Hot answers tagged am-yisrael-jewish-nation
9
In the Guide of the Perplexed, Chapter XIV, the Rambam comments on "behold the height of the stars, how high they are!" (Job xxii. 12)
that is to say, learn from the height of the heavens how far we are
from comprehending God, for there is an enormous distance between
ourselves and these corporeal objects, and the latter are greatly
distinguished ...
8
Hatred has many sources. And sometimes it seems to have none.
One could attribute it to a divine decree, or to biblical stories which pit people against people. Or you could look at historical or sociological trends. Here is a random selection of "reasons":
Jews are separate and distinct. When any group defies the will of the masses or the powerful, it is ...
8
Evidence against there being such a prohibition includes:
Speaking (and writing) other languages has been widespread practice for more than two millennia. While it's hard to prove a negative, I've so far never heard of an objection to this.
Some prayers were specifically written in Aramaic, the language of the people, rather than Hebrew.
As pointed out by ...
7
There are several, sometimes overlapping families of terms in play:
Israel
This name was given to Abraham's grandson, Jacob, by God and means "God prevails" or "God fights". There's some disagreement over which meaning is accurate, but the source is from this passage in the Torah:
And he said unto him: 'What is thy name?' And he said: 'Jacob.' And he ...
7
By the way, generally a "Talmudist" means someone who studies the Talmud; the rabbis who wrote the Talmud are known as The Sages, Hazal (an acronym for "our sages of blessed memory"), or the Tannaim (those before the year 200) and Amoraim (from 200 to 500).
Okay, let's back up here.
The reading of Deuteronomy is a very nuanced one, which your translation ...
6
No. All information about how to identify who a Jew is comes from interpretation of Tanach according to the tradition we've received from our rabbis over the millennia. None of it is explicitly in Tanach, which seems to be what you're seeking. For more on verses so interpreted see answers elsewhere.
6
While Jewish law applies patrilineal descent to other nations (Yevamos 78b), Nachmanides writes that matrilineal descent applied to the Jewish people from the time of Avraham and onwards (Commentary to Vayikra 24:10). This is justified by the existence of some degree of Israelite nationhood from the time of the Patriarchs, which is suggested by the Talmud's ...
5
This amounts to a non-religious perspective that is informed by a deep personal familiarity with the history and beliefs of Christianity, and by having several close Jewish friends, one a rabbi, with whom I've had many delightful conversations.
I would first note that on a personal level, antisemitism baffles me in a way that makes me wonder if I missed the ...
5
The Mishnah (Uktzin 3:12 - the concluding mishnah of Shas) states that "in the future Hashem will cause each tzaddik to inherit 310 worlds." These are understood to be spiritual realms (R. Shmuel of Lubavitch, Maamar Shabchi Yerushalayim 5627); but since the physical is an outgrowth of the spiritual, it may well be that there is actual physical "real estate" ...
5
You would still be a Jew. The lineage of a Jew never breaks, regardless of a person's apparent conversion to another religion. The lineage is through one's mother and that is unbreakable. There exists no such thing as conversion from Judaism according to Jewish law.
See the Gemoro (Sanhedrin 44a):
אע״פ שחטא ישראל הוא
Even if he sinned, he is still ...
5
There are a number of verses that indicate that the covenant cannot be broken.
כִּי אֵל רַחוּם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, לֹא יַרְפְּךָ וְלֹא יַשְׁחִיתֶךָ; וְלֹא יִשְׁכַּח אֶת-בְּרִית אֲבֹתֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לָהֶם. (דברים ד:לא)
For the LORD thy God is a merciful God; He will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy ...
5
In an nutshell and as was stated, a person born a Jew is a Jew for life and a person not born a Jew isn't a Jew until he goes through a formal conversion process. While one who adheres to certain tenets of Christianity is removed from the Jewish community (ie his "Jewish" status is compromised) he is still bound by Jewish law (assuming his adherence is a ...
4
While it is true that one of the necessary components to a proper conversion is a rejection of idols, the talmudic quote presented is not saying that this is the sole method of becoming a Jew. The text on Megilla 13 is arguing about the particular tribal lineage of Mordechai -- he called a Yehudi though he is traced to Benjamin's tribe. So the text attempts ...
4
The following is a verse from Isaiah (50:1) which helps us in our understanding this verse:
כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה, אֵי זֶה סֵפֶר כְּרִיתוּת אִמְּכֶם אֲשֶׁר שִׁלַּחְתִּיהָ, אוֹ מִי מִנּוֹשַׁי, אֲשֶׁר-מָכַרְתִּי אֶתְכֶם לוֹ; הֵן בַּעֲוֹנֹתֵיכֶם נִמְכַּרְתֶּם, וּבְפִשְׁעֵיכֶם שֻׁלְּחָה אִמְּכֶם.
Thus says God: Where is the the bill of your mother's ...
4
The verse separates clearly between Israel and Judah -- the standard language referring to the Northern and Southern (Davidic) kingdoms:
Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement
that yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot
So it seems Israel ends up with a divorce ...
