Hot answers tagged christianity
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Do Jewish people have a collection of books which are the equivelant of the Christian Old Testament?
The Jewish scriptures are called the "Tanach", which is traditionally divided into 24 separate books.
It is hard to say exactly how it measures up to the Christian Old Testament, since there are different versions as to what is included in the Old Testament depending on what sect of Christianity one belongs to. Here is an excellent chart which shows the ...
15
To add to Jeff's and Josh's points, we find that there are in fact practices in prayer (kneeling, raising our hands) that are attested in Tanach but were later abandoned as Jewish practices, precisely because non-Jewish religions made these parts of their own rituals. How much more so, then, that we shouldn't adopt prayers that they originated!
15
In Jewish law, the idea of the Trinity falls under the catchall term of "shittuf" - worshipping G-d along with some other being.
Shittuf is prohibited for Jews. This means that a Jew would be prohibited to acknowledge the Christian savior as part of the G-dhead, or to participate in Christian worship, even at the cost of his or her life.
There is a dispute ...
13
See this summary on Wikipedia.
The first five books of the Bible -- Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy -- form the "Torah" (like would be in a Torah scroll). The text of these is, as far as I know, identical between Jewish and Christian Bibles (though there will certainly be differences in translation; studying the original Hebrew is extremely ...
12
Obviously, I can't actually speak for the family involved, however, in general, giving any kind of Christian religious symbol to a Jewish family will be considered offensive. The meaning conveyed by the cross for most Jews is very different from the meaning that Christians see in it, and not the least bit positive.
10
He is saying that the year 3724 coincides with the end of a 532-year calendrical cycle. This cycle is when the 19-year machzor katan and the 28-year machzor gadol return to their initial positions (19 x 28 = 532). The year 3724 comes after exactly 7 of those cycles (532 x 7 = 3724). He does not explain why this has any significance.
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First, it should be noted that you are asking a very broad question, as, unfortunately, there certainly are many Jews who celebrate it as a secular, cultural holiday, and many Christians who classify themselves as Jews.
Mainstream Judaism, however, rejects Jesus. Adamantly, decisively, and without qualification. We do not believe he was a prophet, a ...
9
R' Chaim Dov Rabinowitz (author of Daas Sofrim), in his volume on Jewish history since the close of Tanach, in fact harshly criticizes the Jews of Babylonia for migrating from there to the Christian West during the Geonic era. He argues, for one thing, that they should have learned from the experience of the Jews under Byzantine domination (especially in the ...
9
Ḥukath HaGoyim. Next question?
Seriously, though, according to those who hold that Christianity is not 'Avodah Zarah (lit. "foreign worship", aka idolatry) for gentiles, it is still 'Avodah Zarah for Jews. Why? Either it's idolatry or it's not, right? No, say some (not all) of those who hold this opinion. According to them, it's not idolatry. If it ...
9
Prayers are composed with different attitudes, and reference different Scriptures.
I am certainly not paskening here, but it is essentially a sectarian prayer, and gives credence to that religion. What is the motivation in saying it? Breaking down boundaries in this area is surely a slippery slope, when dealing with a religion that actively wishes to ...
9
Assuming it was your father's Mother's Mother or some combination thereof who was Jewish, then it might be best for you to find a Large cross with a small Jewish star.
The Jewelry you currently have has strong associations with "Messianic Jews", or "Jews for Jesus", both groups which are roundly rejected by Jewish groups as being either an oximoron or ...
9
According to the sources cited by the Gra on Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 147:3, the prohibition against mentioning the name of a foreign deity does not apply to the name of Jesus, and in fact we find that he is mentioned by name in many sources.
In a very interesting teshuva, R' Esriel Hildesheimer discusses this issue at some length. He comments that the ...
8
There are sometimes also differences in chapter/verse numeration. For example, Gen. 31:55 in the KJV is 32:1 in (most if not all) printed Hebrew Tanachs, so the numbering of all of the verses in ch. 32 is one off. Similarly, in Ex. 20 (the Ten Commandments) the KJV divides and numbers each of Commandments 6-9 as a separate verse (paralleling the way it's ...
8
There's a rule that "you can't prohibit that which does not belong to you." A pagan can go deify my cow and bow down to it all he wants; he can even slaughter it to his idol; if it's my cow, he did nothing and you can derive benefit from the cow. So the first and major question is, who owned the food in this situation, and who consecrated it? Moreover, ...
8
As long as you don't go into the main sanctuary there should not be a problem.
There is a makhloket poskim as to whether belief in the trinity is forbidden only for a Jew. Many say a non-Jew may follow these tenets since belief in the omnipotent G-d is still present.
