A Day In The Life Of A Pharisee Religion Essay

A Day In The Life Of A Pharisee Religion Essay To be a good Jew is to have a vision and goal to achieve the ultimate level of holiness in the eyes of God. Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew, and during his lifetime there emerged many different groups whose ultimate goal was to follow and put into practice what God expected of his people. Among these, there stood three major groups known as the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes. In attempt to be a conscientious first century Jew, in comparison to the other groups, I feel as though the Pharisees hold the most appealing position in terms of living a genuine and legitimate religious life. During the time of first century Judaism, many groups conformed to his teachings however many made an attempt to challenge his judgment. Stepping into the Hasmonean period, sometime before 135 BCE, in terms of social class, the Pharisees arose as a group more applicable to a common people however it did consist of a few priests (Sanders, 44). Considering my place in society in the 20th Century, I believe it would be accurate to assume that in Jesus lifetime, I could place myself among the commoners rather than part of the elite. This minor detail plays a part in my decision of choosing the Pharisees as an appealing group to be part of. Granted the fact that they are of my social standing, they would be able to relate to my needs best therefore we would share many of the same religious and political views. In a way, during the Hasmonean Dynasty, the Pharisees could be described as religious teachers of the law. Theologically, the Pharisees shared common Jewish orthodoxy (Sanders 44), believing in Israel as the chosen nation, the law in which was given to Moses, and the concept of repentance and forgiveness. As these beliefs were shared among the average Jews of the time, it makes sense as to why a first century Jews, as well as myself, would turn to the Pharisees as religious teachers. The Hebrew word for Pharisees is Perushim, meaning those who have a tendency to withdraw or to separate themselves. One could assume this name could relate to the Pharisaic mode of life which dictated a strict separation from all impurity and unclean foods (Isaacson 24). However it could correlate with the reality that the Pharisees do not share one uniform view on things; thus there were two groups of Pharisees, The Shammai and the Hillel. Inevitably, amongst these two groups there were disagreements. The Shammai stood on the conservative left wing side of the spectrum while The Hillel held a more liberal position. Fundamentally, the Shammai followed a more strict and zealous observance of the law. They were powerful up until 68 BCE and they educated aristocratic, wealthy families over a longer period of time. The Hillel became more widely known after 68 AD. They appealed more to the interest of those in lower classes because they demanded training and did not have such a literal un derstanding of the law. In my opinion it is inevitable for disputes to occur among different classes of society especially regarding similar traditions. Nevertheless the two groups of Pharisees still managed to put their differences aside and allow intermarriage. This is a prime example of something that Jesus would encourage people to do, and because the Pharisees could acknowledge this, is another reason why as a first century Jew I would find them an admirable group to comply with. As well as being religiously linked with the middle class people of society, the Pharisees continued the tradition of scribes and the men of Great Assembly (Isaacson 240). Just as the Scribes did, the Pharisees believed in the authority of oral tradition as well as the Torah. They also maintained the notion of afterlife as well as believing that God would send a Messiah to create peace over the world. In spite of this, it is important to understand that the society of Judea developed over time and the Pharisees helped guide this development by creating new laws as well progressing the synagogue and temple. According to Josephus they practiced the highest ideals both in their way of living and in their discourse (Sanders, 44). The Pharisees did not fail to understand the importance of Laws already formed by their predecessors but they initiated change in the developing Judea society by adding new laws for the people as well as taking a non-literal approach to Biblical Law. They closely followed the doctrine of immortality therefore laws such as an eye for an eye were explained in an approach that could be more comparable to the current circumstances of the people. In their effort to create new laws for more modern day society, they formed a purity rule in regards to the Mosaic Law. This is a law in which one is required to bathe in order to remove impurities before entering the temple. The Pharisees instructed people to wash their hands before the Sabbath and holy meals, and this eventually led Jews to wash their hands before every meal in order to wash away impurities. Because of their dedication to the religiosity of the people, the Pharisees were well liked amongst Jews that populated their communities. It is said that although the Jews made special rules for them to follow, they did not force them on everyone else (Sanders 44). I can appreciate that the Pharisees were overall trying to better the Jewish community however they did not try to enforce their traditions on others. In the second century the Pharisees improved the Jewish Temple with the development of the synagogue as well as the enforcement of oral traditions to those who resided within their communities. The Pharisees greatly appreciated the written law however they held close to them the oral teachings of their fore fathers. As a teacher to the people, the Pharisees did not question that which was passed down to them; they simply interpreted these traditions and passed it down orally to the people. The Pharisees wished to embrace the whole people particularly through education. It was their desire and intention that everyone in Israel achieve holiness through the study of the Torah (The Maccabees 93). The Pharisees cared about the temple developing as a whole in a way that fit the needs of current society. Not only did the Pharisees not impede their ideas on the Jews of the time, they respected that society is always changing. With this, the Pharisees created the temple to be a place that fit into the life of a commoner. As a Jew at the time, I could turn to the Pharisaic movement to help me understand and practice my faith in a way that I could best relate to. Along with the Pharisees, the Sadducees were among the earliest groups to form during the Hasmonean dynasty. For the most part, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were seen as opposition to each other politically and religiously. The word Sadducee is believed to have originated from Zadok, Solomons High Priest. This description seems justifiable given the fact that the Sadducees consisted of members of the aristocratic, conservative, elite standing of society. The Pharisees were more popular as they attracted the commoners of society, the Sadducees were a minority that held great power over Kings and embraced Hellenization, forcing Greek culture upon society. One of the biggest conflicts between these two groups involved the fact that the Sadducees rejected the doctrine of immortality. The Sadducees took a literal approach to the written law, following it word for word where as the Pharisees were open to interpretation of the Torah. The Sadducees did not believe in after life therefore not seeing the importance of the oral law. As a result, they rejected new laws and innovations which the Pharisees introduced in response to historical necessity (Isaacson 240). In regards to the temple, the Sadducees viewed it as untouchable, ultimately denying the Pharisaic attempt to develop and integrate new ideas into the temple. Evidentially the two groups were at constant disagreement with each other and this lead to tension within the second temple era. Eventually, a civil war broke out during the Hasmonean dynasty banishing the Sadducees as a whole leaving only the Pharisees to fully recover. Given these facts I would not have wanted to be a Sadducee due to their unwillingness to accept that society is forever changing and therefore observance of the law needed to change with it. I do not find it appealing that they were only considerate to the needs of those higher up in society and perhaps this is why they were unable to regain power afterwards.

