[quote]otar wrote:
As a Hasidic Jew does your study of texts besides the Torah such as the Tahlmud differ from non-orthodox Jews?[/quote]
Well, Reform Jewish folks read the New York Times and consider that the Talmud.
[quote]thethirdruffian wrote:
Why were the Jews chosen?[/quote]
No one knows.
I was told it was because we were the least of the peoples of the world, and G-d used us to demonstrate His power.
I would note that “Chosen” does not mean “better,” as so many people seem to accuse Jewish people of believing. Chosen means chosen. Eeny, meenie, mini, MOE. Chosen.
I often think of the protagonist from Fiddler on the Roof complaining to G-d about Russian persecution, then asking G-d that "if this was what was meant for being “Chosen,” then “chose somebody else for a while.”
[quote]kamui wrote:
What are R-ach HaQ-desh and Sh-khinah ?[/quote]
I think this matters to you (as a presumed Christian) because of your belief of G-d with “helpers” or some sort of non-“one” G-d. This concept of shittuf (a partnership) is alien to Judaism, as shown by the fundamental prayer of Judaism, the Shema:
“Hear, O Israel: the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one,” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
To answer your questions:
“R-ach HaQ-desh” is one of the many names of G-d (there are many names of G-d for different aspects of G-d), but also means the holy inspiration of a prophet. This is not a distinct “being” as in the Christian Trinity, but “a quality belonging to G-d.”
“Sh-khinah” can mean the glory of G-d or a physical (or seemingly physical) manifestation of G-d (as in the Tabernacle or Temple), but can also be the aspect of G-d that inspires a prophet. It is very similar to the proceeding, but has a feminine aspect.
Oops again =[
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Oops again =[
[/quote]
?
[quote]kamui wrote:
What does the jewish faith say about the difference between humans and animals, or about Mankind / Nature relationships. [/quote]
Huge amounts that can’t be said here.
Just off the top of my head, we are at the top of the food chain, but have a responsibility to everything below to lead a worthwhile life because of those below who gave up their lives so we can live (from the animal to the plant to the mineral).
There are specific and extensive rules to avoid cruelty to animals.
There are specific and extensive rules regarding farming ethically and in an environmentally sound manner (crop rotation and letting fields go fallow are in the Torah – science that was not rediscovered in America until after the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:[quote]Tiribulus wrote:Oops again =[[/quote]?[/quote]I’ve been in such a hurry lately. Sorry. I went to compose a pm to you from a piece of your above post, but forgot to paste it into the pm dialog and accidentally put it up here for a minute. Done that a couple times lately. You have the PM now though
What happens on Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel?
Do any Jews actually do the Jubailee year? If not, why not?
Why don’t Jews sacrifice doves and goats and all? I’m guessing you no longer consider yourselves under that covenant?
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Do any Jews actually do the Jubailee year? If not, why not? >>>[/quote] Wunna them would be real nice about now =]
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
Do any Jews actually do the Jubailee year? If not, why not?
[/quote]
Kind of. First, it would apply only to Jewish people in Israel, not the Diaspora.
Second, it applies only when all 12 tribes are in Israel, in the correct lands. That hasn’t been the case since 6th century BCE, when the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and sent the majority of its population into exile. (Those who were deported are historically known as the Ten Lost Tribes.)
[quote]
And further why don’t Jews sacrifice doves and goats and all? I’m guessing you no longer consider yourselves under that covenant?[/quote]
No, we are still under that covenant, it’s just that a condition precedent to such sacrifice is the rebuilding of the Temple, as the sacrifices may not be performed anywhere else. And, as noted earlier, there is a large pagan shrine atop the Temple Mount at this time.
The Samaritans do, of course, continute to offer the Paschel sacrifice (graphic):
[quote]therajraj wrote:
What happens on Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel?
[/quote]
Well, today I went to work and will later get drunk and listen to old stories about people who died very young.
I like April 26 ---- Israel’s version of July 4, 1776.
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:
[quote]Cortes wrote:
Does Judaism contain a clearly delineated system of determining one’s salvation? [/quote]
Not really. Judaism is not focused on the question of how to get into heaven.
