I figured since I've seen a lot of such threads with those willing to answer questions about other religions, I think it'd only be fair to have a thread where people can ask questions about Judaism. A lot of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh) or "Old Testament" as Christians call it is used around this forum, and most of the time it's used in congruence with Christianity. However, there may be questions about Judaism or the Tanakh that Christians aren't able to/don't know the answer to and hopefully I can answer those questions.

It's hard to tell from your OP if you are stating that you are Jewish and want to answer questions, or if you are not Jewish, but since other people are answering for religions that are not their own, you are going to do the same for Judaism.

Which one?

In any case, I have a question. And I may be way off, so don't hesitate to correct me if I am, but since the Jewish belief is that Jesus was not the Son of God, are they still waiting for a prophet?

And if so, won't the prophet be considered the Anti-Christ for the Christians?

I am Jewish and follow Orthodox Judaism.


Yes, we are still waiting for the Messiah.


Umm...according to what I've studied from my former Christian days and my current Jewish days I would say that the real Messiah would be parallel to the Christian "Anti-Christ" in most ways.

So who is the Jewish scholar who will answer?




Or did you mean yourself Stand Up?


I got one for you:

When did you have your bris, and what is the significance of the ceremony?

No scholar....just me.





I was circumscised at birth and didn't have like a formal ceremony (considering that I'm a Gentile). The significance of circumcision is that it is an an outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and the Jews. It is also a sign that the Jewish people will be perpetuated through the circumcised man.


No scholar....just me.





I was circumscised at birth and didn't have like a formal ceremony (considering that I'm a Gentile). The significance of circumcision is that it is an an outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and the Jews. It is also a sign that the Jewish people will be perpetuated through the circumcised man.

What are the differences between the old testament the Christians use and the Tanakh.

When you recently converted to Judaism from Christianity, did you undergo a formal ceremony involving a rabbi?

Or did you just wake up one day and say "Hey! I'm Jewish!"?

Thanks for answering! I'm bailing out now because I can feel the animosity in this thread...I don't know why, but I don't want to be a part of it. Thanks again for your answers, I'll see you all in another thread!

Whats that thing when you wave chickens round your heads all about ?

I have a quick 2 questions. Wasnt there a few prophecies that should have been fulfilled before the destruction of the temple 70 AD?. And if so, how could you justify waiting on a messiah?

Hairston

so when was your bat mitzvah ? Brit Milah ?( although it is/was common for alot of christians to also be circumcised.) I know you didn't always concider yourself a Jew. And Jewish scholars still debate the meaning of the Torah. I'm just wondering what makes you think you can be the mouth peice for a whole religion that , like other religions , has different views and interpretations and which is at it's base based on older religions , beliefs , opinions and politics at the time.

I don't mean to offend . plenty here argue points for christianity thinking thier answers are right too.

I'm not sure anyone can say they have the answer and the truth. at all.

No animosity at all. At least on my part. I am simply trying to establish his 'bona fides' to discuss the subject.

So are you saying that judaism, like most other religions, doesn't have a certain degree of it codified & universally taught?! Wow how arrogant! The personal attack against him by saying "Bat" mitzvah instead of "Bar" mitzvah was pretty telling too. Especially when he has already said that he was circumcised. It either means A. You don't know what it means or B. It was a personal attack as I said which is explicitly not allowed on these boards. If it's A. Then you don't need to be questioning him because your ignorance is apparently greater than his & if it's B. then you need to be reported. So which is it?

