Questions tagged [am-yisrael-jewish-nation]
Questions pertaining to the Jewish nation or 'Am Yisrael' - 'עם ישראל' in Hebrew
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The Belzer Rebbe's approach to nationalism and zionism
In "The Rabbis Speak Out", the 3rd Belzer Rebbe, Rabbi Yissachar Dov Rokeach is quoted (Kuntres 22 Cheshvan, p. 108) in saying that:
Zionism itself is founded on denial of G-d‟s providence, ...
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Exile helped the Jews to survive
Are there any rabbinic texts arguing that exile helped the Jewish people to survive centuries of threats? In a 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' sort of way?
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Half Jew half Gentile
I always thought it was a misconception to be "half-Jewish". Usually the speaker means one of their parents are Jewish, making them either fully Jewish or fully Gentile.
However, I saw today that the ...
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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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Proselytizing the covenant?
https://youtube.com/shorts/RuNO7R0885c?si=Fwc-02_yqnv-LfDi in this, rabbi Asher Meza of “Torah Judaism international” seems to claim that proselytization is not only allowed, but even a good thing to ...
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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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King David vs King Shaul - did King Shaul do anything wrong?
When Shaul would scold his enemies e.g. the Plishtim, he would shout at them for “defying Israel” (as his men did in Shmuel 1:17:25), but David would shout at them for "defying God" (ibid 26)...
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Would those of the lost tribes lose their status of Israelites after converting?
Jewishness is determined by matrilineal descent, so those of the lost tribes would have to convert.
But is not tribe determined by patrilineal descent? Being an Israelite means being a “son of Israel”,...
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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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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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Was Uriah Jewish?
Uriah the Hittite (mentioned in 2 Shmuel 11 and various other places) seems to be Jewish based on his name (Light of God). So why was he called "the Hittite"? Is there any opinion that he was not ...
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Can a yefas toar be Jewish?
I realize that when the torah discusses אשת יפת תואר it specifies
כִּי-תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה, עַל-אֹיְבֶיךָ (Devarim 21:10).
When you go out (of the land of Israel) to wage war on your enemies (...
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Can a Jew lose their Jewish Status?
Can a Jew lose their status as being a Jew by performing any action (example: performing idolatry, disavowing core beliefs, converting to another religion, etc)? Or once a person is a Jew then they ...
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Where are the lost tribes?
Are they spread all round the nations? If so, how will they still be Jewish, surely they will have assimilated so many generations later? Or are they spread within the Jewish nation?
I learnt in the ...
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The Necessity of 12 Tribes
Why was it necessary for there to be 12 tribes, with different portions of Israel given to each? The Midrash even states that when the sea split, there were 12 separate paths for each tribe (Pirkei d'...
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Were there rabbis who supported the patrilineal descent?
Many are accustomed to the fact that in rabbinic Judaism a Jew is one who is born of a Jewish woman.
But were there opposite opinions? Poskim of post-Talmudic time are of also interest.
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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 ...
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Did Judaism have a more ancient name before it became Judaism?
Judaism comes from Judah. Specifically, it comes from the Kingdom of Judah.
The names we get from Torah are typically for the people and not for the faith. We were called Hebrews and then we were ...
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Does Reform Judaism recognize children of Jewish father as Jews?
Does Reform Judaism recognize children of Jewish father as Jews (under conditions that father is Jewish both from mothers and fathers side). If so, that person does not have to go through conversion ...
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Where does "Yeshurun" come from?
Am Yisrael has a number of names in Tanach. "Yaakov" (such as "Beit Yaakov") and "Yisrael" ("Bnei Yisrael") come from the names of Yaakov Avinu. "Yehudim&...
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Why do we say that Hashem chose us if He offered to the Torah to all the other nations first?
According to Midrash Sifri (Deuteronomy 343), Hashem first went around to all the nations and offered them the Torah before offering it to Bnei Yisroel. So why do we say in Kiddush and Birchas ...
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Theological Justification for Discrimination against Sephardim?
There have been numerous cases of Ashkenazi Haredi schools in Israel discriminating against Sephardim. I am personally very disturbed by what I consider to be a great chillul Hashem, and I find such ...
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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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Difference between Jewish and Zionist?
I was in Israel last summer (Rehovot) visiting a close friend and his wife. In one of our very long conversations with them she said, "I would say I am not Jewish, but I am a Zionist". (...
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Does a Jew who doesn't care about other Jews' problems become a gentile [duplicate]
Under Jewish law, does a Jew who turns his back on other Jews change in his status in any way? Is he, under any law or any religious context, treated like a non-Jew for any practical intents?
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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 ...
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Yeshivas that relocated
BS"D
Which yeshivot relocated throughout the 20th century due to war, pogroms, etc.?
For example, I know that The Mir Yeshiva moved to Shanghai in 1941.
