Questions tagged [am-yisrael-jewish-nation]
Questions pertaining to the Jewish nation or 'Am Yisrael' - 'עם ישראל' in Hebrew
170 questions
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benefits of following Noahaich laws and 613 mitzovets
As I read on mi yodeya, that following the 613 mitzovet is a nessesary for righteous jews, and I also know that this task is very difficult, but the seven mitzovet of Noahich laws are easy, and the I ...
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Intermarriage and Jewish status of their children
My question is, if a non-Jewish man marries a Jewish woman, since the marriage is invalid, are the children Jewish? Specifically, is there any source in the Mishnah which says that they are not ...
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Ezra claimed that Samaritans are not Jews. Is genetic data in conflict with this?
Ezra claimed that those who live on Israel are totally different people that happen to worship the same God. He probably didn't know for sure because he was in Babylon during their birth.
I wonder ...
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What is the Significance of Ten Generations in the Torah when it comes to Genealogy
No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord; none of their descendants, even in the tenth generation-Deuteronomy 23:4
What is the significance of the ten-generation ...
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Can a convert to Judaism have a Jewish mother?
The Mishna, Bikkurim 1:4, speaks of converts to Judaism who bring their first fruits to the temple, or who pray within a synagogue:
אלו מביאין ולא קורין הגר מביא ואינו קורא שאינו יכול לומר אשר נשבע ...
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Historical ID lost can it be reclaimed
Could it be possible that many Hispanics who moved from Spain and having their family line coming from Jewish blood (Sephardi Jews), be actually Jews and not know it? There is a test now to check ...
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Is believing that God, Israel, and Torah are one Avodah Zarah?
The Zohar said that God, Israel, and Torah are one.
I thought Judaism is strictly monotheistic. When Jesus said, "I and the father is one", he was being a heretic. So how come the Zohar includes even ...
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Matrilineal descent & Zera Israel
Would someone with Jewish heritage from a distant foremother on their maternal grandfather's side be considered Zera Yisrael?
In other words, does the person fit the definition of Zera Yisrael since ...
- 2,179
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What does it mean when the "nation says something"?
There are often cases in Tanach where the Bnei Yisrael speak/answer simultaneously. Is there a general rule behind what this means or does it change from verse to verse? It would seem difficult to ...
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Could I became a Jew in the next cosmic reborn/reboot?
Hindu people believe that the Cosmos is dying and emerging in a never ending circle.
How is this seen by Jews and could I be born in the new Cosmos instance as a Jew, even if I am not?
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Voting for Jews in elections
In a civil election, does Judaism teach that one should vote for Jewish candidates over non-Jews? What if the voter supports the other candidate's positions on every other issue much more?
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Will all Jews speak Hebrew when Mashiach comes?
This question just kind of popped into my head, so I'm not sure whether it is really a good question for this site, but I wonder if anybody has written about it.
I would imagine that since when ...
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Are Christians and/or "Messianic Jews" considered Jewish by Jews?
I know Judaism is not "Christian", but I am under the impression that there are some differences amongst Jewish traditions.
At the extreme, I have even heard of "Messianic Jews" who believe Jesus was ...
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What's "chosen" about Jews?
Jews are commonly referred to as "the chosen people". I've heard it comes from Exodus 19:5 ("וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל הָעַמִּים", "ye shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples", JPS). ...
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How did Chazal know they were right about "who is a Jew"?
My question is predicated on the assumption that Jews were created by God as fundamentally different from non-Jews. (I am referring, for example, to the idea that Jews have a special type of soul. And ...
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How much can a DNA test help to get Israeli citizenship? [closed]
My friend has found out that he has some Jewish family history according to DNA tests.
Could it help him to get Israeli citizenship, or is this fact not considered at all?
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Are those who reject idolatry Yahudim (Jews)?
I found the following quote referencing Gemara from a book on converts in Judaism:
The Gemara (Megillah 13•) states that we find the appellation “Yehudi”
in Nach only three times: once for ...
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Who is a Jew according the Tanach?
Does the Tanach give guidelines to Identify who is a Jew and who is not?
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Certificate of Divorce by God to Israel
I find the following verse to be very harsh as it gives a pink slip of Divorce to Israel and Judah Jeremiah 3:8:
וָאֵרֶא, כִּי עַל-כָּל-אֹדוֹת אֲשֶׁר נִאֲפָה מְשֻׁבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל, שִׁלַּחְתִּיהָ, ...
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What are the behaviors which will cause the covenant between Bnei Yisrael and God to be broken? [closed]
What are the abominations that Bnei Yisrael should desist from, which would cause it to break the covenant of God. And has the covenant been broken in the past?
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Toynbee's description of Jews as a "fossil" -- what was the Orthodox response?
In the 1950s historian Arnold Toynbee made the argument that Jews and Judaism did not fit into any definition of nation, race, or religion. We were not a nation because we lived for centuries without ...
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When did the switch to matrilineal descent occur?
Does anyone know when the switch the matrilineal descent took place? I've seen other information about the potential impetus, but when did it become so? Was there even a switch?
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What makes the Jews a nation?
Are the Jews "a nation" by virtue of ethnic origin or by virtue of being chosen by God? (That is, which of these two criteria has lexical priority over the other?) What constitutes the peoplehood of ...
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What is the difference between Beta Israel and Beta Avraham
What exactly is the difference between the Beta Israel and the Beta Avraham? Are the Beta Avraham halachickly jewish?
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Why switch the reference from "גוי" to "עם" in Tachanun?
Why does the prayer "Shomer Yisra'el" in Tachanun say in two of the verses the word גוי in the first and last phrase, but עם in the middle phrase?