You state that you were Christian. Given this, and the fact that I have never read a Jewish Tanakh, are there large discrepencies between the Tanakh and the Old Testament as far as the text? (assuming you have read them both now )

What do Jews believe the purposes of the temple were? I know what Christians believe and what the LDS believe, but have not had the opportunity to discuss religion with a Jew. What were the temple workers for? Also, given that they do not have a temple, is there something they do to take the place of the sacrifice, or has something taken the place of sacrifice? I really don't know much about Judaism in its current form all I know of it is what is found in the Bible.

the personal attack ? not long ago he was playing mr know it all ala christian style ! and now is a educated jew ? give me a break ! talk about being arrogant ! look in a mirror !

he's saying he follows Orthodoxy-

The original and current Jewish definition of a born Jew is someone whose mother is Jewish. Even though the Torah forbids a Jewish woman to marry a Gentile man, if she does, her children will still be Jewish.

The Torah also forbids a Jewish man to marry a Gentile woman, and if he does, his children by that woman will not be Jewish.

my brothers were circumcised at birth - very common until lately for chritians to do. it doesn't make them Jewish. that would be Bris Milah for boys and Kiddush for girls. again , male or female ?

on Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah ? is this is a male or female.

http://www.beingjewish.com/cycle/barmitzva.html
I'm saying Judaism , like any other religion is opinion , based on older religions , politics of the time , ect..........


now why don't you in your ignorance take a seat ? and guess what ? I'm non practicing , but am a quater Ukraine Jew from my mothers side. I guess that would make me a real jew.

we have too many preachers but not enough students on something like religions that are born of opinion.

Please remember that we are in the Spirituality, Religion and Beliefs board, and what we think about the thread starter's beliefs should not impact the tone of this thread. Despite them being phrased as questions, this thread just sounds like it has been an excuse by certain members to attack (or at least criticise) Stand up and shout over his beliefs rather than any desire to actually ask questions about Judaism. Keep to the discussion, and don't use this thread as an excuse to attack other members.

~ Paranoid Android

Yes & you continue to do so.




And his knowledge of christianity means what in relation to him be jewish?



He never said he was a scholar & infact pointed that out twice which you have apparently missed. Anyway, let's say you've studied how to bake foods for awhile but then switched to learning how to fry foods. Does that mean you know any less about baking than you did before? I think not.




Not exactly, he said he follows the orthodox version of judaism & he never say he was born a jew.



Actually if you would read the link you used more closely it points out that both abraham & sara were not born jewish either but they became jewish. Quite telling isn't it?



Again he never claimed his circumcision made him jewish. Please read more closely.



Um,........no. Bris Milah IS circumcision. The Kiddush is a prayer & is not used as a replacement for circumcision for girls. This shows how much you really know about the subject. My brother once told me when I was young, "It's better to be silent & appear ignorant than to open your mouth & remove all doubt" I suggest you utilize this piece of wisdom



Are you asking if he is male or female or are you saying you are ignorant about the subject & do not know the difference?



Never mind my last question as this answers it for me.



Yes we read it the first time.




Lol, that's really the pot calling the kettle black isn't it?



This must mean you get a hero cookie. Congratulations!



It certainly means something exactly what I'm not sure.



This is a very broad statement as we have too many "preachers" in a great many things besides religion.

At any rate you never once answered my final question from before. Are you simply ignorant of the facts involved or was it a personal attack? I tend to think it was both.

With all due respect mod, I was trying to stand up for the guy so that he could speak his piece. If that's against the rules well I guess I'm a rebel.

No, I wasn't speaking specifically about any one. I could just tell that this conversation was taking a severe turn into animosity by some of the replies I read. I don't think it matters who answers any of the questions on any of these 'Ask a fill-in-the-blank' threads, because everything regarding religion is different for each person anyway.

That's all I meant.

What does the first part of the Laverne and Shirley song really mean? Shlameel, Shlamazol... ???? I've always wondered.

My apologies to W.O.C.,
I'll only rebut Lt. Ripley one more time before letting the thread continue on it's stated purpose.


All quotes from Lt. Ripley



So I take it you think it's arrogant to take up for someone who is being attacked?




Not at all but he said he is jewish now & that doesn't invalidate his prior knowledge of christianity.



