Relations with non-Jews, and laws regarding them.
17
votes
4answers
853 views
Is it possible for a Gentile to convert to Judaism?
Is it possible for someone who is Gentile to convert to Judaism?
What is the prevailing belief of Jewish people on this subject?
What scripture backs up this belief?
What do prominent Jewish ...
17
votes
5answers
1k views
Is it a discouraged or an unacceptable practice for a Gentile to keep the Sabbath?
According to Jewish Law and tradition, is it acceptable, discouraged or totally unacceptable for a Gentile to keep the Sabbath according to the regulations spelled out in the Torah and the Talmud and ...
16
votes
6answers
622 views
First steps for someone considering conversion
I am 25 years old and I am truly interested in converting. I too also only believe in G-d. I live my life to certain rules that others I see aren't strong enough to live by. I want to know what I ...
23
votes
3answers
2k views
Should one ask a non-Jew attending synagogue to wear a yarmulke?
It says in Divrei HaRav (by R. Hershel Schachter, p143) that when they asked R. Aharon Kotler whether a non-Jewish secular studies teacher in a yeshiva should be asked to wear a yarmulke, he said he ...
11
votes
5answers
452 views
Nittle Nacht Meaning
What is Nittle Nacht?
What does the name mean?
What is its significance?
Which Halachic authorities speak about it, and what do they say?
What is the actual date for it?
How is it effected this ...
11
votes
1answer
436 views
Drinking cold kosher beverages in a non-Jewish relative's house
Let's say you're staying at a non-Jewish relative's house. He bought you kosher food because he knows you keep kosher. He buys you a drink such as milk. You see him pour the drink for himself into his ...
10
votes
4answers
303 views
what are the limits of “mesira”?
It seems that most people have an idea that you cannot report a Jew to the non-Jewish authorities (police, government, etc) except for extreme circumstances (imminent danger, abuse, etc). However, ...
8
votes
4answers
318 views
Was Eisav Jewish?
Was Eisav Jewish? Eisav was born to the same father and mother as Yaakov. It may be possible to say that Yaakov was not Jewish either as it was before Matan Torah, however if Yaakov was Jewish, then ...
6
votes
1answer
311 views
Why does the Torah forbid interest only on loans to Jews?
Why aren't we allowed to charge a Jew interest but we're allowed to charge a non-Jew?
22
votes
6answers
2k views
Does the Torah discuss aliens?
Does the Torah discuss extra-terrestrial life and/or civilizations?
Do any Torah sources exist which discuss what these hypothetical beings would be like and their status/nature? (eg. Would they be ...
14
votes
7answers
667 views
Phrasing of refuah prayer when praying for a non-Jew
How would you phrase a refuah (recovery from illness) tefillah (prayer) for a sick gentile?
"Thomas ben [=son of] Mary"?
"Thomas Smith"?
Is it appropriate to include the name during the ...
13
votes
2answers
891 views
Mikvah - Non Jewish Husband
Can a woman use a Mikvah if her Husband is not Jewish (She is currently on the road to becoming a BT)
11
votes
2answers
474 views
Giving gifts to non-Jews at Christmastime
Is it okay at Christmastime to give a gift to a boss or for kids to give gifts to teachers if they are not Jewish?
5
votes
6answers
388 views
4
votes
4answers
408 views
Matrilineal Descent
I have heard that matrilineal descent (i.e. having Judaism passed down through the mother) comes from the Roman period when women were raped by Roman soldiers and the babies were then said to be ...
11
votes
3answers
200 views
What happens if the non-Jew the chometz was sold to dies?
I can't imagine it has never come up before:
Someone sells their chometz before Pesach to a non-Jew. On Pesach the non-Jew dies. What happens now?
9
votes
5answers
427 views
Sources For Listening To/Not Listening to Non-Jewish Music
What are sources for it being allowed to listen to non-Jewish music and sources for it being prohibited?
