Let's talk about Judaism!

reply to post by DoubleLL

you mention you were not Jewish by birth. What made you chose to convert to Judaism?

What was your religious background before becoming a Jew?

Yes, I was not born Jewish. I was born into a Christian family. Growing up I was an Christian and then I became an Atheist. A few years ago something came over me about Judaism and the Messiah concept. Like my spirit was telling me to become a Jew. That's pretty much it.

What did you do in order to become a Jew and how did it go for you?

Since I got interested in Judaism I begun to study thoroughly about Judaism, Jewish identity, and so forth. I contacted a Rabbi at a nearby Orthodox Synagogue. I was actually nervous about my choice. I didn't even feel dressed to impress. Even though I was wearing a suit. I took classes, attended services, and then talked with the rabbi. Then I was all ready to become a Jew. I also had to get circumcised again. I was circumcised by birth but you have to have a brisk if your newly born Jewish male.
Convert Jewfaq
Conversion to Judaism

Did your views on the world, people, and yourself change upon becoming a Jew?

My views are always changing, adapting to my mood, and what not. Being Jewish does make me stop and think before I act to will.

Why do you mention you believe in Evolution? Isn't that consider more of an Atheist stand point?

I like Charles Darwin's ideals about adaption and for species to survive. I believe G-d created man to care for the planet and the animals. We need to realize how difficult it is to play god.

Do you only have to marry another Jew?

Yes! Now that I am consider Jewish I have to marry a woman who is Jewish. But I can still have friends who are not Jewish.

Do you have to raise your children to be Jewish?

Yes, I will raise my children to be Jewish. I will raise them more moderately though. I will tell them to be proud of their faith but open to others in the worlds. I believe G-d created all these beliefs for something.

How do you dress now?

I dress both and mostly casual and I do have a few suit outfits. I wear a Kippiah.

Did you become a Freemason before you became a Jew?

Yes, I became a Mason before I became a Jew. I discovered that I had many male relatives who were Masons.

reply to post by Sectumsempra
It has been shown that most modern translations of the bible are corrupt ...The KJV 1655 translation would be the best one to use ...here are some vids that show the additions and the taking away from the word of God ....peace

amazingdiscoveries.tv...

amazingdiscoveries.tv...

Would you kindly answer the questions I posed earlier? I'm actually interested in hearing a Jewish poster on ATS answer those questions, as I've only encountered Jewish individuals in real life.

I also have an additional question: Which division of Judaism would you fall under?

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Sorry! I'm actually looking for some good answers for you on the net. My friend and I were up late playing Little Big Planet 2. Blame the games.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


I tried to answer your questions the best I can. The links I posted can explain the answers better then I can. You can also Google search ask a Rabbi on questions about Judaism. Tell me if I did a good job in searching for answers.

What theory do you follow with regard to the formation of the Hebrew scriptures?

I do not and I will repeat I do not follow a theory for the formation of the Hebrew scriptures. I follow the Revelation of G-d, Moses and the people to witness the event at Mount Sinai. Basically I follow the tradition of Moses talking to G-d after the Exodus of Jews from Egypt and the begging of the covenant between G-d and the people.

"And he said, 'Hear my words: When there are prophets among you, I the LORD make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face -- clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?'" Numbers 12:6-8 (NRS)

"The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever." Isaiah 40:8 (NRS)

The Revelation on Mount Sinai
What is the Torah?
The Oral Law
What is the "Oral Torah"?
An introduction to the Talmud video
Talmud for beginners
G-d in the Talmud
The Eternal Torah
The Oral Law

Do you believe in a literal Exodus account?

Yes, I do! As I mentioned above I believe 100% the Exodus account.
The Exodus (Chabad Study)
Exodus (Chabad Article)

How much of your scriptures do you take literally and how much is figurative? What is your guide for these determinations?

I take up to the Jewish point literally. Poor translations in Christian text or Islamic text I do not accept as the word of G-d.

Why do you perform genital mutilation?

I wouldn't call it that. I was circumcised (again) after I converted to Judaism.
Why do we have circumcision?
Circumcison

Why is your deity so revolted by the menstrual cycle?

I doubt G-d is revolted by the menstrual cycle. Being a male I do not know much and never looked up the menstrual cycle or how it is viewed in Judaism.
The Jewish Woman
I have included a link for you to check out more to your question.

Why the dietary restrictions?

The Hebrew word kosher means "fit." The kosher laws define the foods that are fit for consumption for a Jew. The kosher laws were commanded by G-d to the Children of Israel in the Sinai desert. Moses taught them to the people and wrote the basics of these laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14; the details and particulars were handed down through the generations and eventually written down in the Mishnah and Talmud. To these were added various ordinances enacted through the generations by the rabbinical authorities as "safeguards" for the biblical laws. Throughout our 4000-year history, the observance of kosher has been a hallmark of Jewish identity. Perhaps more than any other "mitzvah," the kosher laws emphasize that Judaism is much more than a "religion" in the conventional sense of the word. To the Jew, holiness is not confined to holy places and times outside the everyday; rather, life in its totality is a sacred endeavor. Even the seemingly mundane activity of eating is a G-dly act and a uniquely Jewish experience.