I didn't see anything righteous in his post at all. It sounds more like you dislike him & are attacking him personaly. As far as my allegory of baking & frying are concerned, as is the case for his prior experience as a christian, it still does not invalidate the prior experiences.



So what makes you think he hasn't been formally converted?



You rebut your ownself with "A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism.

on conversion"



Do you know that he hasn't? If not you need to lay off him. Last warning, if you don't I'll report you to the administrator.



Well let me spell it out then. It means you do not have to be born a jew to be a jew. You yourself pointed this out as shown above.



Please point out where I was ignorant about the subject of this post in relation to what you've typed.



Well it's not likely he's female if he's had a circumcision!



Firstly it's not a fact unless you have documentation to prove it. Secondly I haven't been ignorant of it since you first posted that you were.



Then please read closer if you weren't aware because it's in some of his first posts. Please point out my ignorance on anything further & then back it up before spouting out hyperbole.

The ordering is different. All the same books are there but in a Tanakh the order is Genesis-2 Chronicles. Also, there are a lot of translation errors that are found in a Christian Bible that aren't found in a Tanakh. Most Tanakhs have Hebrew and English side-by-side whereas this isn't the case in a Christian Bible unless it's Interlinear.


Um....no. I believe in Karaism which is a form of Orthodox Judaism which doesn't believe that the Talmud is the inspired word of God but that the wisdom within it is very useful. In Karaite Judaism a formal ceremony isn't necessary because that isn't mentioned in the Torah at all. Karaite Judaism follows only the laws that are in the Torah, not the extra laws added by the Rabbis in the Talmud. However, Karaites do accept the Talmudic explaination of the laws which ARE found in the Torah. Mostly though, the Karaite position is that you can interpret the law for yourself, but not to the point where you completely change the meaning of the law. The only difference between a Karaite and a plain old Rabbinic Jew is that Karaites don't accept the Talmud as the word of God. I do however consider the wisdom of the great sages found within the Talmud is a good thing to have and know.


I have no idea what you're talking about.


Like what?



See my response to JM, and for guys it's BAR not BAT.


At my birth.


Anything I post here is the official view of Orthodox Judaism unless I say that it's my opinion. On many cases in Judaism they leave it to the interpretation of the reader.





I understand that you believe that.


I read only the Tanakh. The Tanakh is more accurate in translation.


The Temple was the central place of worship. A "House of Prayer" a place for sacrifices and what not.


Keeping up the jobs that were needed in the Temple


Repentence is a greater form of atoning than sacrifice and we repent by prayer to God just like Christians do. Many Christians make the mistake of thinking that sacrifice was necessary for atonement. That's not true.




I don't know. Google it.

schle·miel also shle·miel (shl-ml)
n. Slang
A habitual bungler; a dolt.



schli·ma·zel also shli·ma·zel (shl-mäzl)
n. Slang
An extremely unlucky or inept person; a habitual failure.
[Yiddish shlimazl, bad luck, unlucky person : Middle High German slimp, wrong + Yiddish mazl, luck (from Late Hebrew mazzl; see mazel tov).]


Hasenfeffer Incorporated was the name of the bottling plant the girls worked for in the sitcom. Interestingly, hasenfeffer is also a German stew made from rabbits.


Maybe that will clear some things up for some people.

Can we try to keep the questions serious? (Albeit this one was kind of funny)

I once watched a documentary on the yiddish language, they said something which might explain it -

A schlemiel is someone who continually makes mistakes by their own lack of skill. For example, a waiter in a restaurant who drops food onto the customer.

A shlamazel is the one continually harmed by the schlemiel's mistakes, like the person in the restaurant who has food dropped on them.

A dopess is the bystander who says "tsk tsk" and says to themself words of hypocritical false sympathy.

This is something I have never understood, Why does the temple have to be in the same spot and in end times the temple will be rebuilt so then how do you know when to build it and the elijah in jewish religion, is he alive in heaven I mean did he go to heaven when alive and what does he have to do with the temple being rebuilt? Thanks, Always a pleasure

and what kind of sacrafices are needed?