Are there any other similar yeshivot?
Do ...
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Other species in deep space and the Uniqueness of Klal Yisrael
The sheer vastness of space almost mathematically guarantees that there are other species or advanced civilizations in other galaxies or solar systems.
How do we reconcile this with the uniqueness of ...
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Were Adam and Eve Jewish?
Were Adam and Eve Jewish?
Why this question, you ask? Well, they kept Shabbat (after all, Adam already had a relationship with Hashem by virtue that he named all the animals, which would have taken ...
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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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Do we have a responsibility to find out whether a person is Jewish?
The Talmud says:
כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה – All Jews are responsible for one another. [Shevuot 39a, Sanh. 27b]
In order to help other Jews, we must first find out where they are. It is likely that the ...
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Which chag also celebrates or renews a brit or similar?
What do our rabbis of blessed memory say about Shavuos, or any chag that celebrates the purposes of that chag as well as at the same time celebrates or renews a previous brit or similar? From shul I ...
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Why mention healing everyone after the restroom and Jews in the amida?
After we use the restroom, we recite a benediction praising God for our ability to do so. The benediction ends by referring to him as the one "who heals all flesh", viz all people.
In the amida ...
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Did the Jewish people choose G-d, or did G-d choose the Jewish people? Or both?
Did the Jewish people choose G-d, or did G-d choose the Jewish people? Or both?
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Why was King David Punished for Sending Others to Conduct a Census?
If there is no agency for sin, why was King David punished for sending people out to conduct a (forbidden) census? (Explanation of agency: The Talmud says "ein sheliach l'dvar averia," which means, ...
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Why are we called 'Jews'? [duplicate]
The term established itself in one way or the other in many different languages as early as the dark age. The question: why is that?
I thought it to be somewhat of a misnomer. After all, Yaakov had ...
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Is "וְרַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר" ever fulfilled?
When Yaakov and Eisav are born we are told of their eternal battle. Bereishit (25:23):
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לָהּ, שְׁנֵי גֹיִים בְּבִטְנֵךְ, וּשְׁנֵי לְאֻמִּים,
מִמֵּעַיִךְ יִפָּרֵדוּ; וּלְאֹם ...
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Invalidating Jews as the Suffering Servant [closed]
I saw this post in which a rabbi explains why Is. 53 cannot be talking about Jesus. The essential line is
This tells us that someone who is widely respected BEFORE the arm of the Lord is revealed – ...
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Was the fact that Moshe broke the Tablets Halachicly stealing from the Jewish people?
Famously when Moshe came down from Sinai the first time and saw the Jews sinning he cast down the tablets of the law given to him by God. My question works on the basic assumption that these tablets ...
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What halachos flow from there being a Jewish nation and not just a religion?
Rabbi Mordechai Becher at Aish.com says that we are a nation united by our common heritage. So two Jews could see themselves as members of a nation.
A more limited definition of the relationship ...
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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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Did Israelites who stayed in Egypt become halachically Jewish?
Some sources indicate that not all of the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus. On the other hand, the initial "conversion" of the Israelites to Judaism occurred at Matan Torah at Mt. Sinai during ...
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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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What official position did Moses have acc. to Torah?
The Torah speaks of a couple of official public positions, that have extensive Halachic Nafka-Minahs, e.g. Kohen Gadol, Jewish king, a Judge, maybe Nessi Shevet.
IIRC Moses wasn't officially any of ...
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Why was a king necessary in the first place?
When Moshe led the Jewish people, there came a time where he spoke with Hashem and asked for him to relieve his burden. He needed help with the responsibility that had been placed upon him.
This led ...
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Why do we use the term "Jew" or "Jewish" when referencing people in the Torah/Chumash passages?
Why do we use the term "Jew" or "Jewish" when referencing people in the Torah/Chumash passages?
In the Torah (the Chumash), the "children of Israel" are called just that "בני ישראל" or Israelite.
...
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"Am I Jewish?"
How can one tell if one needs to convert in order to be Jewish or if one is already Jewish?
Would one's or one's ancestors' conversion to another religion or their lack of knowledge about Judaism ...
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Should a half Jewish man be discouraged from marrying a Jewess?
Is there any source in encouraging a man who identifies as Jewish but isn't so Halachically, to marry a Jewish woman and raise a Jewish family?
For instance, a patrilineal Jew although he isn't ...
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Egyptians guarding Israelites
Rabbi Zitron quotes that there are twentyfour different types of ways to protect the jews from escaping.
(It may be a bit irritating seeing my questions always quoting from lectures from youtube. I ...
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How to check if a Ketubah is genuine
Recently I was discussing with a friend the uses of one's parents' ketubah in everyday life. Obviously one of the main uses of a ketubah is proving one's Jewish status in order to join a Jewish ...
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