Questions about Jews, Judaism and so on.

[civ2]

Revived from:
OLD THREAD.

I expect the same civilized and curious manner of question I got previously.
Also, this thread is for ALL, regardless of their nationality or religion.
Just be polite - and ask IF you want to ask, I'm not forcing you.
And PLEASE don't turn this into a senseless religion-bash, there are many other threads for such nonsense.
If you don't have a nice thing to say - just be silent, OK?

 

[Bast]

Shalom civ2! You should be very proud. I don't have any questions but I have a copy of the Tanakh with Hebrew and English written in it and I read it sometimes. And I think Jewish guys are hot!

 

[civ2]

Bast
Um, that was kinda weird - but thanks, I guess.

Anyways, waiting for questions.

 

[nonconformist]

The subtleties of gay euphamisms are evidently not an integral part of the Torah.

 

[civ2]

This ends now! OK?
That's exactly what I meant by writing in the FIRST post:
"If you don't have a nice thing to say - just be SILENT."
And I mean it - you disturb other serious people by such stupid interruptions.
And I'm not referring to myself.

Waiting for ON-TOPIC posts, PLEASE.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

What's most important for you - your culture, religion, heritage (as in genetic and this bond to your people) or your connection to your land?

 

[kosiosko 1]

does the old testament in the Christan bible get the general gist, of the Hebrew scriptures correct or... in other words are we talking about the same historical story

 

[civ2]

Loppan
Oh, finally a question.
Hm...
Well, if you're asking ME.
Then I'd say that to me there's no separation between ALL these.
How? Simple.
Judaism is not JUST a religion - it's a way of life that encompasses all and every aspect of it.
So "culture" and "heritage" are both mostly (but not only of course) a by-product of living a Jewish life.
I know, there are (unfortunately, many) Jews that make distinctions between "religious" and "secular" life.
But for me (and in generic Judaism) there's NO such division.
Eating your supper or posting on this forum can be as much "religious" as a direct prayer.
It depends on HOW it is done - and especially, WHY and WHAT FOR.
The real purpose of "religion" is to make God so much close to a person, that it wouldn't make a difference, WHAT one would be doing at the moment - ALL one's actions would be directed towards God.
That's how I see Judaisn and religion in general - to bring God into our ENTIRE lives.
The biggest mistake would be to say that "He doesn't care" or "He's too high" and so on.
We should understand that God WANTS a personal connection with everyone (regardless of his/her nationality or "religion").
Don't forget - He IS our Father, and it's natural for a parent to want closeness to his/her child.
This parable reflects our connection with God really well - we just need to understand it.

 

[civ2]

kosiosko
I didn't read the non-Jewish version - but I'm quite sure it does IN GENERAL.
What it COULD be missing - is some specific LESSONS we get from the MINOR details of the "story".
Anyways, no translation can ever grasp the fullness of the original.

 

[Tee Kay]

Where do you consider to be "home" - where you live now, or Israel?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Loppan
Oh, finally a question.
Hm...
Well, if you're asking ME.
Then I'd say that to me there's no separation between ALL these.
How? Simple.
Judaism is not JUST a religion - it's a way of life that encompasses all and every aspect of it.
So "culture" and "heritage" are both mostly (but not only of course) a by-product of living a Jewish life.
I know, there are (unfortunately, many) Jews that make distinctions between "religious" and "secular" life.
But for me (and in generic Judaism) there's NO such division.
Eating your supper or posting on this forum can be as much "religious" as a direct prayer.
It depends on HOW it is done - and especially, WHY and WHAT FOR.
The real purpose of "religion" is to make God so much close to a person, that it wouldn't make a difference, WHAT one would be doing at the moment - ALL one's actions would be directed towards God.
That's how I see Judaisn and religion in general - to bring God into our ENTIRE lives.
The biggest mistake would be to say that "He doesn't care" or "He's too high" and so on.
We should understand that God WANTS a personal connection with everyone (regardless of his/her nationality or "religion").
Don't forget - He IS our Father, and it's natural for a parent to want closeness to his/her child.
This parable reflects our connection with God really well - we just need to understand it.

But these are different aspects of Judaism. Do you follow the law to adhere to your society and culture or to serve God, making the culture a "side effect"? What's the primary goal? This, to me, seems to be the difference between the secular living and the religious living Jews.

I also saw some research stating that the genetic links between Jews were stronger than expected, even between Ashkenazi Jews and middle eastern Jews, which made me wonder if this was due to abiding Judaic laws or a cultural effect.

 

[Link]

What exactly was the perfect world that we are so close to that you described in the YEC thread?

 

[civ2]

tailless
As a saying says, "home is where you feel good" or something.
OK, if seriously, I'm not much of a zionist myself - but I support Israel as the Jewish home and as the Jewish Land.
I disagree A LOT with the politics there - but I don't see a way to directly affect it, so it's "that's all" with it.
What's more important - it's not "going to Israel to be Jewish THERE" - but rather "be Jewish in order to bring Israel HERE" in a spiritual way.
Holiness has to be spread world-wide so that the entire world becomes (as holy as) Israel.
That's one of the reasons of the dispersion.
And the sooner it's done - the sooner there will be the OPENLY holy Israel in its physical borders too.

 

[classical_hero]

Do you partake of the passover?

 

[aronnax]

Why doesn't the Singapore government let me visit the two synagogues in Singapore?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

I have to ask also how much you think Judaism has been influenced by Christianity. In your earlier answer you wrote about the personal closeness to God and to bring him into our lives. You also made a comparison between God and a parent... Are these traditional Jewish concepts or something adopted from Christianity?

 

[civ2]

(Sorry for [present and future] double posting - but it seems to make it better readable than just editiong. You can SEE it's a new post. )

Loppan
Oh.
No, for me - it's DIVINE and period.
Though MANY people say they are Jewish "because my mom told me nice Jewish tales OR sang Jewish songs OR spoke Yiddish".
If this brings them closer to God - fine.
But I've seen opposite effects too. UNFORTUNATELY...
That's why I don't like when people say being Jewish is "cultural" - cause it's NOT.
About genetics.
Well, Jews ARE called "sons of Israel" and Israel is another name of Jacob, the Patriarch (physically!) of all Jews.
Yeah, there are converts too, but I don't think they make Jewish genetics MORE different than the INACCURACY of the genetic tests.

 

[Link]

Yeah, there are converts too, but I don't think they make Jewish genetics MORE different than the INACCURACY of the genetic tests.

I don't understand what you are saying here.

 

[Tee Kay]

Yeah, there are converts too

So, adopted sons of Israel.

 

[civ2]

link16
Your question requires and entire POST dedicated to it.
But I'll rather just put some links so all can read it.
SITE #1. PART #1.
...PART #2.
...PART #3.
...PART #4.
...PART #5.
...PART #6. 3 sub-parts.
...PART #7.
...PART #8. 4 sub-parts.

SITE #2. PART #1.
...PART #2.
...PART #3.
...PART #4.
...PART #5.
...PART #6.
...PART #7.

I really hope it will clear ALL questions on this topic - and help MAKE IT REAL even more.
Moshiach NOW!