I'm Jewish. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

takoma wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wikipedia is not exactly an encyclopedia without errors.
'Medieval Europe' can mean several countries in several different centuries. Some sections were ruled more strictly by the church than others, some were not at all. Some places had a mix of different ethnic groups and they were not all treated equal. No central power except what some interpret as the power of the catholic church, except other parts were under islam and others by the orthodox church. Others coexisted with the existing paganism

So this is something I would really like to know more about. I know it could not be Spain as that was muslim. Italy is not really 'medieval europe', so I assume you are talking about the Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Poland etc?
Poland did not have jews in 'medieval' times.

I expressed my impression of where the tight-fisted Jew stereotype began. When asked for more information, I gave what little I could, which was a quote from Wiki because it pretty much encapsulated my meager knowledge, rather than as an expert source. If you want more knowledge, I don't purport to have it.

So next time don't open a forum if you are just using wikipedia, just post that if someone wants to know more about judaism they should check out wikipedia! I am an orthodox jew so feel free asking anything jewish. Please be patient as I probably will not be checking often unless I see a large amount of posts ill be checking once in two days. If you are jewish please don't ask your questions here baruch hashem we have rabbis for that and if you need I can give you a site to go to.

[Anonymous]

Do orthodox really have a funeral service to the person who leaves the religion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do orthodox really have a funeral service to the person who leaves the religion?

No they do not, however there was a Jewish rabbi in the twelfth century that sat in mourning for his son who converted to Christianity

[Anonymous]

Do I insult Jewish guests when I serve pork products? We serve lots of things, including pork, and I always feel awkward about it.

[Anonymous]

I haven't read the whole thread, so I don't know if this has already been asked but:

What is the Jewish view of the afterlife? Is there a belief in heaven/hell? Something else?

[Anonymous]

Why did you kill Jesus?

[Anonymous]

If there are only ca 16 million Jews in the world, why does it feel more like there are 160 million of you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read the whole thread, so I don't know if this has already been asked but:

What is the Jewish view of the afterlife? Is there a belief in heaven/hell? Something else?

Like everything else this varies wildly. As a general matter, Jews aren't concerned with the afterlife-- no one is really told to do something to earn a place in heaven.

There is a concept of a better world (or "world to come") and there is some variation as to whether that means some form of heaven, or some form of radically improved world on earth (for which people might be resurrected if we ever get there).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If there are only ca 16 million Jews in the world, why does it feel more like there are 160 million of you?

because they have so many diamonds.

see other thread before flaming me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you Kosher? It blows my mind to have a kitchen with 2 dishwashers, 2 stoves, 2 fridges....

I am not kosher in the sense that you're thinking. I don't eat pork or shellfish, so I consider that some bet bland form of kosher. You may be thinking of Passover when some families use a different set of dishes.

Well heck, I watched Property Brothers and they had an episode on a Kosher house with 2 of everything. Guess they just wanted to splurge.

I'm watching that episode now. I wonder what it does for resale value? I wouldn't buy it (as swanky as the remodel is).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you Kosher? It blows my mind to have a kitchen with 2 dishwashers, 2 stoves, 2 fridges....

I am not kosher in the sense that you're thinking. I don't eat pork or shellfish, so I consider that some bet bland form of kosher. You may be thinking of Passover when some families use a different set of dishes.

Well heck, I watched Property Brothers and they had an episode on a Kosher house with 2 of everything. Guess they just wanted to splurge.

I'm watching that episode now. I wonder what it does for resale value? I wouldn't buy it (as swanky as the remodel is).

I live in a very jewish neighborhood. When we remodeled the kitchen, that was very much in our minds. I have 2 of everything. It's fantastic. And I already know that the target buyer for my neighborhood is looking for this. I suppose if you didn't live in a jewish neighborhood, this would be weird.

[Anonymous]

Do you consider kids with a Jewish dad and non-Jewish mom to be Jews?

[Anonymous]

Reform would consider the kid a Jew if he was raised Jewish. Beyond that the child would NOT be considered Jewish and would need to go through with a conversion. Ask me how I know .

[Anonymous]

Is it ok to have a Seder on a different night to accommodate a guest who can't come either of the first two nights?

[Anonymous]

Regarding Passover, what is an appropriate greeting/thing to say if you yourself are not Jewish? (For example, at Easter, I might wish someone a "Happy Easter" but is there anything like that for Passover/Seder/etc.)