We perform the mitzvot because it is our privilege and our sacred obligation to do so. We perform them out of a sense of love and duty – “be not like servants who serve their master for the sake of receiving a reward; instead, be like servants who serve their master not for the sake of receiving a reward, and let the awe of G-d be upon you.”
That said, yes there is theology of the afterlife:
Death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist.
My understand is as follows (again, I am heavily cut-and-pasting for speed):
The righteous of all nations have a share in the Olam Ha-Ba (the World to Come).
The place of spiritual reward for the righteous is often referred to in Hebrew as Gan Eden (GAHN ehy-DEHN) (the Garden of Eden). This is not the same place where Adam and Eve were; it is a place of spiritual perfection. Specific descriptions of it vary widely from one source to another. One source says that the peace that one feels when one experiences Shabbat properly is merely one-sixtieth of the pleasure of the afterlife. Other sources compare the bliss of the afterlife to the joy of sex or the warmth of a sunny day.
Only the very righteous go directly to Gan Eden.
The average person descends to a place of punishment and/or purification, generally referred to as Gehinnom (guh-hee-NOHM) (in Yiddish, Gehenna), but sometimes as She’ol or by other names. According to one mystical view, every sin we commit creates an angel of destruction (a demon), and after we die we are punished by the very demons that we created. Some views see Gehinnom as one of severe punishment, a bit like the Christian Hell of fire and brimstone. Other sources merely see it as a seperation from G-d, where you see the harm that we have done and the opportunities we missed, and experience remorse for our actions.
Only the utterly wicked do not eventually ascend; their souls are punished for an extended period. Sources differ on what happens at the end the extended period: some say that the wicked soul is utterly destroyed and ceases to exist while others say that the soul continues to exist in a state of consciousness of remorse.
I would assume Hitler falls under the category of “utterly wicked,” but G-d forgives a lot.[/quote]
Thanks JB, I appreciate the thorough response and this thread is very interesting.
I’ve actually wondered this question since I was kid.
Not too off topic, I thought I’d mention my father is actually “genetically” Jewish. His father was a non-Jewish atheist and his mother was a Jew, but certainly not the religious or cultural type. My dad had his Bar Mitzvah and circumcision at 13, and for those interested, he said it was the most excruciating pain he has ever felt and would not wish it on his worst enemy. The latter, not the former. 
Aside from a few menorahs and the constant implorations to eat more, however, that was about as Jewish as it ever got in that household. Well, I do remember playing with the odd dreidel. After marrying my mom, my dad eventually became a nominal Catholic, the same way he was a culturally nominal Jew. Later I am happy to report that he started taking his religion more seriously, and, much later, so did my grandmother, who at 80 years of age decided, fervently, enthusiastically, to become a Catholic as well. Looooong, story that I won’t take up any more of your thread with, but just wanted to share a little bit of it with you.
So yeah, I knew all the answers already to the Jewish lineage questions. Even though I cannot be a “blood” Jew, one quarter of my ancestry is Jewish, my grandmother, my father, even. So I can’t help but feeling I got a little Yichus of my own. (^_^)b
[quote]DrSkeptix wrote:
[quote]Cortes wrote:
As others have already correctly stated, excellent thread, JB. Also good to see you posting in PWI again. Hope you stick around.
My question: Does Judaism contain a clearly delineated system of determining one’s salvation? Another angle of the same question: Is there some system for the forgiveness of sins beyond just personal prayer and sincerity?
To use an absurd example, (and assuming he was actually killed by Eva Braun, just to make it less complicated) is there some possibility that Adolph Hitler could make it to Heaven?
Guess it’d be pretty embarrassing for him once he got there, if he did. Can you imagine? “Sorry you guys,” would just not cut it, I’ll bet. ;)[/quote]
i do not mean to step on JB’s thread. But Cortes’ question provokes a modification of vision.
Is there doctrine? And why presume that there is an original sin from which all must win salvation?
If “all the righteous have a part in the world to come,” then the question becomes, “what is the path of the righteous?”
As JB has said on a number of occasions, Torah is the “index” to the Law; it is therefore study and dispute and action that follow the Law that define righteousness.