8
votes
1answer
376 views
Daughter of a Jewish woman and non-Jewish man
Is a Kohen allowed to marry a woman who is the daughter of a Jewish woman and non-Jewish man?
4
votes
1answer
319 views
Why is this wine Yayin Nesech?
There is a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe where he writes a letter to a person whose brother said that not traveling on a Jewish owned ship is a "hard test" (which the person seemed to have failed).
...
4
votes
2answers
631 views
What makes something “chukat goyim?”
One of the most famous examples I have heard is that one should not even tie one's shoes like the non-Jews do in times of persecution. That seems rather excessive. What if the Jews started doing some ...
2
votes
4answers
376 views
11
votes
8answers
1k views
If Christianity is avodah zarah and Islam is not, why has the Christian world triumphed over the non-Christian, and why do Jews prefer to live among Christians and not Muslims?
The Rambam quite clearly considered Christianity to be avodah zarah. He did not feel the same way about Islam, however, going so far as to condone praying within a mosque, and many Orthodox Jewish ...
20
votes
2answers
353 views
Can a gentile break shabbos only on a Rabbinic level?
A non-Jew is forbidden from observing Shabbos. When someone is in the process of converting, we advise them to keep the entire Shabbos besides for doing one forbidden activity. A common practice is to ...
15
votes
5answers
1k views
Why is Judaism not Racism?
I am only asking this question to educate myself, not because I am anti-semitic or for any other hidden agenda. I do not what to turn this forum into an ugly place. I realize this question is ...
21
votes
2answers
1k views
Forbidden actions and the role of non-Jews
The question I am to ask is related to personal experience I've had but can be easily broadened. I am really asking for the sake of broadening my knowledge, and I apologize if any part of my question ...
16
votes
2answers
392 views
Is a Jew allowed to participate on Christianity.SE?
I was browsing meta.Christianity.SE recently when I noticed a question with a rather obvious (and good) answer that had not been posted. I was about to go ahead and answer it when I realized there ...
11
votes
5answers
568 views
May one love a non-Jew?
May one love a non-Jew? Not romantically in the sense of marriage, but rather in the sense that one loves a friend or family. May a Jew love his Gentile father, for example? May a baal teshuvah ...
9
votes
1answer
205 views
Is modesty a positive or negative commandment?
Given that:
There are two types of Mitzvoth (commandments), 'Aseh and Lo Ta'aseh (positive and negative; ie., "Thou Shalt" and "Thou Shalt Not").
a. Positive commandments, with some exceptions can ...
6
votes
1answer
198 views
What are the relevant Halachot for participating in a “Secret Santa” at your location of employment?
Secret Santa is a form of communal gift giving, that I have seen being done at workplaces to foster closer ties to employees. It is generally done near the end of the secular year. While the wiki ...
6
votes
2answers
254 views
Teaching Written Torah to Christians
There is an idea mentioned by the Rambam, but not in the Mishneh Torah as I recall, that it is permissible to teach Wrtitten Torah to Christians because they accept it as Divine and don't study it in ...
21
votes
3answers
480 views
Keeping Kosher at a secular company
How you do deal with keeping Kosher while working at a secular company? Its easy enough to bring my own lunch everyday, what I'm not sure how to handle are events like company lunches and other social ...
10
votes
6answers
525 views
Am I liable to be stoned for my devotion to Hashem and the Jewish people?
I have spent over 2 years to this day praying for the Jewish people from the Koren Siddur and Machzorim. I have with my Rebbe's help tried to follow Jewish customs and laws, to my best ability. ...
8
votes
2answers
174 views
What's the role of the state in halacha's recognition of marriage for Bnai Noach (non-Jews)?
If I understand correctly (I think this was in R' Aaron Lichtenstein's book on the Seven Noahide Laws), halacha recognizes a marriage between a non-Jewish man and woman if they've gone through ...