4
God takes the children of Israel back. No other nation replaces:
http://ohr.edu/tw/5756/devarim/haazinu.tw
In times to come, when Israel is redeemed from among the nations and
Hashem gathers us to Him, Israel will say "Master of the Universe, it's
written in Your Torah that when a man divorces his wife and banishes her from
his life, should the woman ...
4
There are no explicit biblical proofs for this. However, there is a fairly famous statement in the גמרא in .כתובות קיא:
רבי יוסי ברבי חנינא דאמר ג' שבועות הללו למה אחת שלא יעלו ישראל בחומה ואחת שהשביע הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל שלא ימרדו באומות העולם ואחת שהשביע הקדוש ברוך הוא את העובדי כוכבים שלא ישתעבדו בהן בישראל יותר מדאי
This דרשא from a פסוק in ...
4
The principle derives from the Mishna, Kiddushin 3:12. There it gives four different examples of possible sexual unions and relates the status of the child in each example:
כל מקום שיש קדושין ואין עברה הולד הולך אחר הזכר. ואיזו? זו כהנת לויה
וישראלית שנשאו לכהן וללוי ולישראל. וכל מקום שיש קדושין ויש עברה הולד
הולך אחר הפגום. ואיזו? זו אלמנה לבהן ...
4
Tzefanya 3:9 states:
כי אז אהפך אל עמים שפה ברורה לקרא כלם בשם ה' לעבדו שכם אחד
For then I will convert the peoples to a pure language that all of them call in the name of the Lord, to worship Him of one accord.
The Metzudos there explains that "a pure language" refers to Loshon Kodesh, which even the gentiles will change to speak in when Moshaich ...
3
Based on that Gemara it appears that there are two opinions regarding whether King David erred or not. According to the opinion that he did err, this shortcoming was the cause of the split in the kingdom and the ultimate exile while according to the opinion that he did not err the split in the kingdom must be attributed to some other cause.
Based on Kings ...
3
No. The example of the daughter of Phara'oh is a confusing one. I'm not at all an expert in Divrei HaYamim, but it is not nearly as clear as one would expect it to be as a chronicle of the Biblical narrative. However, I'm not sure that is the correct interpretation of the verse. If I'm not mistaken, the Yehudiyah in the verse is not the daughter of ...
3
See Exodus 19:17 which says that Bnei Yisroel were under the mountain. Rashi brings the Gemara (Shabbos 88a) and Midrash Yalkut Yisro that G-d literally lifted Har Sinai over the Jews' heads and said "if you accept the Torah, good, but if not, you will be buried there."
Why did G-d force the Bnei Yisroel to accept the covenant when they had already accepted ...
3
From what I gather (from here and elsewhere), the group is a Christian group which accepts Jesus as a messianic figure and which considers itself to be the only valid set of descendants from the ancient tribal sons of Jacob. They have no connection to Judaism that modern Judaism would accept (without matrilineal descent or an approved process of conversion) ...
3
If by "unbelievers" you mean those who are not Jewish, then the answer is "no". The Talmud at Sanhedrin 105a says that the righteous of all nations shall have a place in the world to come. The question is "who is righteous?" As noted, a gentile who keeps the seven Noachide laws in all of their details is said to have attained the level of righteousness of ...
3
The grandeur of creation increases the importance of keeping Torah - it is the point of a much greater world.
It also gives us a better understanding of the greatness of Hashem. The entirety of creation is nothing compared to Hashem. So the greater the world, the more we realize how much greater Hashem is, that all of it is as nothing compared to Him.
3
Are these two considered "sects" of Judaism by Jews, or is this just a Christian idea?
No. These are not Judaism, and someone practicing them is not practicing Judaism, regardless of whether they are a Jew or not. (Being a Jew is not dependant on practicing Judaism, as stated in Dan's answer.)
2
Rashi Genesis 33:4 says the Halacha is Esau hates Yaacov. This can be understood that this is Halacha and not dependent on external factors.
The Gemoro also says
Rav Chisda and Rabbah the son of Rav Huna both said: Why is it called
"Sinai"? Because it is the mountain from which hatred (Hebrew: sinah)
came down to the Nations-of-the-World ... ...
2
I was at the bar mitzvah of the adopted son of Rabbi Yitzchok Breitowitz, shlita. At the bar mitzvah, the rabbi explained that his son had been converted conditionally as a small child by putting him in a mikvah and by the parents committing themselves to raise him as a Jew. But since the child cannot yet speak for himself (until he reaches 13 -- or 12 for ...
2
This article from Chabad.org, Was Abraham Jewish? On the Identity of the Pre-Sinai Hebrews, pretty thoroughly discusses this topic.
I'm not sure how to elaborate on it without rewriting the whole article, but after discussing the different times Avraham was chosen by G-d and the Covenants made between G-d and Avraham, one paragraph says:
Accordingly, ...
2
Might it also be possible that those being promoted are friendly with the boss or move in the same social circles? If I'm not mistaken, this also happens at non-Jewish companies. I'm always curious why people assume that behaviors demonstrated by Jews are automatically due to their Jewishness rather than to their humanness.
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