Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Judaism/Archive 31

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This has been forked off the main Yahweh article for some time now, with the lead:

Yahweh, prior to becoming Yahweh, the national god of Israel, and taking on monotheistic attributes in the 6th century BCE, was a part of the Canaanite pantheon in the period before the Babylonian captivity.

As those who are familiar with the subject will know the main piece of modern evidence for the Yahweh pre-Israel deity theory is

More recently, the damaged Ugaritic cuneiform text KTU 1.1:IV:14-15 is also included in the discussion:[6]

From KTU II:IV:13-14
tgr.il.bnh.tr [ ] wyn.lt[p]n il dp[id...][7] [J yp 'r] Sm bny yw 'ilt
My son [shall not be called] by the name of Yw, o goddess, [Jfc ym smh (?)] [but Ym shall be his name!]

There's slow ongoing discussion on whether to de-Fork and merge back to Yahweh, whether to leave separate, or what to do about improving provision of modern WP:RS and WP:NPOV sources. If there are any knowledgeable editors available... In ictu oculi (talk) 07:41, 14 November 2013 (UTC)

Article on sexual abuse in Hasidic community in NYC

Here is:

Not sure where it should go and be used as a source WhisperToMe (talk) 08:41, 14 November 2013 (UTC)

RfC: Peter Sellers article regarding the use of word "Jewish" of a character (1)

There's a Request for Comment occurring that seems relevant to this project. It's regarding the Peter Sellers article and the word "Jewish" to describe a conman character in several 1980 Barclay's Bank commercials. There is a heated discussion regarding the sources to support the content. Input can be very helpful to everyone involved, including me.

Discussion at Talk:Peter Sellers#Request for Comment: Use of term "Jewish" to describe conman character. --Oakshade (talk) 22:41, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

At the Peter Sellers article there is discussion of how to refer to a fictional character played by Peter Sellers in three advertisements that he made for Barclay's Bank. The 3 advertisements are available for viewing on YouTube. Rather than provide a direct link to the video containing those 3 advertisements, I will instead suggest that you use the search terms "Peter Sellers Barclays Commercials" at YouTube. The Peter Sellers article presently contains the following sentence: "Filmed in April 1980 in Ireland, he played a Jewish conman, Monty Casino." Extensive discussion can be found on the Talk page of the article. Please feel free to weigh in. Bus stop (talk) 05:47, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

A request for comment on whether to describe a character as a Jewish con man (2)

You may wish to comment at Talk:Peter_Sellers#Request_for_Comment:_Use_of_term_.22Jewish.22_to_describe_conman_character. -- TRPoD aka The Red Pen of Doom 13:27, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

This same issue is also found at: Peter Sellers on stage, radio, screen and record. Bus stop (talk) 14:06, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah

Copied here from my talkpage Why do you keep removing the article Adult bar and bat mitzvah from the Template:Jewish life? Xyz7890 (talk) 00:35, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

For the reason I mentioned twice in the editsummary: that it is nothing different from a bar and bat mitzvah. Moreover, I am not sure this article should exist, as it seems a fork of the regular article about bar and bat mitzvah. What is sure, is that an adult bar or bat mitzvah is not an integral part of Jewish life, for the obvious reason that normally one would have it in childhood. So here you have no less than three reasons. Debresser (talk) 01:14, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
This article has every reason to exist. #1 it is clearly notable. There have been several books written solely on the topic specifically of adult bar/bat mitzvahs as opposed to regular ones. There have been articles on the topic in many newspapers and magazines. Altogether, these provide a mountain of notability. #2 The guidelines as to whether or not there should be an article on Wikipedia are not based on its normality in tradition. They are based on sources and coverage. Sure, the customary age for a bar/bat mitzvah is 12/13. But there are so many people who do it at an older age, and so much coverage to prove this, that it is a noted fact of life. #3 The amount of information that can be written can be lengthy enough to be a separate article. This article is not finished yet. I am still reading through more sources. That qualifies the topic for a separate article. Xyz7890 (talk) 04:54, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
I agree the subject is notable, no problem here. The question is if it should be treated in a separate article from Bar and Bat Mitzvah. I think not. If the article would grow substantially, then perhaps. Still, all of this does not mean I agree it this article should be mentioned in the Jewish life template. Let's take this to WP:JUDAISM for further input. Debresser (talk) 19:16, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
The phenomenon certainly merits a subhead on the Bar and Bat Mitzvah page. It does not qualify for its own page per WP:CFORK. As Debresser rightly puts it, a bar mitzvah is a bar mitzvah. Yoninah (talk) 19:31, 17 November 2013 (UTC)
I think "Adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah" should be merged back into the article "Bar and Bat Mitzvah". The distinctions between two are largely distinctions between ceremonial activities taking place at different points in life. I think these are of secondary importance. Bus stop (talk) 20:18, 17 November 2013 (UTC)