Regional Band Competition :: Example Personal Narratives

Regional Band Competition The situation was insane. Not only did I have to make time in the busy schedule of my junior year to take a few days off from school to attend the District One East High School Band Festival, but I actually had to audition to get a decent seat. Don't get me wrong; I was thrilled about attending. I just wasn't looking forward to having to make up two day's worth of schoolwork. For once, I would be attending a festival where the seating arrangement wasn't based on how fast you could sprint to the stage from your seat in the auditorium, but on how talented of a musician you were. And the music for the audition? Amazingly difficult. I knew many of the other students from other competitions and festivals, so I was familiar with their talent and ability. Based on that knowledge, I decided that I had no chance of placing higher in the rankings than, say, a jar of mayonnaise. After diligently practicing - or cramming - the night before the audition, I felt I was as prepared as I'd ever be. Out of all the pieces we were given for the audition, my friends and I had narrowed it down to a few choices that the judges would most likely pick for the try-outs. From the three or four that we picked, we determined that the hardest song was Gustav Holst's "Second Suite in F." Fortunately, this song was one that I was familiar with already from concert band. I felt somewhat confident about the audition, but managed to convince myself that I'd be ecstatic if I placed any higher than last chair. I didn't even dream of placing high enough to be selected for Regional Band. The students with the highest scores at the District festivals were chosen to advance to the Regional competition. The first night of the District Band Festival, held at Yough Senior High School, took place on the evening of January 19, 2000. Cramming seven Hempfield students and one tuba into a mini-yellow bus, which we dubbed "The Sped Sled," we trekked through the blustery winter weather to the school. Surprisingly enough, we were early, giving us all a little more time to relax, warm-up, or practice music.

