Judaism

[Ehres]

Any Jewish brothers/sisters? Make yourselves known. 8D

[Solar]

um i have a jewish friend...

do i count!?!?!?1

but is this a thread on judaism because i find judaism awesome since it's really practical and stuff

[HadesDragon]

you could start by telling us what caused you to take up your new faith (if you're comfortable with it) since i still don't know the story behind that

[Ehres]

Simple, really.

Came about because of a realisation that I felt unfulfilled in pretty much every area in my life so I did the good ol' trick of turning to faith and whatnot. I'd always been agnostic when it came down to it, really, but after a little soul searching and research, I felt sort of... connected to something. It was and still remains a really good, comfortable and rather inspiring feeling. I live with three Pakistani Muslims and most of my friends are Pakistani/Indian Muslims so I know a lot of the culture and Islamic religion as a result. But Islam never really commanded my attention no matter how much I read about it or discussed it (no offence to any Muslim bros), and I find it kinda-sorta not right in Christianity/Catholicism and their many branches that you can so easily do away with responsibility and sins via Jesus and the like -- though I know this is not the ENTIRETY of the belief nor a just description of the gist -- so again, no offence to any Christian/Catholic bros.

I looked at the basic beliefs of other religions but, yeah, Judaism just felt... right. Like Islam, it's very practical and has a lot of common sense and good guidance for your life and does feel genuinely rewarding spiritually to be a Jew (or one looking for kosher conversion like myself, though I still class myself as a Jew). I also found that I find a sort of spiritual home in the determination of the Jews and their pride, which is a very personal torch for me, so after looking through the 613 mitzvot, customs, i.e. I felt very passionate about Judaism. It just called out to me, and now reading through the Tanakh I get this wonderful feeling.

Judaism gives me this inexplicable happiness. I feel that what I am doing is right for me.

[Solar]

So is it just a cultural thing, a religious thing, a spiritual thing or...? Like, based on the tenets of Judaism, do you have a type of model for any deity you might believe in? And to what extent do you think such a being is loving, remote, judging, merciful, destructive, etc?

[dakirbymaster]

I have Jewish relatives, but I myself am not Jewish.

[Ehres]

So is it just a cultural thing, a religious thing, a spiritual thing or...? Like, based on the tenets of Judaism, do you have a type of model for any deity you might believe in? And to what extent do you think such a being is loving, remote, judging, merciful, destructive, etc?

A religious thing. I'm p sure that like many others there's a spat of Jewish blood somewhere up the family line but religiously my family have mostly been Protestant until my grandmother abandoned her religion all together in favour of an atheist marriage. So I've not been swayed by any religious bias, which for me means that my choice is entirely based on the tenets of the Jewish religion plus a sprinkle of, er, personal belief (I guess you could call it). So, yeah, religion.

I'm not in it purely for the mitzvot and the guidelines: I'm in it for G-d. Though I do have a few questions about His nature -- as does everybody else -- I feel He is the kinda guy who is kind but employs what may be seen as cruelty in order to be kind; i.e. punishing you for being an asshole so that you may learn and understand where you have gone wrong in an atmosphere that He has given you which allows for reflection and personal improvement. I also feel that He doesn't hold your hand through life: after all, we have free will and it's entirely up to us to exercise what we will within our limits and you either reap the rewards of your labours or suffer the consequences of your actions. At the same time I feel as if He does everything in your best interest, no matter how harsh that may be -- and that He gives you opportunities and sways things in different ways to set you on a different track which will either in the short- or long-term be in your best interests. This is a personal interpretation of His nature, so there will be some disagreement. But reading the Tanakh I get the idea that He has a tendency or a 'nature' to co-operate with individuals. That for me makes Him seem more accessible and omnibenevolent than any other idea of G-d I've come across.

did that answer your Qs or

[Solar]

Yeah, that's solid. I guess, do you identify with any of their figures...? From religious stories (prophets) or otherwise (modern figures).

Do you think this will change your stance on any issues? And are you intrigued about the history as well?

[Reflection]

i'm trying to imagine you with a french accent speaking hebrew and i just

can't

anyway how do you feel about the torah? there's some rough stuff in there
have you given it a full read-through yet?

edit: nvm you mentioned the whole tanakh. forget that then

[MegaWallflower]

Actually kinda complicated pertaining to me, and it's always been because of my heritage... techinally, I am.

[Ehres]

Actually kinda complicated pertaining to me, and it's always been because of my heritage... techinally, I am.

Not the point of this thread.

[aldrain]

Simple, really.

