Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you believe in God? If so, why?

I'm undecided. I did. Many things have happened in my life that have left me with a lot of questions.

Just curious why you still think you're "Special" even though you don't believe in the God that made you a unique set of people to begin with. Jewish used to mean people who believed in one god and held similar religious practices. Not people from a certain area. Do you even consider yourself Jewish if you don't believe in god? I don't consider anyone to be Jewish who doesn't believe in their god. I just consider them racist. Doesn't that make you agnositic or an atheist insead?

There is much more Jewish culture than religion - there are languages (Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino) foodways, art and literature, etc. Would you call someone who considers themselves Italian racist if they are not Catholic? While in the US in recent generations secular Jewish identify has not fared all that well, it was not always that way.

by the way what era are you referring to when you say that Jewish used to mean people who beleived? Jewish law and tradition have always recognized that there are non believing, non practicing Jews. Those Jews are sinners, but they are still Jews. That is the view throughout the bible, and was continued for 3000 years. The notion that being Jewish is a "religion" really developed in the 19th century, but was never universally held (and was strongly rejected by thinkers like Achad Ha-Am) Indeed, arguably "religion" is a western, christian concept, representing a division of human life that is foreign to Jewish tradition (as it is foreign, I believe, to muslim and hindu traditions)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are Christians (plain vanilla Protestants, not Evangelicals) and we attend church on a weekly basis. We have many Jewish friends who are devout in observing Jewish Holy Days, yet they rarely go to Shabbat services otherwise (though they do, of course, attend many services in conjunction with Bar/Bat Mitzvahs). Is this generally true of Jews or is it just the folks we know?

Synagogue attendance is not an important facet of Jewish life. The important/significant practices of Jewish observance take place in the home on a daily basis.

As my father would say and I now repeat on a regular basis, being Jewish is a way of life.

How so other than hanging out with other people who are jewish? What exactly do you do that is so different from other people? Especially if you don't believe in god.

My child is being raised Christian. Her dad gets upset when I say she isn't Jewish. Yet, he says Judaism is not a race. Can one be a half-Jew?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you believe in God? If so, why?

I'm undecided. I did. Many things have happened in my life that have left me with a lot of questions.

Just curious why you still think you're "Special" even though you don't believe in the God that made you a unique set of people to begin with. Jewish used to mean people who believed in one god and held similar religious practices. Not people from a certain area. Do you even consider yourself Jewish if you don't believe in god? I don't consider anyone to be Jewish who doesn't believe in their god. I just consider them racist. Doesn't that make you agnositic or an atheist insead?

Anonymous wrote:

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.

My parents don't keep Kosher, but moved into a house that was built with a Kosher kitchen. The cabinet space is AMAZING, and the two ovens make prepping for big food holidays like Thanksgiving SO much easier! For those reasons, it did up the value of the house.

Anonymous wrote:My paternal grandfather and all of his ancestors were Jewish, so I grew up with a Jewish last name (Cohen). My other grandparents were Christian. My grandpa and most of my dad's family are practically atheist or just non religious, so I did not grow up with much religion in my life (except for a brief exposure to Mormonism and some other Christian religions which turned me off of Christianity forever - long story).

I never had any close friends who were Jewish to the point where I felt comfortable asking questions about it, but I've always felt this interest in the religion (Reform Judaism) and the community. I have considered learning more about Judaism.

I'm curious about oReform Jews out there: what are the values that you take away from Judaism? What are the practical applications it has on your life? What does the Jewish experience mean to you?

I was raised in a liberal Reform family, and the #1 lesson I got from years of Hebrew school and family gatherings was the idea of "tikkun olam," healing the world. It's up to us to leave a better world for our children and children's children, and we do so through social awareness and service, environmental responsibility, and loving kindness.

We also follow the traditions of our ancestors, though I do so in a liberal way (ie: gender non-specific, etc). My DH isn't Jewish--he was raised Atheist & stayed that way --but we're raising our kids Jewish, in a "tikkun olam" and following traditions way. It's also important in Judaism to ask questions & not take anything at face value (another important lesson I learned from my Reform upbringing) and the scientist in my DH really appreciates that!

Anonymous wrote:I haven't read through the whole thread, but I assume this has not been asked. Question: do modern day Jews believe that Yahweh is the god of everybody in the world? Or is he just your god? If he is the god of everybody, why did he not care enough to give the rest of us a set of laws and rules? I get that you're "special", but seriously, what does that mean for the rest of us? Does he not care about our sins and lives and whatnot? Are we just supposed to fend for ourselves and figure it all out as we go?

G-d is the god of the entire world. This is expressed in some parts of the Hebrew bible, in many part of the Talmud, and in some parts of the traditional Jewish liturgy.

According to Jewish tradition, gentiles are bound by the Sheve mitzvot al bnei Noah - the seven commandment to the sons of Noah See Genesis 9.

There is some question as to how a gentile, who does not have the Hebrew bible, should come to know of these commandments. IIUC the most common answer is thaty they are derivable by human reason, so a specific text for the gentiles is not needed.