Okay I have read some of the info provided here and understand why the temples not being built now I take it as the things that have to occur to build the temple ensures the end of the world? And what if someone were to build the temple without all the conditions being met what is in the religion as to this question?And are the cohen families royalty/

To Lt Ripley and to Doktorhook:

1. I was (very very recently) a Christian.

2. I am not Jewish by blood (that I know of-me and my family haven't really had an in depth conversation about our lineage).

3. I have NOT had a "formal" conversion ceremony as is I think it's completely unecessary. In fact, it is my belief that all people should follow the law now, not just when the Messiah returns. That is the common Karaite view. Nor have I had a Bris Milah. I was circumscised at birth like most males in America.

-and-


4. I know Christianity inside and out. My knowledge of Christianity is based solely on the New Testament and it is because of what I know about Christianity that I am NOT a Christian but am a Karaite Jew.

Now can you both please cease to argue. Ripley I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have for me regarding my Jewishness.


Because that is the place that the Temple was. I guess it doesn't "have" to be there, but it is there that both previous Temples were located.


The Messiah (when he comes) will have the third Temple built when he is King of Israel. <<That's one view. The other view is that the Temple will be built first and because of that the other Messianic Prophecies will take place.


Elijah is alive with God. Yes he would be in "heaven". And Elijah or one like him must come BEFORE the Messiah comes. What Elijah does for the world will be a precursor to the Messiah's coming.


The necessary sacrifices are the sacrifices that are for celebrating an event (IE a Baby dedication) or for holidays (like Pesach or Passover).

I did, I had seen it, I just didn't know why, now I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej13paGUQN8

Thanks for the info I have more questions are you up for it? This is why I think this forum was made to learn about others religious practices,I find them interesting and not everyone including me always sees that. I used to think by looking at other religious practices,beliefs I was portraying my own and the members here have been kind and pointed out thats just not so(Lt Ripley and Darkwind have been very nice about showing me that intrest in another religion is not betraying my beliefs so I ask silly questions and please forgive me but before I joined here I had no idea some religions even exsisted so bear with me Always a pleasure

What if the temple were built without the conditions being met, Does your religion have a version of antichrist and is it the same as christian as in he will make some believe in him. If all the people of isreal were home would that be a sign and by meaning all you mean literally? alot of jewish beliefs are the same or differ in a way so is their a connection there I mean does the jewish respect the christian bible and as some things are so alike how does that make us different I mean we do both believe in God is it just the books we consider Gods word that is different? I am christian and I just don't know enough about the jews are they gods chosen and why on earth are they portraye as evil by some? I have always heard jew jokes and jew racisism and never understood it, I am not racist and I do respect your religion I am just ignorant as to why this happens . Does it have to do with hitler and the jews? Thanks , Always a pleasure

All quotes in green mine, all quotes in black Lt. Ripley's



Then you need a dictionary as arrogant means "1 : exaggerating or disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner" this is straight from the merriam webster dictionary. You displayed this in your first post on this thread & continue to display it even now.



You are the one that continues to emphasize his christian background as if that matters You are also the only one who suggests it has any context to whatever knowledge he posesses as a jew now. As far as saying one is jewish & being jewish, again you refute yourself: "A Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism."



So you admit that your attacking him based on previous posts, thank you for admitting that. As far as his current "righteousness" is concerned, I haven't seen anything of it. IF he has truly converted, then I imagine that because it's orthodox judaism, he would have had to or is currently studying quite a bit of material. I understand that there is a rigorous learning program for all jews, converted or not. I don't think he has or has not been converted & never suggested it. You on the otherhand have suggested that he hasn't: "not long ago he was playing mr know it all ala christian style ! and now is a educated jew ?". As to what he has gone through in his conversion so far, that's great that you want to know but instead of being an arrogant bully, just ask.