Just a note - this page is getting overspill from a WP:FRINGE theory that the Christian book of Matthew is based on a lost Hebrew original (scholars considered it a product of Hellenistic Judaism, written in Greek), primarily because a recurring cycle of edits over the past x years has been repeatedly rejected by editors on pages relevant to the subject. I realise the actual details of such a theory are not of interest to editors on Antisemitism, but it seems a WP:WEIGHT issue to have a fringe Christian/Messianic theory even be mentioned. This probably does not constitute a neutral notification, sorry, but the comment "recurring cycle of edits over the past x years has been repeatedly rejected by editors on pages relevant to the subject" is demonstrable from edit histories. In ictu oculi (talk) 17:47, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

Is Judaism a race/ethnicity or a religion? IP editor edits instances, making them say it is a religion

Just as a heads up an IP editor is editing instances of Judaism insisting that it is a religion and not a race or an ethnicity: Special:Contributions/98.100.17.34 If the edits are justified, then so be it. But it's good to know about these edits. WhisperToMe (talk) 17:01, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

Ethno-religious group. That has long standing and hard defended consensus. Debresser (talk) 23:59, 12 November 2013 (UTC)
Agree with Debresser ... it is all three of them.--Epeefleche (talk) 04:33, 13 November 2013 (UTC)
Only a religion- I personally know many Jews who share no common ethnic background. This is why it would be a mistake to, for example, say one is of "Jewish descent". Keep in mind, there are also lots of people who did not originally celebrate Judaism that convert to the religion later in life. If they all did share some common ethnic background, that would also mean all Christians share a common ethnic background as well (Christianity came from Judaism). Being Christian myself (Catholic to be specific), I know for a fact that many people of my religion have no common ethnic background as me. Many non-Christians also convert to the religion later in life. A few of my cousins are half-Jewish (two of my father's brothers married women who celebrate Judaism), and one of these cousins brought up at his Bar Mitzvah that the only thing that separates Judaism from Christianity is their disagreement over whether or not Jesus (a man who celebrated Judaism himself) was the Messiah/savior. Therefore, it is only a religion out of those three. 174.236.37.43 (talk) 14:00, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

Naming convention for Hasidic Rebbes

An editor has moved Yissachar Dov Rokeach (I) to Yissachar Dov Rokeach I, and Yissachar Dov Rokeach (II) to Yissachar Dov Rokeach II. He is of the opinion that all such pages should be renamed this way. I pointed out that Judaism has no such concept as "the first," the "second," or even "senior" and "junior". Other editors are invited to comment at Talk:Yissachar Dov Rokeach I#Page rename. Thank you, Yoninah (talk) 18:44, 4 November 2013 (UTC) I would wonder if it would not be more accurate to include the patrynimic (father's name). Jewish tradition, in the Western communities, is against naming someone after a living person. There would not be a Yissachar Dov Jr., as the father could not name his son the same name as his own. Even grandchildren might not get the name if the original YD was alive at the times of their births. YDR(I) might have been more accurately differentiated from YDR(II) by their having different father's names. In the Talmud, there are even those who are identified solely by the father's name, e.g Ben Nanas or Son of Nanas. Artstop (talk) 19:44, 25 November 2013 (UTC)

Help with Hebrew needed in an unlikely location....an Australian cicada...

