There's a kosher deli across from our apartment on W 85th St that's festooned with pix of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Recently, awning appeared with a passage from the Psalms (something about "bulls will then be offered") and a banner flying over the entrance that promises "un avant-gout de la boeuf messianique" (excuse me if I'm screwing up my genders there - my French was never very good). Does anyone have any idea what they're talking about? Are the hamburgers they serve somehow a foretaste of the end-times?
Doug Doug- They are probably making references to passages in the Jewish Bible that describe the animal sacrifices used in ancient Israel. (Put this into context: animal sacrifices were used because Jews were among the first peoples in the world to find human sacrifices abhorrent - witness the Binding of Isaac story and God telling Isaac's father not to sacrifice Isaac.)
As for photos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the owners of the deli may or may not be literal followers of him. Owners of Jewish restaurants sometimes put up his photo as a kind of affectionate good luck charm. I've noticed that some Italian restaurant owners put up photos of the Pope or of saints. (Among Lubavitchers, there is a fierce debate between those who think that the Rebbe is Moshiach and those who do not. The "do nots" are much more in keeping with canonical Judaism.)
The reference to messianic times may not be as literal as you take it to be either. I sometimes attend secular Jewish services (such as the Hashomer Hatzair Passover Seder that I attended today (it was wonderful, Yossi Beilin of Geneva Accord fame spoke) where traditional passages reference Moschiach (Hebrew word for messiah) and reciting or singing the passage is understood as a metaphoric/ironic expression of hope for a better world--and an historic nod to the more literal beliefs of our ancestors. Among Jews of all denominations, it is common to hear people sigh and say "When Moschiach comes!" as an expression of frustration when someone says something along the lines of "When will people finally learn to live in peace?"
Hope I explained some of the cultural context for what you saw at the deli - I bet their food is good!
Shalom,
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