Minim Meaning

  ב"ה

Way back in the days of the beginning of Christianity, Christians and Jews kept the same laws, ate at the same table and prayed in the same synagogues. But after a while, it became clear to the Rabbis that the Christians would stop other synagogue goers and try to convince them that the משיח (Moshiakh or the Messiah) had already come.


Needless to say, the Rabbis were not too terribly thrilled about this, in particular they were not thrilled about having apostates (מינים -- Minim) represent the congregation during the repetition of the עמידה -- Amida -- the main prayer in each prayer service. So the Rabbis added a 19th ברכה (Brakha -- blessing) to the עמידה which is also known as the שמונה עשרה Shemona Esrei -- which means 18. What this ברכה Brakha basically did was to call down G-d's wrath on the מינים -- Minim. So anyone who was in this category would be afraid to say the Brakha because they wouldn't want to call down G-d's wrath on themselves and their friends.


It's the same thing with the loyalty oath that may pass in the Israeli Knesset. This loyalty oath requires Israelis who are not covered by Israel's Law of Return. All we are trying to do is sift out the enemies of Israel, the enemies of freedom, the enemies of the Jews. Because the enemies of Israel make it a point to insist that Israel is NOT a Jewish state, it is incumbent upon us, as protectors of Israel and the Jewish people, to certify the best we can that we are not harboring our own enemies, not harboring the future murderers of our people.


We need to insure the safety of the population of Israel, not just the Jewish population, but the Christian population, the Muslim population, the Baha'i population, the Buddhist population, the Hindu population, the Zoroastrian population, the plethora of different people that make our land strong. We also need to be strong for all the suppressed people in this world, people who need to see that there is someone to stand up to terrorism, tyranny and oppression. And we all need to stand with Israel in this fight.


Check out my other blogs:


Israel and it's Place in the World
Jewish Singles
Strong Jewish Women


Check out some of my squidoo lenses (articles):


Strong Biblical Women
Strong Biblical Women 2