Negotiation

Negotiating for a particular goal may sometimes provide some more insights as to how situations can be handled positively. In some cases however, it is also possible for a party to forecast that a certain negotiation is diverting towards a losing end. Negotiation is a process of deliberation between two parties to meet a particular agreement of mutual benefits (DFM Unitar, 2004). In this aspect, there are some popular points of views in negotiations which can provide outlooks in a win or lose perspective. One popular view is to consider negotiation to be a bridging platform. If the two or more sides of the agreement will mutually benefit and that the course practice will connect the parties towards respective self development, then most probably the discussion will reinforce a winning perspective for both parties. On the other hand, it is very possible that negotiations can impose a losing perspective to at least one of the parties involved. If the view of one party is to use negotiation to take advantage of the other side, and that the other side has no means to counter an imposed agreement due to other prioritized factors, then the latter will be on the losing streak. Therefore, views about a particular negotiation dramatically predict who will win or lose in an agreement. On a personal note, I had experienced losing in a conflict. This happened when I complained about the higher rates being applied to my credit card bill. I called the company and insisted that I did not deserve such monthly bill rate since I was actually paying a 0% installment plan for an appliance. The agent explained that an additional purchase outside from the installment program can actually increase charges. He pointed that out in the contract which I was never initially aware of. I was outraged by the seemingly unfair situation I had but when I read through the bill statement at the back of the bill page, the terms of agreement written was actually clear. It was actually my fault that I did not read through the note probably because of the excitement of having my own credit card account. In the end, I accepted my losing experience in the conflict. A negotiation is usually initiated whenever there is a looking conflict between individuals or entities (Wertheim). But even though it can resolve problems, there are times in which mutual benefits will not be achieved. To lessen the impact of this dilemma, it is only crucial that negotiating parties deliberate well to meet the needs of individual sides of the agreements. References DFM Unitar. 2004. Negotiations in Debt and Financial Management. Online Resource Center UNITAR. Retrieved February 21, 2008 from http://www.unitar.org/dfm/resource_center/Document_Series/Document4/3Theoretical.htm. Wertheim, E. N.D. Negotiations and Resolving Conflicts: An Overview. College of Business Administration, Northeastern University. Retrieved February 21, 2008 from http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/interper/negot3.htm. Â  

Business relationships Free Essay Example, 2000 words

The main demographic characteristics of the participants were as follows: 35 % of the participants were ladies while 65 % of the participants were men. There was no intention of concentrating on men as the number of the male found higher than female. The sample contained a wide-ranging coverage of ages from 20 to over 60. In terms of Ethnicity, 65% of the participants were Qataris, 18% were Asian, 12% Middle Eastern, and 8% European. 2786 were invited to take apart in the research, nevertheless 1811 participated in the study from 4 local organizations based on Qatar, giving a response rate of 65%. Probability random pure sampling techniques were used to give us samples that are close to representative and every unit in the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. Participants were holding different occupations by utilizing HR database from the selected organizations: 905 employees, 631 from the middle management, 74 from the top management including directors and CEOs and C-Suits, and 200 advisors. First of all, an agreement has been made with the HR departments for the selected organizations in order to approach the participants, with the email containing a bio for me and purpose for the study with the hyperlink for the survey. We will write a custom essay sample on Business relationships or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now As one of the selected organization is mine, I have sent an email to a specific number of participants along with the support from our HR department. The survey link was shared to the social network accounts for the selected companies after gaining the required approval from the dedicated manager of corporate communications, therefore my survey was shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram of all of the selected organization. A deadline of 30 days was set to end the survey or when the number of participants has been reached, by setting a maximum to respond counts of 2786 maximum participants, whatever comes first and the data collection was managed by the use of the data management collector provided by Surveymonkey. com.