שומר גוי אחד שמור שארית עם אחד ואל יאבד גוי אחד
.....
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Does a dish received as a gift from another Jew need to be toveled? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Tevilat Keilim on a gift
If I buy Ploni a new coffee mug, does he need to tovel it? Did I need to tovel it?
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Why did David's kingdom split if he didn't sin?
According to one opinion in the Gemara (Bab. Shab. 56b), the reason David's kingdom split was because he sinned by believing Lashon HaRa'. According to another opinion, though, he never sinned at all. ...
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Why are children from a gentile wife not considered Jewish with a Jewish father?
Why are children who have a Jewish Father and gentile mother not considered Jewish?
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The blessing for 600,000 Jews
The Gemara (Berakhot 58b) mentions that upon seeing 600,000 Jews one says the blessing "Baruch...Chacham HaRazim" (Who knows all secrets), and this is halacha (Sh.A. O.C. 224:5).
Does any know of any ...
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Extent of matrilineal descent [duplicate]
Am I a Jew if my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother was a Jew? Even if along the line one of my foremothers converted to another faith? I'd just like a better understanding of matrilineal ...
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Hebrew Israelites recognition by mainstream Judaism
Are the adherents of 'Hebrew Israelites' church Jews from the 'mainstream' point of view and why (why yes or why not)? I have found mixed information on the topic.
Also some of them seek conversion, ...
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What is the source of hatred perceived by Jews in different parts of the world?
I don't know if this is off topic but a similar question is here at Christianity SE and I thought it would be interesting to ask the corresponding one here.
It intrigues me how people from other ...
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Should you show preference to a Jew/ Jewish establishment? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Purchasing from a Jew
If you have the opportunity to do business or make purchases with either a non-Jew or a Jew equally is there any reason to prefer the Jew over the non-...
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Permissibility of speaking foreign languages?
(Inspired by this comment).
Does halacha permit Jews to speak languages other than Hebrew? Bedieved? Lechatchilah?
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Jewish Status of the Patriarch's Wives?
Judaism is clear on the matrilineal descent. Yet it's not clear to me that the Matriarchs after Sarah were "Jewish" - they were Abraham's relatives, they were not Canaanites as requested by Abraham, ...
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Are Conservative, Reform and those "off the derech" part of 'amcha'?
There are several commandments that contain the phrase "b'amecha" (or a variation thereof). The gemarah darshans "b'oseh ma'aseh amcha" that those commandments only apply to a Jew ...
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Why usury or interest on loan is illegal within Jews and legal for non-Jews [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are we allowed to charge interest or not?
Any action or deed which is not considered ethical for ourselves, should also apply on others as well. Also throughout the known ...
- 911
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What's the difference between "Jew", "Israelite" and "Judaizer"? [closed]
What's the difference between "Jew", "Israelite" and "Judaizer"? Can these three terms be used interchangeably? Can only one or only two of these terms be applied to one person?
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Founders of Jewish movements [closed]
The Baal Shem Tov was the founder of the Hasidic Movement, Rabbi Israel Salanter was the founder of the Musar Movement, and Theodor Herzl was the founder of the Zionist Movement.
What are other ...
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Were the prophets and holy people who lived before Judah (Yehudah) also Jews?
The word "Jew" originates from the name of Jacob's son, Judah. The term "Jew" was introduced many generations and decades after him. I wonder whether Adam, Noah, Lot, Abraham and ...
- 911
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Were the eirev rav Jewish?
Were the eirev rav Jewish? If they were in fact Jewish why are they described by the term eirev rav instead of just referring to them as we would any other Jew? If they were not Jewish why were they ...
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Does God discriminate between Jewish and non-Jewish people?
I often wonder if God has a different attitude towards people who are not Jews. Why Jews are consisdered to be most favored nation? Does that mean that all other people are inferior to Jews? Wouldn't ...
- 911
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Why Do Converts Change Their Names?
Rabbi Avigdor Miller said that it used to be that gerim (converts) and baalei teshuvah (repentants) who had been given non-Jewish names did not change their names when they became part of the Jewish ...
- 6,059
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Word for "bageling" someone as an Orthodox Jew? [closed]
I've heard the slang "he bageled me" meaning "he identified me as a fellow Jew (even though it wasn't obviously apparent)."
There are the times I pass someone in the street who's wearing a baseball ...
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Why only beginning with the fourth plague is the exemption of the Jews mentioned?
In Moshe's warning to Pharaoh (in Hashem's name) of the fourth plague, arov, he adds (Ex. 8:18-19):
וְהִפְלֵיתִי בַיּוֹם הַהוּא אֶת-אֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן אֲשֶׁר עַמִּי עֹמֵד עָלֶיהָ לְבִלְתִּי הֱיוֹת-שָׁם ...
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Are children adopted by Jews Jewish?
I was adopted around the time I was three months old by my parents who are both Jewish. I do not know what religion my biological mother was, in fact I have very little detail about her at all. I was ...
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How does someone not know they're Jewish?
In this answer, someone said they got offended when people wore crosses, especially if they didn't know they were Jewish. I'm just wondering how someone can not know what religion they follow?
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"Don't say 'lehavdil' between one Jew and another."
In today's Parashat Hashavu'a Chat, I used the qualification "lehavdil" (*) to apply to a pun that jokingly and innocuously related the actions of Datan and Aviram to those of a community member here.
...
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Why is the Jewish Population so small?
Judaism is one of the oldest religions, but there aren't many Jews compared to Muslims and Christians.
What are main reasons behind that?
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What is the difference between dati, chasidish, and charedi?
How would one explain the distinctions between datim, chasidim, and charedim, especially to an American Jew who didn't know much about the Israeli religious spectrum? In particular, are all chasidim ...
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