Questions about Judaism answered by a Jew!

[Abu Zakariya]

Do Jews believe in unseen creatures like demons or something like that?

 

[lavikor201]

I was wondering why do jews wear those caps? is it because they believe moses did it?

To cover your head in the name of G-d. When wearing a skull cap it reminds you that G-d is always above you.

THAT, however, makes me wonder about Solomom. according to the Tanakh, his mum was Bathsheba. she's called the wife of Uriah, the HITTITE!


so, if Uriah was a non-Jew, how could she marry him if he wasn't Jewish. unless, she WASN'T Jewish. in which case...

She converted to Judaism. Back then, when someone from another tribe would marry a Jew, they would first undergo conversion.

Do Jews believe in unseen creatures like demons or something like that?

In a way. It is a complicated matter that I do not know much about.

 

[Grace Seeker]

THAT, however, makes me wonder about Solomom. according to the Tanakh, his mum was Bathsheba. she's called the wife of Uriah, the HITTITE!


so, if Uriah was a non-Jew, how could she marry him if he wasn't Jewish. unless, she WASN'T Jewish. in which case...

She converted to Judaism. Back then, when someone from another tribe would marry a Jew, they would first undergo conversion.

Don't you mean that Urriah must have converted to Judaism? He fought in David's army. A refernce to him as "the Hittite" would be a nickname to indicate where he came from before converting. Bathsheba could have been from one of the twelve tribes all along.

 

[YusufNoor]

I hope you don't mind if someone else chimes in.

I understand that Friedman is basically a proponent of Julius Wellhausen's century-old "Doucmentary Hypothesis". However, based on reviews of the book, it seems Friedman's book may be a more interesting read.

Salaam,


i actually couldn't reply because i hadn't looked at the web page. if you look at the bottom:
Friedman, "Torah (Pentateuch)" in the Anchor Bible Dictionary

that's the gent i'm referring to.

but now that i see the sight, you would have to change D to D1 & D2 and add, iirc, 1st redactor and 2nd redactor.

Freidman identifies D1 as Jeremiah BEFORE the Babylonian captivity and D2 as Jeremiah/Baruch AFTER the captivity starts. Jeremiah also gets the nod as redactor #1.

Redactor #2 is Ezra or Ezra/Nehemiah. Current conservative American Jews also attribute the current state of the Tanakh to Ezra/Nehemiah, but chiefly Ezra.

in the time of the Rasoolulah Sallalaho Alaihe Wa Salaam, a couple of the Jewish tribes in Arabia gave Ezra the epitaph "son of God".

while Freidman built upon older hypothesis, he adds his own ideas to the mix. the book is a very fine read.

oh, a good way to remember what's what:

E are the Levites around the the tabernacle in Mount Beth-El (just think Ephraim) erm, BEFORE Solomon houses it in the Temple

J are the Levites in Jerusalem (or Judah)

iirc, the Priests of P are the Aaronites of Jerusalem.

the D of Dueteronomist is Jeremiah (though that doesn't match D... imsad ); also R1

and Ezra as R2

it was only logical that once the nation was unified under Saul and then David that someone would compile ALL the texts together.

although some current Jewish thought is the the Tanakh wasn't even written until Babylon...:uuh:

*awaits comments from Izak & Lavikor*
kay:

Peace

 

[Hijrah]

Why is it that you say G-D leaving the O? Why is it in lavikor's sig, it says L-RD leaving the O?

 

[Grace Seeker]

Why is it that you say G-D leaving the O? Why is it in lavikor's sig, it says L-RD leaving the O?

In short, out of respect for G-D.

 

[Hijrah]

In short, out of respect for G-D.

Isn't it more respect to say the whole thing out, and disrespect to shorten it?!

 

[Grace Seeker]

It involves a whole crazy thing with language, translation, mistranslation, and a belief that one should not even say G-d's name aloud because it is too sacred. I can detail it all out for you but it is very involved. Plus, I am not Jewish and only practice it on this thread out of respect for those who do. So, I thought I should let our Jewish brothers have the first shot at answering it in full. If they don't, and you want me to go into it, I will later.