Kosher (Chabad Articles)
Judaism and the art of eating
What is Kosher?

reply to post by Sectumsempra

Originally posted by Sectumsempra
I do not and I will repeat I do not follow a theory for the formation of the Hebrew scriptures. I follow the Revelation of G-d, Moses and the people to witness the event at Mount Sinai. Basically I follow the tradition of Moses talking to G-d after the Exodus of Jews from Egypt and the begging of the covenant between G-d and the people.

You're right, that wouldn't be a theory. That would be a hypothesis.

How would you explain the inconsistencies, contradictions, and outright obvious insertions that take place throughout the Hebrew scriptures? How would you explain away the documentary theory which can clearly demonstrate that the Hebrew scriptures were not written by a single author and actually finished formation following the Babylonian captivity?

Do you believe in a literal Exodus account?

Yes, I do! As I mentioned above I believe 100% the Exodus account.

Then why isn't there a single shred of evidence for Jewish captivity in Egypt or a mass exodus of Jewish people through the Sinai peninsula? Why is there no evidence of Moses in the historical records? Why is there no evidence of a military conquest of Canaan?

Basically, why does all of the physical evidence contradict the Exodus account?

How much of your scriptures do you take literally and how much is figurative? What is your guide for these determinations?

I take up to the Jewish point literally. Poor translations in Christian text or Islamic text I do not accept as the word of G-d.

So you think Elohim created the world in 6 days and took Saturday off...and then started over in Genesis 2? Do you think that your deity commanded genocide, mass rape, and accepted at least one human sacrifice (nope, not the Abraham story, read your scriptures and you'll find it).

Why do you perform genital mutilation?

I wouldn't call it that. I was circumcised (again) after I converted to Judaism.

You're removing nearly all of the fine touch receptors on an organ, how is that not genital mutilation? It's a practice of removing a functioning piece of the human body from a non-consenting infant...though there are instances of adults consenting, it's mostly children who cannot consent.

Also, why would your deity command the chopping off of a functioning piece of tissue?

Why is your deity so revolted by the menstrual cycle?

I doubt G-d is revolted by the menstrual cycle. Being a male I do not know much and never looked up the menstrual cycle or how it is viewed in Judaism.

Leviticus (This is your deity speaking in the following passage)

15:19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.
15:20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.
15:21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
15:22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
15:23 And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
15:25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation:
she shall be unclean.
15:26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.
15:27 And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
15:28 But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.
15:29 And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
15:30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.
15:31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.
15:32 This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;
15:33 And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

Why the dietary restrictions?

The Hebrew word kosher means "fit." The kosher laws define the foods that are fit for consumption for a Jew.

I'm just going to snip it here because the rest of it because it's about the history of it and the identity of it. I'm saying how does it make any sense. What makes these food fit for consumption or not?

Shellfish? Those things are perfectly healthy. Hell, it might have actually been helpful to coastal Jewish individuals for many centuries. And what's unfit about pigs? I just don't get the reasoning. I don't get why a deity would give such odd and arbitrary restrictions. I mean, I'd get a command to not eat too much or a command to prepare certain holy dishes...but just randomly restricting food doesn't make any sense from an omnipotent being.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Well I guess it's how you see the scriptures and do your best to explain them.Being religious and having faith is difficult to explain to someone of a different faith or who is skeptical. Jews today - Like Christians, Muslims, new age believers, and so forth see religious text differently.

I have found some links about the credibility of evidence for the Exodus account and some sources from skeptics.
Bibical archeology -evidence for the Exodus
Has the Exodus really been disproved?
Is there evidence for the Exodus account?
Did the Red Sea part?
Archological evidence for the Exodus?
Did the Exodus ever happen?
The Israelite Exodus from Egypt
evidence for Exodus? PDF File
Ten Plagues
DNA evidence
No proof of evidence in Exodus
Intriging site for information on evidence
Egypt - Evidence for the Exodus
The Exodus controversy
The Hebrew Exodus
History of Judaism

reply to post by Sectumsempra


Well, this isn't going to become a thread about the Exodus account, it was just a question. And I used to be a person of faith. Examining scripture (and actually learning a bit about Hebrew from a Rabbi) was one of the first steps towards atheism for me.

Anyway, what about the genital mutilation? Do you think it should be forced upon infants?

And the odd stuff about the menstruation? Why is your deity so preoccupied with that?

And the random death sentences for things like being born gay or being rude to your parents?