I'm Jewish. Ask me anything.
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Anonymous
| Not at my place of worship. |
Anonymous
Religiously, yes. Socially, I hope so. But like anything else, it can differ, and some people are more close-minded than others. |
Anonymous
Curious if you are at a Reform shul? I must admit that seeing a person of color at my Conservative shul would raise a couple eyebrows -- in surprise, not dismay. And everyone would quickly get over it and welcome him or her. But when you see old white guy after old white guy walk in the door, a black or Asian person would stand out. |
Anonymous
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So I asked this in the politics thread but this might be a better place.
Are mizrahim and Sephardim americans greatly different politically & culturally compared to Ashkenazi jew americans? Do Ashkenazim look down upon Mizrahim and Sephardim in the US? What are some of the stereotypes each group has about each other? |
Anonymous
I am in a Reform Shul. We probably are about 20% atypical families, mostly mixed marriages (about 1/2 the congregation is mixed). |
Anonymous
+1 At our current Reform shul (not in the DC area), one of the board members is Asian, and no raised eyebrows. Lots of mixed families and several "minority" families. In the Reform shul where I grew up, there were many fewer non-white people, but that was 30 years ago, and I have a feeling that things have changed for the more-diverse. One of the groundbreakers was an AA convert, who grew up in my mom's Orthodox neighborhood in the 1950s as the "shobbos goy" (non-Jewish person who turns lights on and off, etc, during the Sabbath for some very observant Jews). Judaism intrigued him, and he converted to Reform Judaism when he grew up, joining the Reform congregation where my dad grew up. (My mom also left Orthodoxy and I was raised VERY liberal Reform. We don't agree with a lot of Orthodox practices for our family.) This man is one of the most knowledgeable Jews I know, and while he might have raised some eyebrows at first--I don't know because I wasn't born yet--he is a leader in the congregation. At one point, he was the brotherhood president. Since then, membership has become more diverse, though I would say it's probably still 70% older Ashkenazim. |
Anonymous
I consider Italians to be Italians. Not Catholics. Italians think themselves special only because of their food probably. As far as I know they don't think they're better than any other religion or culture or particularly special. Most Italians in this country do not send their children to specific Italian schools and only talk amongst themselves. Sure, they may have some other Italian friends and talk about some cultural similarities, but they don't segregate from the rest of the world the way the Jews do. The only schools are catholic schools that catholics send their children to. People who live in Italy can become citizens even if they weren't Italian to begin with. This is not the case in Israel. In the bible I read Jews in the old testament are the people who believed in Yahweh. Especially in genesis and exodus. Where in the jewish books does it talk about non-jews still being jewish and "chosen"? |
Anonymous
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I looked up Who is a Jew here. You are correct that in the past Jews have been considered a group of people from a particular group of descendants however it says these descendants come peoplele who took up Jeudaism as a religion. The chosen part as far as I can tell has always been about the religion and not about the nationality.