Came about because of a realisation that I felt unfulfilled in pretty much every area in my life so I did the good ol' trick of turning to faith and whatnot. I'd always been agnostic when it came down to it, really, but after a little soul searching and research, I felt sort of... connected to something. It was and still remains a really good, comfortable and rather inspiring feeling. I live with three Pakistani Muslims and most of my friends are Pakistani/Indian Muslims so I know a lot of the culture and Islamic religion as a result. But Islam never really commanded my attention no matter how much I read about it or discussed it (no offence to any Muslim bros), and I find it kinda-sorta not right in Christianity/Catholicism and their many branches that you can so easily do away with responsibility and sins via Jesus and the like -- though I know this is not the ENTIRETY of the belief nor a just description of the gist -- so again, no offence to any Christian/Catholic bros.

I looked at the basic beliefs of other religions but, yeah, Judaism just felt... right. Like Islam, it's very practical and has a lot of common sense and good guidance for your life and does feel genuinely rewarding spiritually to be a Jew (or one looking for kosher conversion like myself, though I still class myself as a Jew). I also found that I find a sort of spiritual home in the determination of the Jews and their pride, which is a very personal torch for me, so after looking through the 613 mitzvot, customs, i.e. I felt very passionate about Judaism. It just called out to me, and now reading through the Tanakh I get this wonderful feeling.

Judaism gives me this inexplicable happiness. I feel that what I am doing is right for me.

All of this is rather ingtriguing. I'm also very glad to see you catch yourself on the christianity part :3 My biggest question is, how does reading the jewish bible feel compared to the Christian bible, if you have read both at one point or another? I have a hard time visualizing a biblical book that doesn't pertain to Jesus.

[Orion]

I have a hard time visualizing a biblical book that doesn't pertain to Jesus.

To grossly oversimplify, pretty much the same sans New Testament :3

[Cosmic+Amarna]

I have a hard time visualizing a biblical book that doesn't pertain to Jesus.

What? Are you serious, there are over 40+ "biblical books" that predate Jesus, and were the groundwork/ foundation for the Jesus/Christian religion. To say that is contradictory to say the least, baffles me. To have a hard time envisioning them would lead to a false understanding of the Judea-Christian religion.

[Ehres]

All of this is rather ingtriguing. I'm also very glad to see you catch yourself on the christianity part :3 My biggest question is, how does reading the jewish bible feel compared to the Christian bible, if you have read both at one point or another? I have a hard time visualizing a biblical book that doesn't pertain to Jesus.

I haven't finished reading the Tanakh or the Holy Bible but from the parts I have read, they are very similar. This is because the Old Testament of the Holy Bible is the Tanakh itself; Judaism is the foundation of all forms of Christianity, Catholocism and Islam. The wording is a little different which is to be expected considering my Tanakh is a Hebrew translation and has footnotes on each page detailing any translation uncertainties as well as other things.

But, yes, to expand upon Cosmic's point it's very worrying -- I don't mean to patronise -- that you find it difficult to envision a bible without Jesus. Though I have yet to finish the Tanakh, my feeling is that Jesus won't be mentioned (considering Christianity and the New Testament came after the Tanakh). We believe that Jesus was a Jew, but a false prophet along with Islam's Muhammad. Though I personally praise Jesus's teaching of the Tanakh and G-d's message, I can't see how or why Jesus would be the son of G-d for several reasons.

I also wanted to touch upon anti-Semitism a little. Lately I've been watching documentaries on the Jewish side of the Holocaust (it wasn't just Jews who were killed during Hitler's regime, of course) and the spreading of hatred towards Jews particularly in the Middle East and Arabic countries. It's been bothering me, actually, when I read that a Jewish woman was walking in London and had her kippah ripped from her head on several occasions. Living up North, I've never had this happen to me but I've just encountered something that's upset me:

It might seem trivial but I can't seem to shake the feeling that it's because I'm Jewish. Basically there's a 24 hour garage outside my university accommodation and I went there to get a few things. I went with £20 and spent £5, so I should have gotten £15 change. I collected my items, my money, then checked my change and realised I had only £10. I turned around and said to the man at the petrol station that I was missing £5 and he told me he gave me the full £15. Now, this guy is an old, Asian Muslim guy. Maybe he's going senile or old age is getting to him but he has always been very frosty with me for reasons I can't fathom -- that and the fact that he gives discounts to my Asian friends. It might be because I'm white, but my kippah was slipping from my head so I had to grab it and secure it back in place -- which he saw. So, he obviously knows I am Jewish. I emptied my pockets and the bag of stuff I'd just bought and there was nothing there; I checked the floor around the window and there was nothing there. There was no wind, nobody was stood behind me so I have no idea where this supposed £5 went. So I told him he had not given me the full change and he blatantly lied to my face. And I could do nothing but tell him, "Just give me the money" and walk away. I felt like saying, "Just give me the money. I'm not coming back here." but I was so angry I would have ended up shouting at him and it is ungainly to lose your cool so I left it. Next time I am going during a different time in the day so I don't have to put up with him; all the other guys there are nice enough and I have never had any problems with one of them apart from him.

What do you think? Am I being too sensitive or was this just a case of anti-Semitism?