Ok, I need help with hte derivation of Thoph in Thopha saccata. The 1843 source is French and gives it as "tambour", but tambour is a disambiguation - and leads to a stringed instrument (???). Can anyone familiar with Hebrew give a more accurate meaning (and it'd be great if we could stick the Hebrew letters in the article, which I am not sure I know how to do). Cheers, Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 19:52, 28 November 2013 (UTC)

The Hebrew for "drum" is Thoph" (תוף). See https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A3. Debresser (talk) 19:59, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
I added the Hebrew spelling to the article, but as far as I know, the usual translation of tof is "tambourine". הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 20:03, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
Given the cicada's anatomy and sound, and what I know of French, that sounds apt. Thanks folks :) Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 20:20, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
@Casliber: on second thought, I am doubting my own translation.
I realized that I am used to the classical "school" translation of the Biblical tof as tambourine, but, as Debresser writes, in Modern Hebrew tof is used to mean "drum"—hence the two Hebrew Wikipedia articles תוף (Tof: "drum") and תוף מרים (Tof of Miriam: "tambourine").
Since the French tambour means "drum", not "tambourine" (see 19th century French dictionaries), it seems that Debresser's translation is the correct one here—so [[tambourine|tambour]] should probably replaced with [[drum|tambour]] or simply [[drum]]. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 20:57, 28 November 2013 (UTC)
(Never mind. I changed it myself. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 21:55, 28 November 2013 (UTC))
Thanks ...(facepalm) ...actually obvious given the English name is "double drummer " Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 01:33, 29 November 2013 (UTC)

There is a discussion taking place about whether to include this website as an External link at the article 2012 Munich artworks discovery. Additional input welcome. Bus stop (talk) 15:54, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

Category:Pogrom victims

Category:Pogrom victims, which is within the scope of this WikiProject, has been nominated for possible deletion. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. XOttawahitech (talk) 04:29, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

User templates and categories

FYI, I created User:L'Aquatique/Userboxes/Rabbi and Category:Wikipedian rabbis.

This user is a rabbi

I'd like to renew my request for a free image of the Lubavitcher rebbe to be used on User:L'Aquatique/Userboxes/ChabadnikLubavitcher. Debresser (talk) 12:41, 8 December 2013 (UTC)

Adding a BLP's antisemitic views

Internet celebrity and reality TV personality Tila Tequila has been fairly vocally antisemitic in the last few years, though this isn't reflected in her article. Most of the sources are primary, though there are some secondary sources like this one from Animal. I considered that it could be some long and elaborate hoax (seeing as how she gave an interview a while back saying she'd converted to Judaism), but there are Nazi images uploaded to her Facebook, and now a song on her YouTube with lyrics clearly inline with this whole breakdown.

I am not the most tactful of editors and I'd prefer to avoid this type of BLP edit and any potential fallout. I'm hoping that someone can tell me if this info should even be in the article, and if so is there someone who would want to add it. ▫ JohnnyMrNinja 07:02, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Our WP:BLP policy always comes first, JohnnyMrNinja, and thanks for asking rather than jumping into the fray. This is a young woman who has openly admitted that she suffers from several mental illnesses, and whose public behavior has grown increasingly bizarre over the years. Last year, she made a suicide attempt and also suffered a brain aneurysm. I have a sister who had a brain aneurysm a few years ago, and know in great detail how devasting such a brain trauma can be. So any discussion of her bizarre ravings has to be tempered by a compassionate understanding that we are talking about a person who appears not to be in control of her faculties. But for a genetic predisposition and a burst blood vessel, it could be you or I behaving in such a fashion. So let's be careful, cautious and always compassionate. Cullen328 Let's discuss it 06:05, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

