Shalom (Peace), and welcome to the "Questions about Judaism answered by a Jew!" thread. I am sorry to inform you that not many Jews post on this forum so we are very tied up in trying to reveal what Judaism is to Muslims, so we can establish a bond of common understanding. Below is a list of commonly asked questions which we have answered:
After Solomon's death, his Kingdom was split into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. After several hundred years, because of rampant idolatry, God allowed Assyria to conquer Israel and exile its people. The southern Kingdom of Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem, home of the Temple, remained under the rule of the House of David, however, as in the north, idolatry increased to the point that God allowed Babylonia to conquer the Kingdom, destroy the Temple which had stood for 410 years, and exile its people to Babylonia, with the promise that they would be redeemed after seventy years. These events are recorded in the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Jeremiah.
After seventy years the Jews were allowed back into Israel under the leadership of Ezra, and the Temple was rebuilt, as recorded in the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah. The Second Temple stood for 420 years, after which it was destroyed by the Roman general (later emperor) Titus. The Jewish temple is to remain in ruins until a descendant of David arises to restore the glory of Israel and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
The historical Ezra was a priestly scribe who is thought to have led about 5,000 Israelite exiles living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem in 459 BCE. Many scholars credit him as the author of the Book of Ezra and the Book of 1 Chronicles in the Bible.
The reformation of Israel was led by the Jewish scribes Nehemiah and Ezra. Ezra instituted synagogue and prayer services, and canonized the Torah by reading it publicly to the Great Assembly that he set up in Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah flourished around this era. [19][20] (This was the Classical period in Greece)
1) I heard some were that jews are waiting for a prophet to come. If so could the prophet not be jesus PBUH or Mohammed PBUH?
2) What do you think about Quranic miracles like there are verses about birth or how the world was created in Quran that mordern science is just now discovering?
1) I heard some were that jews are waiting for a prophet to come. If so could the prophet not be jesus PBUH or Mohammed PBUH?
We are waiting for the Messiah to come. The Messiah in Jewish Law stated in our Holy Books must be a Cohen and from the line of David. Jesus, and Mohammed are not from the Cohen sect of the Levites and they are not from the line of David. Therefore I am sorry to say under Jewish law, they are not considered the Messiah, which is why the Jewish people are still waiting.
2) What do you think about Quranic miracles like there are verses about birth or how the world was created in Quran that mordern science is just now discovering?
I'm not really sure, since I have not studied the Quran or the Quranic miracles. I would appreciate it if you sent me a private message with a site to where I could read about them, but this thread is for basically awnsering questions about Judaism.
Please send me information on this though. It sounds interesting, and I enjoy learning about Religions, and History.
Thank you for starting this thread about your religion, I have found it to be an interesting read! Some of the questions I had have already been answered, though I may have some more later on.
Only very very religious women shave there head in Judaism. But many religious Jewish women wear a wig because only there husband is suppose to be aloud to see there real hair.
To shave your head as a women in Judaism is a very big religious commitment which is the personal choice of the women. In Orthodox communities the wig that goes over there real hair is the equivolent to a Hijab covering a Muslim womens hair.
Last edited by lavikor201; 06-18-2006 at 06:36 PM.
Why do men and women sit seperately in prayer... with a divider in between so they cannot see eachother?
When Men and Women sit together in prayer, the opposite sex may prove to be a distraction for many, so we sit sepratly (in tradtitional jewish shuls) and we pray that way.
This basically somes up what we believe is the afterlife, or the idea of it. Read this to get a pretty good idea of it:
When a person dies and goes to heaven, the judgment is not arbitrary and externally imposed. Rather, the soul is shown two "videotapes". The first video is called "This is Your Life!" Every decision and every thought, all the good deeds, and the embarrassing things a person did in private is all replayed without any embellishments. It's fully bared for all to see. That's why the next world is called Olam HaEmet - "the World of Truth," because
there we clearly recognize our personal strengths and shortcomings, and the true purpose of life. In short, Hell is not the Devil with a pitchfork stoking the fires.
The second video depicts how a person's life "could have been..." if the right choices had been made, if the opportunities were seized, if the potential was actualized. This video - the pain of squandered potential - is much more difficult to bear. But at the same time it purifies the soul as well. The pain creates regret which removes the barriers and enables the soul to completely connect to G-d.
Not all souls merit Gehenom. It is for people who have done good but need to be purified. A handful of people are too evil for Gehenom, and they are punished eternally. Pharaoh is one example.
So what about "heaven?"
Heaven is where the soul experiences the greatest possible pleasure - the feeling of closeness to G-d. Of course not all souls experience that to the same degree. It's like going to a symphony concert. Some tickets are front-row center; others are back in the bleachers. Where your seat is located is based on the merit of your good deeds - e.g. giving charity, caring for others, prayer.
A second factor in heaven is your understanding of the environment. Just like at the concert, a person can have great seats but no appreciation of what's going on. If a person spends their lifetime elevating the soul and becoming sensitive to spiritual realities (through Torah study), then that will translate into unimaginable pleasure in heaven. On the other hand, if
life was all about pizza and football, well, that can get pretty boring for eternity.
The existence of the afterlife is not stated explicitly in the Torah itself, because as human beings we have to focus on our task in this world. Though awareness of an eternal reward can also be an effective motivator.
We believe that we were chosen by G-d to fuffil all of his 613 Laws. We don't believe we are special in any way except having more responsibility to carry out a lot of Laws.
The covenent we made with G-d to live by his laws and study his Torah is something the Jewish people were 'chosen' for.
No, we do not carry out animal sacrifices anymore, because the laws of the countries we live in (even israel) do not permit this, because of different animal rights groups. We are also expected to repsect the laws of the countries we live in as long as the countries are not anti-semetic.
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