Then I will report you right after this post. I can handle the questions fine as has he to this point. However what I am to him or am not is none of your concern right?




It still doesn't invalidate that he can be a jew by not being born a jew.




Well considering that I have succesfully refuted all your arguements to this point, you still haven't proven my ignorance in regards to your posts.




Where is the evidence? Give us a partial copy, prove your of jewish ancestory so theres no shadow of a doubt. That would be a fact then. Even if it were true, it shows that once again you try to make yourself more important than you are in the conversation. See the definition of arrogance above.




Instead of being lazy, why don't you just point out the relevant parts where I was wrong? I know why, because so far you can't.


In any case, my arguements stand for themselves & everyone can see it who reads our dialogue. I won't reply to you any longer because I won't detract from the original thread any longer.

Stand Up and Shout, Hello

I don't think I saw this question asked -

Here is my question. What is it that you found spiritually attractive about judaeism, that motivated you to adopt it?

If it was not a tradition given to you by your parents, as many people's religous practices are.

According to Daniel 9, the Messiah or "anointed one" would have had to have arrived before the destruction of the 2nd temple. If it wasnt Jesus, then wouldnt this be a failed prophecy?.

Hairston

I'm always up for questions.


The only requirement (that I know of) is that it will be in the Messianic era. All the specifics of the New Temple are written in Ezekiel 40-End of Book.


No. BUT,in Judaism it is believed that God sent people like Jesus and Muhammed because if he hadn't then the 3.2 billion Muslims and Christians would NEVER believe in the Old Testament


Technically the Messiah will "make" them. In those days God will reveal himself to the whole world.


That is the most obvious sign actually, and by all we mean all.


I must say something that I almost wouldn't say. And it is a Kabbalistic sort of principle. No one religion is right because there is only one God and in the end of days all people will believe and worship one God. There is no hell and no eternal punishment for sin. That is a very big part in Orthodox Judaism. Christians can believe what they want, but will have no eternal punishment for it. It's hard to explain if you think in an "us them" mentality. It's us them, it's all of us in the same boat. We just think differently than them. God is universal and above religion. So technically the only difference is that we think God's word is different


They are God's "chosen" people to be witnesses of Torah for all the Earth.


Umm...I'm not sure. I think it's more of a Biblical punishment for not obeying the Torah.



To Be Completely Honest...I am one who follows the belief which I consider to be most logical and to have the most evidence. In my life, with my experiences at this moment Judaism is the most logical option and that is why I follow it. I have had a personal experience where I have met and continue to speak with God. I simply believe that Judaism is the best way to serve him.


That depends on the chronology, translation, and which annointed one your talking about.

Before this goes any further I am going to request that those posters involved in the Off Topic discussion remove themselves from the thread for a bit of a cool off.
In the mean time I will be re-reading through the last few posts very carefully.

Can all posters please return to the original Topic of this thread.
thank you.

now, back to my original post before it was hyjacked and derailed.

you used to be christian. feverently. I can't remember your old nic , but remember your posts. Admant about heaven and hell ect...............

you went through a change and I remember you talking about a problem with your parents and living with them how they could not accept a religious change from you at all.

what have you done to go through conversion ? do you call or concider yourself jewish if you haven't ( and you aren't until you are according to orthodox law) Have you moved out of your parents home and if not do they know ? you must have up a mezuzah. can't hide that.

I wouldn't take someone's knowledge of christianity if only living in for 6 months. would you ? as some sort of Q and A board ?

I can't help thinking and feeling like this is the religion of the year for you. priests and rabbis take years to study and are still green when they graduate.

The earliest manuscripts would be the most reliable we have. The reference is to the meshiaka though this can be translated as "anointed" instead of messiah. Who else could this have been in reference too (and no im not saying Jesus)?

Hairston

If I might ask, even with judeism being most logical in your mind, what logical ideas persuaded you to opt for karaism instead of a rabbinical tradition?

