Last week's question was "During the 2001 Afghan war, which major Communist regime openly provided technical and military support to the "Taliban" enemy? And which major neo-Communist regime, as it now turns out, secretly provided a steady supply of guns to the Taliban at the same time?". This week's winner is GE of Southern California, who correctly answered both questions. The open military support came from the Communist regime in mainland China, and the hidden aid came from Soviet Russia. In the period leading up to and including the U.S.-Afghan war, the Chinese Communists signed a formal military agreement with the "Taliban" in Afghanistan, providing weapons, equipment maintenance, infrastructure, and training for the "Taliban" forces. During that same period, Soviet Russian intelligence was secretly flying weapons to the "Taliban" through a convoluted supply route supervised by Russian intelligence officer Victor Bout, whose operations were accidentally exposed months after the U.S.-Afghan war.

Now for this week's question:

For a chance to win, e-mail your answer, name, and location to [address withheld] by Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005, 12pm (noon) PST.

If you missed any previous issues of our newsletter, you can view them at the Newsletter Archive on our Web site.

Excerpts from...

...Our Fan Mail

"Amazing site!... I also thought that your explanation of the Muslim terrorists is absolutely right on. They are nihilistic communists in disguise.... I think that your work is important...."—HY

...and Anti-Semitic Hate Mail

[Someone who apparently resents the Jewish testimony of receiving G-d's Torah at Mt. Sinai:] "Do you really presume to know exactly what is 'G-d's mission for the human race'? Of course, since you advocate devotion to it, it would seem that you pretend to know what it is, and therefore claim that special insight?..."—Iskandar

"How can I (A Hasidic Gentile) celebrate the Holidays according to Law? How can I participate? Thank You Ever So Much for your Web Site."—PP

Our response: Under the Noahide Laws and their corollaries that apply to all mankind, non-Jews are explicitly prohibited from celebrating any religious or religious-derived holiday that is not part of Torah or from the rabbis—that is, any holiday not found in Jewish tradition. This includes, of course, all Christian and Muslim holidays, as well as holidays with pagan roots, such as Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, May Day, Halloween, etc. So it is natural to wonder which of the Jewish holidays can instead be celebrated by gentiles. Under Torah Law, gentiles may in fact participate in any of the Jewish holidays, whether Biblical or rabbinical, subject to certain specific restrictions: primarily, (1) not to rest from "work" activities, as Jews are required; (2) not to recite certain specific blessings that refer to the sanctity of Jewish commandments; and (3) certain holiday-specific restrictions, such as not eating of the Passover lamb that Jews sacrifice when the Temple is standing. For detailed information and suggestions on how gentiles can participate in these holidays, we have pamphlets, audiotape lectures, and Web postings available at http://www.noahide.com/catalogue.htm and http://www.noahide.com/holidays.htm.

Be sure to visit our Web site, Noahide.com.