There is not a universal list of dogmas or cosmology; so Hell is a Hellenic concept of dubious validity, the dogma of Resurrection was rejected by Karaites, etc. Instead, every doctrine or rule–and there are many of them–must have a basis in Law. (Even Rambam–Maimonides–had his contemporary critics in this.) And it is the discovery of Law that is both joy and obligation.
Often, extra-canonical writing is an attempt to reconcile the contemporary with the ancient. For example, elsewhere in this thread, Jeaton expressed an interest in Kabalah which. in short, is an attempt to answer Jewish tradition with European superstitions and cosmology and metaphysics. (And for Jeaton, I would suggest that Pirke Avot–The Ethics of the Fathers–is a far more rewarding experience.) Or Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed is his brilliant attempt to reconcile Torah and Greek science (i.e., Aristotle).
But it is the ceaseless study of the Law, and the contemplation of God’s will in it, that serve as the desired “system” toward salvation: the state that Man occupied in the Garden of Eden when he walked with God.
[/quote]
And I appreciate receiving one of your always erudite replies, as well, Doc, thanks!
Your response, unsurprisingly, serves as a learning tool for me, as I find myself guilty of the same projecting and assumption that I find so frustrating in others. I forget that the history of your religion informs that of mine, and not necessarily the other way around.
Your post also reminds me that I wanted to thank JB one more time, personally and publicly, for introducing me to Dr. Schroeder and, through him, Maimonides.
There is not enough time in one lifetime to make it even partway through my must-read list, but those two authors shot right to the top of it like no one else has for years.
Your grandfather sounds like a cool dude
[quote]Cortes wrote:
Not too off topic, I thought I’d mention my father is actually “genetically” Jewish. His father was a non-Jewish atheist and his mother was a Jew, but certainly not the religious or cultural type. My dad had his Bar Mitzvah and circumcision at 13, and for those interested, he said it was the most excruciating pain he has ever felt and would not wish it on his worst enemy. The latter, not the former.
[/quote]
Not off topic at all.
Of course, I consider (and Jewish law considers) your father 100% Jewish — once a Jew, always a Jew. He’s been Jewish since birth.
Secularly, Hitler would have fried your ass (or at least sent you to a work camp) for being a half-Jew, and the modern state of Israel would likely accept you as an immigrant for that reason.
[quote]Cortes wrote:
Your post also reminds me that I wanted to thank JB one more time, personally and publicly, for introducing me to Dr. Schroeder and, through him, Maimonides.
[/quote]
Oh, you are very welcome.
Gerald has done more to resolve the physics/creation connundrum that really anyone I have met. He also is very funny and a great lecturer.
The RamBam is a lot of fun, and I enourage anyone to read him, especially atheists (not that you are an atheist) because he dispels a lot of the “boogeymen” and strawmen they perceive about religion, and, in particular, the Judeo-Christian thought.
[quote]therajraj wrote:
Your grandfather sounds like a cool dude ;)[/quote]
He was nothing of the sort.
This is not me bashing atheism. I’m talking about the man himself, and no, he was not cool.
Not one bit.
YGPM
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:
Secularly, Hitler would have fried your ass (or at least sent you to a work camp) for being a half-Jew, and the modern state of Israel would likely accept you as an immigrant for that reason.[/quote]
The former I knew, the latter, I had not thought about until just now. It’s good to know, as I would like to have some options available to me if the Japanese succeed in melding the weird, uncertain alliance between the useful idiot peaceniks and the hyperxenophobic nationalists and manage to actually get America to leave Okinawa and her other bases here. I’m sure that the leaders of a certain homogenetically named populous just to the northwest of me are slavering at the thought.
Hey, JB. First, I’d like to add my thanks for starting this thread. It’s nice to have an ongoing Q & A with a Jew who’s well-educated in the faith.
Secondly, I have a question regarding the legal obligations of Jewish heretics. By this I mean if a person is a Jew by maternal inheritance but, at some point in their history, his family embraced a different faith, what are the consequences of continuing in that faith? Is he bound by the same laws as any Jew, or by the Noahidic laws? Must he return to Judaism before he can inherit the world to come?