7
votes
4answers
334 views
Good books for non-Jews who are interested in understanding Judaism, especially branches of Orthodox judaism
I have found that the first thing to do when you want to learn something about a subject, is to start with the idea that you know absolutely nothing. I understand, for example, that Judaism has ...
6
votes
1answer
191 views
Can non Jews be buried in a Jewish Cemetery?
Can a non Jew be buried in a Jewish Cemetery under any circumstances?
3
votes
3answers
418 views
Bad Jew or Good Gentile?
Whom does Hashem love more: Gentiles who love Jewish people and Israel or Jews who are against Jewish people and Israel?
-1
votes
3answers
128 views
Would Israel's sibling nation do Yibbum?
If Klal Yisrael would all die, ch"v, then would Edom become obligated in Tora uMitzvot because of Yibbum? (because Jacob's/Israel's brother is Esav, Edom.) Or would chalitzah happen because no other ...
13
votes
4answers
395 views
Was Darius Jewish?
Darius the Second (the son of Queen Ester and Achashveirosh) was at first glance Jewish, as he was the son of a Jew. On the other hand,the Gemara Rosh Hashana implies that he wasn't Jewish.
What was ...
11
votes
4answers
597 views
Non-Jews and kosher wine
As a non-Jew, undergoing the conversion process, I am very careful regarding the Torah, rabbinic, and cultural laws. However, some times it seems to me that some laws are not compatible for converts.
...
11
votes
4answers
3k views
Would a non-Jew wearing the Star of David together with a cross be offensive?
I am not Jewish, although I come from a Jewish heritage. My great-grandmother was Jewish. I have, since childhood, found the religion fascinating, even though my belief in Jesus has firmly placed me ...
9
votes
3answers
359 views
Asking non-Jews to pray for someone
Is it appropriate to ask non-Jews to pray on behalf of someone in dire straits (sick, wrongfully imprisoned, trapped, etc.)?
Edit: If it's appropriate, would it be inappropriate if the person being ...
9
votes
2answers
379 views
Is hamsa allowed?
Does the Halacha allow the use of a hamsa as a good luck charm, considering that it originated as a Muslim symbol?
7
votes
3answers
344 views
Why shouldn't Gentiles keep Shabbat?
I know little about Judaism and it's a first time question, so please forgive any mistakes.
According to this question non-Jews are forbidden from keeping Shabbat. What is the reasoning behind this? ...
7
votes
4answers
297 views
How to tell someone about Shomer Negiah
As I'm sure that many of you have had to "break it" to a coworker or friend that you're Shomer Negiah, have you found a strategy or choice of words that seems most effective? As I wasn't raised frum ...
6
votes
1answer
130 views
Who are these “aliens” in Isaiah 56?
I was reading through this passage in Isaiah 56:
4 For thus saith the LORD concerning the eunuchs that keep My
sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and hold fast by My
covenant. 5 ...
6
votes
2answers
281 views
How do you get non-Jews to treat you with some kind of tznius?
I am an older unmarried frum Jewish woman. I work among non-Jews. I am sure other Jewish people work with non-Jews also. How do you make them respect that you do not follow their social behavior and ...
6
votes
1answer
119 views
Food utensil on loan from now-dead non-Jew
Do non-Jews have laws of inheritance in halacha? If so, what are they?
Okay... that's not my real question, though I think it's a good part of my real question; in the interests of avoiding the ...
4
votes
2answers
114 views
Do non-Jews inherit?
Inspired by this question.
If a non-Jew dies, do his children (or other inheritors) automatically assume possession of his properties (karka), loose items (metaltelin), and debts the way Jewish ...
4
votes
1answer
191 views
Mamzer from non-Jew
If a Jewess married to a Jew has a child from a non-Jew is that child a mamzer?
Is there agreement amongst the poskim about this?
4
votes
4answers
526 views
Are Europeans Edomites?
I had always thought that Europeans descended from Yafet, not Shem, and certainly not Shem, Avraham and Yitzhak. I am aware that it was common in the past to equate Rome with Edom, but I always ...
