Dear Christoph,
You ask the most interesting questions.
Dogs travel in packs and, undomesticated, were probably quite
frightening. They're also scavengers and were considered unclean by both
Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. This isn't much to add, but it's a common
oath in Arabic to call someone an "ibn kalb" (son of a dog). Good luck.
Susan
P.S. A Polish-born rabbi in Toronto told me once that as a child he heard
the saying, "If a Jew has a dog, either the Jew is not a Jew, or the dog is
not a dog." So whatever the Christians thought of them, the Jews weren't too
fond of canines. Personally, I love dogs.
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Susan Einbinder
Hebrew Union College
3101 Clifton Avenue
Cincinnati OH 45220
office: 513-221-1875
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