 

[YusufNoor]

Why is it that you say G-D leaving the O? Why is it in lavikor's sig, it says L-RD leaving the O?

thou shalt not take the name of thy L-RD thy G-d in vain. not JUST a "Jewish" belief, but MANY "Christians" also. it's done out of respect. nowever, alot of Israelites from thousands of years ago felt that the only way to properly adhere to that commandment was to NEVER pronounce His "Name".

in fact, if you're wondering why you might see the "Name" Hashem or Hashem G-d; the tetragrammaton (the 4 letter response to Moses when he asked what he should "Call" G-d, when people asked him Who sent him) was written but not pronounced, so where ever you see Hashem, It's referring the the tetragrammaton.

it's also considerate for non-Jews to use those forms when discussing the Creator G-d with them. (just as some of our non-Muslim brothers and sisters in humanity use Allah (SWT), Prophet Muhammed (SAWS) or add (as) to other Prophets when talking to us. nothing wrong with a little consideration

{it's all done for the similar reason that Muslims add (SWT) to Allah (SWT)}

erm, NOT a Jewish reply, btw...

 

[lavikor201]

Why is it that you say G-D leaving the O? Why is it in lavikor's sig, it says L-RD leaving the O?

If you put the "O" in G-d on paper or on a web page and the page gets erased or thrown out, then you are erasing G-d's name, and that is not aloud in the Jewish faith, therefore, since we know this website, and our words here will not last eternity, we realize that if we write the full name of G-d here it will be erased at some point.

Some Jews will only refer to G-d by "Hashem" which means "the name" if they are speaking in anything but Torah or religion because they feel that G-d's name used elsewhere is a desacration to his holyness.

although some current Jewish thought is the the Tanakh wasn't even written until Babylon...

Traditional Jewish thought is that the Torah was given all on Mt. Sinai. Jews who say otherwise basically are saying the Torah is lying and also tend not to follow Judaisms laws, but identify as a Jew, so I am not so sure how valid they are.

 

[arabiyyah]

what is "midrash"??? i heard a story online from it once.

 

[north_malaysian]

Can a Jew celebrate Christmas, Eid and New Year 2007?

 

[Mateen]

Salam,

You are a Jew if your mother was a jew right?
That means Judaism is not a religion for all humanity.

Is it?

Wassalam.

 

[IzakHalevas]

what is "midrash"??? i heard a story online from it once.

"Midrash" means "exposition." The Midrash (or Medrash) is probably the most referred-to collection of explanatory works on Tanach, next to Rashi. The Midrash, or Midrashim, fills in the gaps behind the oft-times sketchy, skeletal narrative of the Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim. It adds meat to its bones, telling us things we otherwise would never know, mainly the dialogues between the Torah's figures and details of their lives. As such, the Midrash is a vital, true part of the Oral Torah.

Here's a great definition of "Midrash" by the late great Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, author of The Living Torah: "...a generic term, usually denoting the non-legalistic teachings of the rabbis of the Talmudic era. In the centuries following the final redaction of the Talmud (around 505 CE), much of this material was gathered into collections known as Midrashim." So, "the Midrash" is like "the dictionary"--there are many dictionaries, each compiled by a different party at a different time.

The Midrash consists of a large number of individually written books on various sections of Tanach, or on the entire Tanach. A prominent example of a Midrash is the Midrash Rabbah, which adds critical details to the five books of the Chumash. There is also the Midrash Tanchuma on the Chumash (written by Rabbi Tanchuma, a Talmudic sage), the Yalkut Shim'oni, the Midrash Agadah... and Avot D'Rabbi Natan, Mechilta, Midrash Hagadol, Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer, Sifra, Sifri and many more. Each elaborates on all or part of the Written Torah. None, however, should be taken lightly: unfortunately, the misconception exists that midrashim are mere tales or legends. They are not, and the assumption that one can write their own book of Biblical fiction on the assumption that the authors of the Midrash did the same is the most tragic result thereof.

Can a Jew celebrate Christmas, Eid and New Year 2007?

A Jew cannot celebrate any pagan holiday of any kind, therefore the celebration of Christmas presents a huge Halakhic problem. It would be against Jewish law to celebrate Christmasin anyway.

Now for New years, traditionally new years day was a day that many "pogroms" which are massacres of Jews in majority Christian areas would occur (commonly in europe). It would depend how you celebrate New Years I guess, I am not sure of the origins of New Years so I cannot say if it is against Halakha. It depends if it has any pagan origins or not.

You are a Jew if your mother was a jew right?
That means Judaism is not a religion for all humanity.

Actually I am a convert to Judaism so Judaism is a religion for all humanity, but in a different sense than you would think.

Jews believe the Torah is the revelation to all humanity and the Torah outlines 613 mitzvot (commandments) for Jews to follow and 7 laws for non-Jews to follow. The Torah says that a man/women can convert to Judaism and then will be responsible for 613 mitzvot, and you cannot go back to 7 of course. Therefore, Judaism and Rabbi's in general discourage conversion because if you have second thoughts after conversion you cannot go back to the simple 7 laws to follow and you will always be responsbible for all 613.