OTOH there are some Orthodox rabbis who do believe in reaching out to gentiles who specifically wish to commit to following these laws. Such gentiles are called "noahides" These rabbis, IIUC, attempt to give detailed explanations of the Noahide commandments, as rabbis have traditionally done for the rest of the Torah.

Gentiles who do not sin are "saved" A famous line in rabbinic literature says " the righteous among the gentiles shall have a place in the world to come"

I haven't read through the whole thread, but I assume this has not been asked. Question: do modern day Jews believe that Yahweh is the god of everybody in the world? Or is he just your god? If he is the god of everybody, why did he not care enough to give the rest of us a set of laws and rules? I get that you're "special", but seriously, what does that mean for the rest of us? Does he not care about our sins and lives and whatnot? Are we just supposed to fend for ourselves and figure it all out as we go?

My paternal grandfather and all of his ancestors were Jewish, so I grew up with a Jewish last name (Cohen). My other grandparents were Christian. My grandpa and most of my dad's family are practically atheist or just non religious, so I did not grow up with much religion in my life (except for a brief exposure to Mormonism and some other Christian religions which turned me off of Christianity forever - long story).

I never had any close friends who were Jewish to the point where I felt comfortable asking questions about it, but I've always felt this interest in the religion (Reform Judaism) and the community. I have considered learning more about Judaism.

I'm curious about oReform Jews out there: what are the values that you take away from Judaism? What are the practical applications it has on your life? What does the Jewish experience mean to you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you invite someone to stay at your house for a few days as a houseguest, and you are not Jewish, but you know that your guest keeps kosher...is there anything you can do to make your kitchen temporarily more convenient for them? I don't have two fridges, but I do have a dorm fridge (so maybe I could try to separate things in that manner for a few days?)...I definitely only have one cooktop, so not sure what the options are there. Or is it weird/unnecessary to even try?

1. It depends exactly what they mean by kosher. Even among the orthodox there are varying approaches to leniences (some Orthodox will eat a cold vegetable salad off non kosher dishes, for example, some won't, and among the non-O who observe the kashrut the details vary very widely)
2. There are a zillion temporary fixes to make eating in a nonkosher kitchen possible. Cold foods. Lining an oven in tin foil (or roasting a kosher chicken wrapped in tin foil) Kashering a microwave, which is not that hard to do.
3. I would say its not necessary to try. I dont think many would expect that of a non-Jew, and if they are staying with a non-Jew, they are A relatively moderate B expecting that they will not be completely accommodated. But it is also not weird. I think the fact that you want to try would be appreciated.

Agree. If they're really strict they won't stay with you or eat your food. No need to do anything special other than maybe not serve pork or shellfish.

Anonymous wrote:If you invite someone to stay at your house for a few days as a houseguest, and you are not Jewish, but you know that your guest keeps kosher...is there anything you can do to make your kitchen temporarily more convenient for them? I don't have two fridges, but I do have a dorm fridge (so maybe I could try to separate things in that manner for a few days?)...I definitely only have one cooktop, so not sure what the options are there. Or is it weird/unnecessary to even try?

1. It depends exactly what they mean by kosher. Even among the orthodox there are varying approaches to leniences (some Orthodox will eat a cold vegetable salad off non kosher dishes, for example, some won't, and among the non-O who observe the kashrut the details vary very widely)
2. There are a zillion temporary fixes to make eating in a nonkosher kitchen possible. Cold foods. Lining an oven in tin foil (or roasting a kosher chicken wrapped in tin foil) Kashering a microwave, which is not that hard to do.
3. I would say its not necessary to try. I dont think many would expect that of a non-Jew, and if they are staying with a non-Jew, they are A relatively moderate B expecting that they will not be completely accommodated. But it is also not weird. I think the fact that you want to try would be appreciated.

Anonymous wrote: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.)

The real traditional greeting is "have a kosher passover" (rather distinct from other Jewish holidays) but its not that common these days. Good YomTov would be best for relatively traditional or yiddish background Jews, Chag sameach for Hebrew speakers and generally younger (but involved) folks, and Happy Passover is absolutely fine.

Anonymous wrote: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?

You can eat matzoh and drink wine and read the haggadah whenever you like. You could do it in November if you chose. However if you follow Jewish law, you are still obligated to eat the ritual foods, say the prayers, and read the haggadah ON the first two nights. So that other seder would be third seder, and could not replace the regular two seders.

Anonymous wrote:
Why do Jews get offended when someone suggests that there is a Jewish look?

I agree that there is a Jewish look, however it does not always apply. I have red hair, and I certainly do not "look" Jewish. I don't get offended unless these comments are malicious.

NP here. I agree that it doesn't always apply. Many dark-haired Irish-Americans look Jewish and vice-versa. Same with Italians.

If you invite someone to stay at your house for a few days as a houseguest, and you are not Jewish, but you know that your guest keeps kosher...is there anything you can do to make your kitchen temporarily more convenient for them? I don't have two fridges, but I do have a dorm fridge (so maybe I could try to separate things in that manner for a few days?)...I definitely only have one cooktop, so not sure what the options are there. Or is it weird/unnecessary to even try?