Ashkenazi Jews

Someone has messed around with the "Ashkenazi Jews" article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.70.40.95 (talk) 18:21, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

Creating template

Hello,

I'v been working on article: Abimelech (Judges) for a while now, and I couldn't find any templates for the Biblical Judges. Will someone with knowledgeable insight on how to create templates please make one for the Judges — Thank you — ♣Jerm♣729  —Preceding undated comment added 23:34, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

The article already has Template:Judges (which perhaps should be renamed "Template:Biblical judges"). -- -- -- 02:31, 18 December 2013 (UTC)
I was thinking of a template more like this one: {{Rulers of Ancient Israel}} but that's fine. I was hoping to remove the box form style, and put a more simple one such as the example I was thinking about. — ♣Jerm♣729  —Preceding undated comment added 04:42, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

Italics and Capitalization

Should transliterated Hebrew words be capitalized and/or italicized? So far, usage seems to be inconsistent, even within one article. For example, Kohen includes both "Kohanim" and "kohanim" in the lead. -- Ypnypn (talk) 18:07, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

A word that has entered the vernacular should not be italicised. Within an article, there should be consistency for each use (so I would always italicise kohanim because it is not used in that form in English). JFW | T@lk 19:22, 23 December 2013 (UTC)
Correct, should be italicized. In ictu oculi (talk) 03:37, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

Please help with odd POV-pushing IP

24.191.198.98 (talk · contribs) (= 69.113.47.119 (talk · contribs) who edited in mid-November = 24.191.198.103 (talk · contribs) who edited in mid-October) has been adding odd Ashkenazi-centric points of view, unsourced or with unreliable sources, to a set of articles:

IP's edits have been reverted many times by various users (including myself, obviously); check the relevant pages' histories.

I am not sure how to deal with this as I have little experience in dealing with tendentious editors. Can anyone help me?

הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 01:38, 19 December 2013 (UTC)

Also interesting to note: IP 24.191.198.98's contributions on the Hebrew Wikipedia to he:חיים סולומון—there also imposing his/her view of Haym Solomon's ethnicity. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 03:17, 19 December 2013 (UTC)
Thanks for pointing it out, Hasirpad. It's very important to track those who vandalize or twist the truth on Wikipedia, thus we must then warn and even block them if needed. I'll soon review some of this IP's recent edits, and will then decide what action to take. -Yambaram (talk) 08:30, 21 December 2013 (UTC)
Can I assume that reverting these edits would be uncontroversial?
In particular, I would appreciate the input of users Debresser, Sirmylesnagopaleentheda and Yoninah, who have previously reverted some of the same IP's edits. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 01:47, 23 December 2013 (UTC)
I've been wondering about this too. I have done my best on Haym Solomon and Ashkenazi Hebrew, I'm afraid I hadn't spotted the others. My approach has not been to revert this user's edits completely but to extract any factual nuggets there may be and discard the rest. But I don't want to spend a great deal of time on this. --Sir Myles na Gopaleen (the da) (talk) 11:36, 23 December 2013 (UTC)
I guess I'll begin by cleaning up Rashi. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 03:13, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
I'm not a part of this project, but I have been running into this IP users edits, would you like me to rollback their edits, or just allow you guys to do it? Maybe report them to you somehow? Bluefist talk 04:29, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
I just looked at the history of these articles, is this user not explaining himself at all? Maybe you should consider WP:AN/I? Bluefist talk 04:33, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
One last thing, most of the articles you mentioned below are changed by the IP user again. Definitely should get an admin to do something. Bluefist talk 04:40, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
@Bluefist: The IP has not answered any attempt at communication (though I admit my opening comments to them were somewhat bitey)—note the complete absence of talk-page edits and the paucity of edit summaries.
Their only attempt at explanation is their occasional citing of sources, but many of their edits are unsourced or cite sources that do not seem to support their claim; those that due give undue weight to their preferred views or present historical (if notable) opinions as facts. As far as I can tell, the only semi-constructive edits were made to Ashkenazi Hebrew, where Sirmylesnagopaleentheda has already rewritten the IP's contributions in a suitable tone and proper formatting.
הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 14:27, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

 Done Reverted all problematic edits mentioned above at Ashkenazi Hebrew, History of the Jews in France, Rashi, Tosafot and List of Tosafists; Rabbeinu Tam already reverted by Debresser.

