In a message dated 12/5/2003 1:43:14 AM US Mountain Standard Time, matthew at infodancer.org writes: > To me the greatest advantage of these laws was that it set the > community apart from their neighbors, as did circumcision. This > separation probably brought a lot of persecution but a lot of cohesion as > well. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> One of the problems was, as the prophets continually pointed out, the Israelites' persistent whoring after strange gods-- understandable when one compares the austerity of Judaism to the more lively activities of the various fertility cults of the Fertile Crescent. So drawing the lines so that one couldn't be a Jew and participate in other rites was definitely an object. Remember the famous prohibition against eating a kid seethed in its mother's milk? That was the communion meal of the Orphic Mysteries. talpianna