http://www.jewfaq.org/whoisjew.htm#Who A discussion of what being or becoming a jew is here below. A convert and a Jew has to follow 613 commandments. If Jews are not following any of these commandments, how would they be considered chosen? According to his website, they lose their special status when they abandon the Torah. Because of our acceptance of Torah, Jews have a special status in the eyes of G-d, but we lose that special status when we abandon Torah. Furthermore, the blessings that we received from G-d by accepting the Torah come with a high price: Jews have a greater responsibility than non-Jews. While non-Jews are only obligated to obey the seven commandments given to Noah, Jews are responsible for fulfilling the 613 mitzvot in the Torah, thus G-d will punish Jews for doing things that would not be a sin for non-Jews. As the discussion above explained, Jews have a lot of responsibilities that non-Jews do not have. To be considered a good and righteous person in the eyes of G-d, a non-Jew need only follow the seven Noahic commandments, whereas a Jew has to follow all 613 commandments given in the Torah. If the potential convert is not going to follow those extra rules, it's better for him or her to stay a gentile, and since we as Jews are all responsible for each other, it's better for us too if that person stayed a gentile. The rabbinically mandated attempt to dissuade a convert is intended to make sure that the prospective convert is serious and willing to take on all this extra responsibility. Once a person has decided to convert, the proselyte must begin to learn Jewish religion, law and customs and begin to observe them. This teaching process generally takes at least one year, because the prospective convert must experience each of the Jewish holidays; however, the actual amount of study required will vary from person to person (a convert who was raised as a Jew might not need any further education, for example, while another person might need several years). After the teaching is complete, the proselyte is brought before a Beit Din (rabbinical court) which examines the proselyte and determines whether he or she is ready to become a Jew. If the proselyte passes this oral examination, the rituals of conversion are performed. If the convert is male, he is circumcised (or, if he was already circumcised, a pinprick of blood is drawn for a symbolic circumcision). Both male and female converts are immersed in the mikvah (a ritual bath used for spiritual purification). The convert is given a Jewish name and is then introduced into the Jewish community. In theory, once the conversion procedure is complete, the convert is as much a Jew as anyone who is born to the religion. In practice, the convert is sometimes treated with caution, because we have had some of bad experiences with converts who later return to their former faith in whole or in part. However, it is important to remember that Abraham himself was a convert, as were all of the matriarchs of Judaism, as was Ruth, an ancestor of King David. This site clearly talks about conversion being a religious conversion. Not a conversion to a culture or race. http://www.convert.org/Should_I_Convert.html |
Anonymous
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Why do you say "Jewish" instead of "Jews"?
I feel that calling oneself "Jewish" does not show full commitment to that identity. It's like you are on the fence. |
Anonymous
We do not all share the same political opinions on the Palestinians and Israel. I suggest you take your political concerns to the politics forum. Whatever your feelings about the situation in the Middle East, resenting Jews as a group because of it is bigoted, just as resenting Arabs or Muslims as a group is. |
Anonymous
I have heard that in some UltraOrthodox shuls black members are very accepted. That may be because they judge people by their level of adherence to the details of halacha, which can overcome many other social issues. |
Anonymous
And not all Jews are followers of the Jewish faith. The word "Jew" is a translation of Yahoodi, Judean. The distinction of ethnicity and religion is foreign to the bible, and to historic Jewish culture.
And again, most secular Jews do not consider Jews special or chosen. Only religious Jews do. Because it is in the bible.
Most Jews don't sent their children to Jewish schools, and almost no secular Jews do so. Most Jews talk to all kinds of people.
Despite a history of being confined to ghettos (that is where the word comes from BTW) most Jews, certainly most secular Jews, live pretty integrated lives.
That is incorrect. Non-Jewish immigrants to Israel can become citizens. They just do not get the automatic right to citizenship that Jews get under the Law of Return.
Please quote where Jews are defined that why in the bible. Chapter and verse.
There is of course nothing about non-Jews being Jewish. There is plenty about Jews sinning by following other gods. They are never called non-Jews on that account. They are still part of the people. The chosen status refers to the people, not to individuals. It is very clear from the books like Ezekial, Isaiah, etc, that G-d welcomes the repentence of HIS people, who have sinned. They never ceased to be HIS people. |
Anonymous
what quote are you referring to? Jewish is an adjective. English grammar has different words for adjectives and nouns. |
Anonymous
For example people say - "I am Christian." or "I am Muslim." They do not say I am "Muslimish" or I am "Christianish". So why say I am "Jewish"? Why not just say "I am a Jew" ? |
Anonymous
I will try to address some of your other questions, but this was your response to whether you felt being chosen. Why do you feel chosen if you don't believe in G_d? "To be honest, I do. I didn't have that clarity growing up when I was in Saturday or Sunday school and in Hebrew school. As I've matured, I view religion a bit differently. I don't walk around entitled." |