It appears that karaism is not entirely welcome among many jews, who in some cases consider the karai in need of being "converted" to "real" judeism. It must be a very strong logic for you to choose as you did.

I have to ask this and I am not being insensitive I just would like to clarify That You have met God? I understand when some say they speak to God as I do to everyday I pray are you saying you speak to God in this context? When you met God is that in a medoforical sense or in reality, I hear people say they have met God and take that to mean they now understand God's love and accept that love and plan to live their lives for God. Am I misunderstanding you? Also I was asking about building the temple if it was built and the requirments that the jews require according to their religion have not been met according to your religious beliefs would that set off some end time events or does your religion adress that? An example the bible tells us of several events that will occur before Jesus returns now if one were to try and accelerate those events would it change anythingas far as say set off the real end time events? Do you understand what I am asking? In the bible some of the events to take place can not be mistaken or made to happen by man but the temple in reality could be rebuilt . Always a pleasure

You may think it's unnecessary kiddo... but judging by what I've read from the very few Karaite groups, they don't think it's unnecessary.

I would see it as tantamount to someone wandering around calling themselves a Quaker when they haven't been enrolled as a Convinced Quaker (there's a short process involved in being Officially Convinced)... it's misleading and not necessary honest in my opinion to call yourself Karaite, when you haven't been officially recognized as such.

I don't know, that's just me I guess.

That isn't actually accurate. To be "Jewish" means to belong to the Tribe of Judah. Judah is but one of the 12 tribes of Israel. During certain stages of Israel's history, the tribe of Judah has been synonymous with God's people alone (particularly when Israel split into North and South, and even more clearer after the Exile), but in and of themselves, Judah is just one tribe. Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation. His son, Isaac, later changed his name to "Israel", and it is his sons and grandsons, totaling 12 in number, who became the 12 Tribes of Israel. And just one of Israel's 12 children was Judah.

Abraham could not have been a Jew! He was a follower of God, and is the Father of what we know of today as the Jewish race, but he himself could not be a Jew - Judaism, people of Judah.....

Just a few thoughts.

~ Regards, PA

about Abraham -

According to Jewish tradition, Abraham was born under the name Abram in the city of Ur in Babylonia in the year 1948 from Creation (circa 1800 BCE). He was the son of Terach, an idol merchant, but from his early childhood, he questioned the faith of his father and sought the truth. He came to believe that the entire universe was the work of a single Creator, and he began to teach this belief to others.

Eventually, the one true Creator that Abram had worshipped called to him, and made him an offer: if Abram would leave his home and his family, then G-d would make him a great nation and bless him. Abram accepted this offer, and the b'rit (covenant) between G-d and the Jewish people was established. (Gen. 12).

The idea of b'rit is fundamental to traditional Judaism: we have a covenant, a contract, with G-d, which involves rights and obligations on both sides. We have certain obligations to G-d, and G-d has certain obligations to us. The terms of this b'rit became more explicit over time, until the time of the Giving of the Torah. Abram was subjected to ten tests of faith to prove his worthiness for this covenant. Leaving his home is one of these trials.

Abram, raised as a city-dweller, adopted a nomadic lifestyle, traveling through what is now the land of Israel for many years. G-d promised this land to Abram's descendants. Abram is referred to as a Hebrew (Ivri), possibly because he was descended from Eber or possibly because he came from the "other side" (eber) of the Euphrates River.

But Abram was concerned, because he had no children and he was growing old. Abram's beloved wife, Sarai, knew that she was past child-bearing years, so she offered her maidservant, Hagar, as a wife to Abram. This was a common practice in the region at the time. According to tradition, Hagar was a daughter of Pharaoh, given to Abram during his travels in Egypt. She bore Abram a son, Ishmael, who, according to both Muslim and Jewish tradition, is the ancestor of the Arabs. (Gen 16)

When Abram was 100 and Sarai 90, G-d promised Abram a son by Sarai. G-d changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of many), and Sarai's to Sarah (from "my princess" to "princess"). Sarah bore Abraham a son, Isaac (in Hebrew, Yitzchak), a name derived from the word "laughter," expressing Abraham's joy at having a son in his old age. (Gen 17-18). Isaac was the ancestor of the Jewish people.