Therefore converts must prove they are 100% genuine.

 

[arabiyyah]

Thank you.

 

[arabiyyah]

do jews have charity requirements?

 

[IzakHalevas]

Shalom arabiyyah, you wrote:

do jews have charity requirements?

"Tzedakah" is the Hebrew word for the acts that we call "charity" in English: giving aid, assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. However, the nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word "charity" suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and powerful for the benefit of the poor and needy. The word "tzedakah" is derived from the Hebrew root Tzade-Dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism, giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due.

Giving to the poor is an obligation in Judaism, a duty that cannot be forsaken even by those who are themselves in need. Some sages have said that tzedakah is the highest of all commandments, equal to all of them combined, and that a person who does not perform tzedakah is equivalent to an idol worshipper. Tzedakah is one of the three acts that gain us forgiveness from our sins. The High Holiday liturgy states that G-d has inscribed a judgment against all who have sinned, but teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah can reverse the decree. See Days of Awe.

According to Jewish law, we are required to give one-tenth (10%) of our income to the poor. This is generally interpreted as one-tenth of our net income after payment of taxes. Those who are dependent on public assistance or living on the edge of subsistence may give less; no person should give so much that he would become a public burden.

The obligation to perform tzedakah can be fulfilled by giving money to the poor, to health care institutions, to synagogues or to educational institutions. It can also be fulfilled by supporting your children beyond the age when you are legally required to, or supporting your parents in their old age. The obligation includes giving to both Jews and gentiles; contrary to popular belief, Jews do not just "take care of our own." ​

Judaism acknowledges that many people who ask for charity have no genuine need. In fact, the Talmud suggests that this is a good thing: if all people who asked for charity were in genuine need, we would be subject to punishment (from G-d) for refusing anyone who asked. The existence of frauds diminishes our liability for failing to give to all who ask, because we have some legitimate basis for doubting the beggar's sincerity. It is permissible to investigate the legitimacy of a charity before donating to it.
We have an obligation to avoid becoming in need of tzedakah. A person should take any work that is available, even if he thinks it is beneath his dignity, to avoid becoming a public charge.

However, if a person is truly in need and has no way to obtain money on his own he should not feel embarrassed to accept tzedakah. No person should feel too proud to take money from others. In fact, it is considered a transgression to refuse tzedakah. One source says that to make yourself suffer by refusing to accept tzedakah is equivalent to shedding your own blood.

Certain kinds of tzedakah are considered more meritorious than others. The Talmud describes these different levels of tzedakah, and Rambam organized them into a list. The levels of charity, from the least meritorious to the most meritorious, are:

1. Giving begrudgingly
2. Giving less that you should, but giving it cheerfully.
3. Giving after being asked
4. Giving before being asked
5. Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
6. Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
7. Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
8. Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant

 

[arabiyyah]

what is jews view on suicide?

 

[lavikor201]

what is jews view on suicide?

We do not bury one who has committed suicide in a cemetery together with other Jews; instead he or she is buried in an area of the cemetery removed from all others. Nor do we sit Shiva for such a person. The rule is that we do not bury a rasha (wicked person) together with everyone else, or sit shiva for him/her. However, under normal circumstances we never assume that a person is a rasha, because even if we are certain that this person was guilty of many heinous sins, the possibility (or probability) exists that the person repented before passing away. After all, it only takes a single virtuous thought to do Teshuvah (repentance) and be transformed from a rasha into a Tzaddik (righteous person).

A person who commits suicide, on the other hand, is defying G-d until the very last moment. G-d placed every person onto this world with a mission and a purpose, and completing this goal in the years which G-d has allotted is ultimately in the person's best interest. Suicide is saying that the life that G-d has given isn't worth living. If, however, the person who committed suicide did not die instantly, we assume that the person repented in the last moments of life and we bury him/her in the cemetery and the relatives do sit shiva. The strict law also does not apply if the suicide is a result of a mental or emotional illness (which is the case in the vast majority of suicides). In fact, there are those Halachic authorities that hold that as long as no one actually saw the person committing suicide in cold blood, we assume that the person had a nervous breakdown, and was therefore not responsible for his/her actions.

Therefore, although the law states that one does not bury a person who has committed suicide in the cemetery, and we also don't sit shiva for this person, practically speaking it is very rare to find a case which conforms with the abovementioned stipulations.

 

[Umar001]

I dont know if you know the guys at askmoses.com but do you know why they don't give references?

Try to get them to give some please, I wanted to research some stuff but I couldn't.

Eesa.