Questions tagged [am-yisrael-jewish-nation]
Questions pertaining to the Jewish nation or 'Am Yisrael' - 'עם ישראל' in Hebrew
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Are self described Reform and Conservative Jews assumed to be halachically Jewish according to Orthodox Judaism?
I’m curious about what the Orthodox understanding of Halacha says about whether Reform and Conservative people are still assumed to be halachically Jewish.
Obviously the overwhelming majority of them ...
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70 nations vs 70 who went down to Egypt
What's the connection between the 70 nations and the 70 descendants of Yaacov who went to Egypt? Is there a 1:1 correllation anywhere?
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Five types of Grain and Five Nations source
As we know from mishna Challah 1:1
Five species [of grains] are subject to [the law of] challah: wheat (חִטִּים), barley (שְּׂעוֹרִים), spelt (כֻּסְּמִין), oats (שִׁבֹּלֶת שׁוּעָל) and rye (שִׁיפוֹן)....
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How did Moshe know he was Jewish?
Shemot 2:11 says how Moshe went out to see the suffering of his people:
וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיִּגְדַּ֤ל מֹשֶׁה֙ וַיֵּצֵ֣א אֶל־אֶחָ֔יו וַיַּ֖רְא בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם וַיַּרְא֙ אִ֣ישׁ מִצְרִ֔י ...
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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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Does one have to be Jewish to be a rabbi
In terms of what we call semicha today, does one have to be Jewish to receive or hold it? Is it simply an indicator of learning (like an academic degree) which could be reached by anyone?
Knowing ...
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Source from the Bobover: What defines being Jewish: adherence to Torah?
I have seen in this article that the Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shelomo of Bobov, is quoted in ruling halachically that the Bobover Rebbe negates a racial definition of being Jewish;
rather, the yardstick ...
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Does the Talmud ever call the righteous gentile as part of Israel?
Does the Talmud anywhere say that the righteous gentile is part of Israel or of God's people?
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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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What nationality was Bilam?
In Numbers 22:5, the Torah is unclear as to where Pethor is. If it wants to tell us where Pethor is, then tell us, but one can only figure out where Pethor is if one knows of which people was Bilam. ...
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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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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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How do you prove you are Jewish? [duplicate]
I have never been asked to prove I am Jewish, but I often wondered how I could do it. My mother was born in Cairo and her mother in Damascus, and good luck in retrieving archives from hostile regimes ...
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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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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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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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Are מתיהדים (geirim) required to give precedence to Yisra'Elim today?
Are מתיהדים also known as geirim or proselytes, the descendants of converts to the Israelite religion, required to give precedence to Yisra'Elim today?
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/...
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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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Are gentiles obligated to help Jews do teshuva?
Rabbi Yaron Reuven says that one of the top obligations of gentiles is to "help Jews become more Jewish." "The goyim have to help Am Yisrael do teshuva." Is there a source in Torah ...
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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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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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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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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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