 Not done Haym Solomon and he:חיים סולומון (perhaps I should inform the primary editor of the Hebrew article of the issue raised here).

הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 03:45, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

The IP just did it again on Rashi. I think an administrative block is in order. Yoninah (talk) 10:40, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
I've also notified he:User:Gilgamesh (not the same as User:Gilgamesh here, apparently), the primary editor of the Hebrew article on Haym Solomon. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 20:28, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

Yet again at Haym Solomon, reverted by Josh3580; and again, reverted by myself. And this despite a recent level-3 warning by Bluefist.

Which is the appropriate noticeboard to report this?

הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 00:10, 25 December 2013 (UTC) הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 00:10, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

I would say WP:AN/I. Good luck, User:הסרפד. Bluefist talk 00:14, 25 December 2013 (UTC)
@Bluefist: Thank you! I guess I'll try that. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 00:37, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

 Done Reported at ANI. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 01:36, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

IP now blocked. הסרפד (call me Hasirpad) 15:46, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

(Abrahamic person) dab

I've just noticed this series of moves:

(cur | prev) 19:41, 24 December 2013‎ StAnselm (talk | contribs)‎ m . . (46,380 bytes) (0)‎ . . (StAnselm moved page Talk:Lot (Abrahamic person) to Talk:Lot (biblical person) over redirect: Reverted undiscussed move - please use WP:RM) (undo | thank)
(cur | prev) 19:40, 24 December 2013‎ Pass a Method (talk | contribs)‎ m . . (46,380 bytes) (0)‎ . . (Pass a Method moved page Talk:Lot (biblical person) to Talk:Lot (Abrahamic person) over redirect) (undo | thank)
(cur | prev) 10:27, 27 November 2013‎ StAnselm (talk | contribs)‎ m . . (46,380 bytes) (0)‎ . . (StAnselm moved page Talk:Lot (Abrahamic person) to Talk:Lot (biblical person) over redirect: Reverted strange and possibly POV move) (undo | thank)
(cur | prev) 09:35, 27 November 2013‎ Pass a Method (talk | contribs)‎ m . . (46,380 bytes) (0)‎ . . (Pass a Method moved page Talk:Lot (biblical person) to Talk:Lot (Abrahamic person)) (undo | thank)

The argument seems to be that Lot is mentioned in the Quran eg, so the dab should be "Abrahamic" to include Islam rather than "biblical" which is Jewish + Christian.

This, and similar edits on other articles, might benefit from broader input. I haven't posted this note at WP Islam or WP Christianity yet but will link to it. In ictu oculi (talk) 03:37, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