However, it is forbidden for a Jew to enter the sanctuary of the church, i.e. where the ...
8
I would suggest that it probably reflects the beliefs of some messianic Christians who call themselves Jews (and some who are technically Jewish by the Jewish standard of matrilineal descent), and I would interpret it to mean that you are of that ilk. Many Jews (and I count myself among them) do not have any nice thoughts towards these groups, to put it ...
8
There is little to indicate that the Rabbis went against Jesus, or that Jesus in his lifetime, even claimed to be a prophet or the messiah.
However, by the time Christianity started to make inroads in Israel, there were rules to keep Christians separate from Jews. The reasons for this were many, but the most clearly documented ones are that
Christians ...
7
One: the Rema does not rule that goyim are permitted shituf, but merely rules that for them swearing in the the name of a shituf is not an act of avodah zarah (as only Jews are prohibitted from swearing in anything but HaShem's name). As explained in the Nodah Beyahudah, Yoreh Deah 148: "The intention of the Tosefos and the Rama is that combining the Name of ...
7
Jews have different expectations of non-Jews than other religions have of their non-faithful.
Jews believe that all people are commanded to obey G-d, and His commandments create a powerful and holy connection between Him and each individual. The commandments that apply to everybody are called the 7 Commandments of the Children of Noah.
There is another, ...
7
Rabbi Michael Broyde discusses the issue in a post here. One of his major points is "that
Valentine's Day is no longer celebrated even by Christians as a Christian
holiday."
To quote his conclusion:
I think it is the conduct of the pious to avoid explictly celebrating Valentine's day with a Valentine's day card, although bringing home chocolate, flowers or ...
6
It has a funny sense to it that's hard to pin down, like a piece of shellfish that's gone bad. The "arting in heaven" for one thing seems a step away from anthropomorphism to me.
Why does anyone need such a prayer, anyway? The Torah has everything that's needed. Saying this 'prayer' would seem to be conferring tacitly some legitimacy on the entire concept ...
6
It's important to highlight that Christianity StackExchange has a very different atmosphere to Mi Yodeya. Christianity SE is very much true to its mission of being a Q&A site about Christianity. It is not a Christian site. And that post on meta isn't just a claim. It's lived up to throughout the site. In fact, it was recently brought up again in ...
6
Disclosure: I'm not an authority on Judaism nor am I Jewish. Therefore, my answer is necessarily incomplete. I'm also an active participant on Biblical Hermeneutics and a moderator pro tempore there. Our FAQ actively solicits answers from a Jewish perspective. Also, I consider myself your friend. Therefore, my answer is hopelessly biased and "too ...
5
I can't imagine it would be a problem.
Hashem blessed Avraham "והיה ברכה", which Rashi explains as "Blessings are given into your hand". That implies that we have the power (and responsibility) to disburse brochos. We also have a responsibility to educate the nations of the world about Hashem's existence, and this may be one way to do so.
Yaakov blessed ...
5
Many years ago I wrote this question in to an author of a sefer on Hilchos Akum. I argued that it should be permitted based on the reasoning Shalom provided in his excellent answer.
The Rabbi responded that although my argument seems correct, since there is a minhag to refrain from using Avoda Zara in this manner, it should be avoided. He added that in ...
5
Please ask your rabbi; I've heard of this practice as well; if it's actually a law (and not just a recommendation), there are two sources that I know of, and I suspect it's a combination of them. I hope this provides a good starting point.
A.) Saying the name of a heathen deity
Talmud Sanhedrin 63a (also Rashi on Chumash):
תניא (שמות כ”ג): “ושם אלהים ...
5
In the original version of the Rambam in Sefer Qedusha, Hilkhot Maakhalot Asurot 11:7 (compare the censored version and the uncensored version) he rules that xian are idol worshipers.
5
I'm a ben Noach and was raised Catholic (and obviously left it). I'd just leave it be and only ask for prayers if the person is bnei Noach to some extent.
For instance, if they're religious in some other faith and pray, they'll just chalk it up to their belief system if the person gets better.
If they're bnei Noach then it is perfectly fine to pray for ...
5
The Igrot Moshe writes (Yoreh De'ah 2:56) that it is even ASUR to listen to music (even just instruments) that has Avoda Zara/Christian intent in it. You are singing which means you also hear what you are saying which would be Asur (prohibited).
5
As usual, there are many answers to this question, all of them are related.
First, let's start with a brief history. In the time of Abraham, Abraham did try to convert many people. He did this by having an open tent which allowed people from every direction to come and learn about Gd. Then, in the time of the Exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people again, ...
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