly clean. Hopefully, it will be completely clean by the time her plane lands.

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Do not expect logic behind the LJ-cuts. You are warned.

( Words I have added to my spell-check today )

( When do you call it the Hebrew Bible? )

( Further rambling )