  • Comment - I'd lean toward the "biblical person" dab just on WP:UCN grounds, but also because it's not necessary. Despite being a former seminarian, I have to say "Abrahamic person" is not what I'd be searching for biblical names, and I'd probably scratch my head for a bit if I saw that on a disambiguation page before having an "oh...yeah...that could be it" reaction after a few other attempted searches. But as for disambiguation purposes, we already have Lot in Islam to discuss their rendering of Lot, called Lut, which makes the name change from Lot (biblical person) to include the Islamic tradition in the article name rather unnecessary, IMHO.--ColonelHenry (talk) 05:39, 26 December 2013 (UTC)
User:ColonelHenry, yes that would be my take too. However when I made the above comment I was only aware of the moves/titling issues, which now appears to be a small part of larger on-going context from edits to Hebrew Bible articles first raised with diffs linked at the beginning of Wikipedia:Administrators'_noticeboard/IncidentArchive820#Editor_deleting_Islamic_content. Personally I'm sympathetic to increasing the Quranic content in "Hebrew Bible" articles, provided it is in keeping with WP:RS and WP:WEIGHT which to my mind means following the usual (1) in Tanakh, (1.1) in Talmud; (2) Christian; (3) in Islam chronological format. But that doesn't extend to edits such as e.g. the first diff above editing Russell Crowe's upcoming 2014 Noah film diff to say that the film is based on "surah Hud and Genesis" - which looks like WP:OR with no evidence that director Darren Aronofsky and writers Aronofsky and Ari Handel drew on the Quran before drawing on Genesis. Including Islamic/Quranic content into Hebrew Bible articles needs to be done sensitively and in line with the WP:WEIGHT and chronological relation described in WP:RS. In ictu oculi (talk) 12:22, 26 December 2013 (UTC)
  • (1) I have no objection to including information in an article about a putatively Judeo-Christian figure about how Islam considers/adapts his story in the Qu'ran or the Hadith, etc--as you described (which I think is generally the norm as it is). Some of the expansive discussions about these persons in the Islamic and late Christian periods (especially in the Medieval traditions that emerge after the Crusades) reveal interesting contexts and symbolism to augment their story. However, in a case like this where we have Lot (biblical person) and a spin-off Lot in Islam, and the biblical person article is largely Judeo-Christian in scope there shouldn't be a need to start retitling articles just because someone thinks Muslims are being left out by calling it "biblical". Similarly, other figures that appear in both Biblical and Islamic traditions i.e. the many articles on Mary, Cain and Abel vs. Cain and Abel in Islam, we have Biblical figures in Islamic tradition and Biblical narratives and the Quran. Starting an edit-war over article names to include Muslims more when there already are sufficient spin-off articles is not in the project's best interests since it would promote antagonism and undermine the ease of finding these articles. It seems to swing the WP:UNDUE pendulum too far in favour of the Islamic tradition at the expense of the Christian and Jewish traditions in that latent reverse discrimination/PC way. Further, I'm not even sure that "Abrahamic" is correct in all contexts since most Muslim scholars do not use the word...(2) As for the behaviour of StAnselm and Pass a Method -- it is a troubling pattern on both sides, and if it continues (as inevitably I fear it will), they will be at least topic banned, at worse blocked. (3) As for the Russell Crowe/Aronofsky film, that claim does look like original research prima facie--I regret that I don't have much time to do any more on that topic than scratch the surface.--ColonelHenry (talk) 15:57, 26 December 2013 (UTC)
Yes, agree with those comments, though I don't think an editor repeatedly reverting is a person mentioned in the qur'anic sura Shura and the biblical Book of Genesis chapters 11–14 and 19 is as guilty as the editor repeatedly placing it. I think that's merely a function of some Hebrew Bible articles not being widely watchlisted and the reverting being left to small number of responsible watchdog editors. It's noteworthy that the edits occurred at Lot etc. which would be less prominent than adding "Moses .... in the Quran and the Hebrew Bible" or "Aaron... in the Quran and the Hebrew Bible.
It seems, from a brief look, that the main problem with the Islamic sections in Hebrew Bible character/event articles is WP:PSTS related - specifically the lack of good secondary sources, such as Stephen J. Vicchio Biblical Figures in the Islamic Faith (2008) or more specialist ones such as ‎Marlies Ter Borg Bible Figures in Islamic Art (2012), Biblical Figures Outside the Bible ed Michael E. Stone, ‎Theodore A. Bergren (2002). There are objective NPOV WP:RS sources to fill out Islam sections on Hebrew Bible characters, but too often editors are simply citing the Quran itself, counter WP:PSTS. In ictu oculi (talk) 02:45, 28 December 2013 (UTC)