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsourc...hy/abraham.html

It's also interesting to note that the god of Ur was Nanna-Sin, a moon god. Moon gods have long been associated with fertility. Abram came from Ur. Abram & sarai had fertility problems. Their god promised them he would make them concieve. Sounds very much like Shaddai (Abrams name for his god) is very similiar to Nanna-sin.

No disagreements really, though it would just be tradition that states many of those things (why he left home, what profession his father was, etc), since they aren't actually in the Bible. I was just saying that Abraham could not be a Jew, though he was the Father of all the Israelites, which included the Jews. Cheers

~ PA

I haven't done anything to go through a conversion. There's no Biblical precept that would show it being necessary.


1. I do not consider myself Jewish. I only consider those who are are Israelites to be Jewish.

2. I'm 15, so no, I haven't moved out

3. My parents do know about my Jewish beliefs

4. I plan to have a mezuzah up once I own my own house.


I wouldn't base my opinion on such a person's time being what they are answering questions about but I would base my opinion on what they say about the topic that's being discussed. I am no scholar but since the day I decided to follow Judaism I have studied Judaism at every available moment in my time.





Um...any King that resided over Israel as is all the Kings of Israel (I mean Judah) were annointed.


The only differnnce is that I don't see the Oral Law as Divine like Rabbinical Jews do. I am Karaic in that I don't see the Talmud as a divine writing to be held at the same level as Torah. Rabbinic Jews do.


That's true. But I see a middle ground instead of playing between two extremes.


Yes. He did me a favor and after that time I felt like I owed him.


Yes, God also speaks back to me.


I mean in a literal sense.


Umm...I don't understand what your asking.


I understand what you mean. But like I said, there is NOTHING in Torah to suggest that a formal conversion is necessary. In fact for Ruth she merely had to accept God as her God and the Israelites as her people.



Technically Abraham was the first Jew.

Apply to make aaliyah to israel, their response will tell you if you are jewish or not.

So wouldnt this imply that this specific "anointed" one was a special type of "anointed" one?. If we were to interpret Meshiaka in these verses we could either say Messiah or anointed and Messiah seems to fit this as the writers appear to be making a distinction between this particular person and all of the other "anointed". If this be the case then the messiah would have HAD to arrived before the destruction of the second temple and if He DIDNT come before then, the prophecy fails.

Hairston

Edit: Also to add, the Qumran community was expecting the messiah to come around 3-2 bc.

while no one needs to be Jewish to appreciate the religion. but the religion is for Jews. just as Christianity is for Christan's. but claiming one follows the Jewish religion without being Jewish doesn't make sense to me nor the othodox jews.

what I'm seeing is your picking parts of Judaism you like and adhering to it without the trials and rituals of becoming a Jew.

now you might conceder being a righteous gentile. but that isn't exactly following Jewish law either. it's like a Jew mild. or Jew wanna be but still gotta have pork rinds.

mmmm pork rinds


http://www.beingjewish.com/conversion/becomingjewish.html

Thank you for answering my question. I went to a temple once with some friends for a class in religions. I enjoyed it. One of us did a little faux pas. The Rabi was showing us a Torah and my friend reached out and touched. The Rabi freaked a bit and told her not to touch it, he said those who not Jewish where not a allowed to touch it. I always kind of wondered why, but then I think there are certain things I use for ritual I don't let people touch, like my sword. It throws off the vibrations in it.

What was the reason for not allowing any who is not Jewish to touch a Torah?

I find Kabbalah very interesting. How does the Kabbalah fit in mainstream Judaism? Is it considered a form of mysticism or magick?

Thanks again.