Questions about Judaism answered by a Jew!

[lavikor201]

again :
1 - how does the strict jews pure their clothes from impurifications like urine and excrement , .... etc before they pray ???

is it enogh for them to use only a wash machine as you said ..

If a washing machine could wash and the clothes would still have urine, or excrement on them, then of course we would not wear the clothes while praying. If the washing machine gets out all the impurities then we have no problem because they are clean.

 

[Grace Seeker]

Since Hemoo has pushed it this far, let me push it over the top:

So, I lost control of my car on the way into town and ran off the road right into a hog pasture where I got stuck in the mud, along with plenty of excrement, etc. I have stuff all over the car and all over my clothes. I can't extricate the car myself, my cellphone won't work, and there are no houses visible.

Surely I don't have to wash my clothes before praying for God to send help. (Or, for that matter, before I thank him that nobody got hurt.)

 

[deen_2007]

^^ i think praying as in the sense that 'compulsory prayers' in certain religions is deifferent to when asking god for help when in need. when in situations like u stated, i am sure we do not need to worry about the cleansliness of ones state.

hope i made sense....may allah forgive me if i implied wrong.

 

[Grace Seeker]

^^ i think praying as in the sense that 'compulsory prayers' in certain religions is deifferent to when asking god for help when in need. when in situations like u stated, i am sure we do not need to worry about the cleansliness of ones state.

hope i made sense....may allah forgive me if i implied wrong.

Sure. And I expect the same answer from Lavikor. Now, what if I was on my way into town for Friday night prayers (sorry I don't know the proper name for each one of them). I get my car out of the pasture, but I still got stuff all over me and my clothes. No matter how much I try to clean-up, I'm not going to be able to do both, get clean and make prayers at my local mosque. It is a choice of one or the other. What should a good Muslim do?

ooooops, sorry, got caught up in the moment. Wrong question for this thread.


Let's change that to I'm not going to be able to both get cleaned up and make it to the local synagogue. It's one or the other. What should a good Jew do?

 

[deen_2007]

^^ yeah i'll wait 4 there answer. as 4 muslims...ur prayer will not be valid i dnt think...(well brothers & sisters can give a more detailed explanation)i personally will not enter a masjid/mosque or stand on a prayer mat with cloths as such..

 

[rebelishaulman]

Surely I don't have to wash my clothes before praying for God to send help. (Or, for that matter, before I thank him that nobody got hurt.)

No, you can speak to G-d and ask him for help anytime, in any condition, however, the required prayers of Jewish law, state that we may not pray in that fashion with excraments all over you.

^^ i think praying as in the sense that 'compulsory prayers' in certain religions is deifferent to when asking god for help when in need. when in situations like u stated, i am sure we do not need to worry about the cleansliness of ones state.

hope i made sense....may allah forgive me if i implied wrong.

Correct.

Let's change that to I'm not going to be able to both get cleaned up and make it to the local synagogue. It's one or the other. What should a good Jew do?

You would go home and clean up. Prayers are still valid if not said in a congregation, and you should not pray to G-d in that state of dirtyness. Your not aloud to even recite prayers in a bathroom or an unclean place like a dirty alley, let alone with animal dung on you.

So in other words, a good Jew would probably go back home, clean up, and recite the mandatory prayers alone, since mandatory prayers are still valid when by ones self.

 

[Grace Seeker]

So in other words, a good Jew would probably go back home, clean up, and recite the mandatory prayers alone, since mandatory prayers are still valid when by ones self.

I like that for all the 613 laws of Judaism, there is still a little bit of room left for grace and common sense.

 

[arabiyyah]

Your signature says:

Studying Torah outweighs interfaith dialogue

But how much Torah can you really study. I have read a bit of the Old Testamant and I really don't get how much you cans tudy as you say some religious jews study 21out of24 hours a day.

 

[rebelishaulman]

Most religious Jews study the text of the Torah on four levels as described in the Zohar:

1. Peshat - the surface or literal meaning of the actual text of the Torah.
2. Remez - allusions or allegories in the text.
3. Derash - a rabbinic or midrashic way of reading new lessons into the text, and finding a much more deep meaning.
4. Sod - the hidden mystical Kabbalistic reading of the Torah.

Not to mention that this is the study of just the Torah text. The Talmud is hundreds of times longer.

 

[lavikor201]

The Jews became known as the People of the Book; their love of Torah study is legendary; it has earned them the reputation as the most educated people in the history of the world.

Torah must be studied day and night according to biblical prescription: "And you shall meditate on it by day and by night."

This requires the Jew to set aside times for study every day, preferably with a partner. This day-to-day mitzvah of study -- "learning" as the vernacular has it -- made Torah the dominant feature of Jewish life, and it came to characterize the Jew throughout history.

A compulsory system of education was in place in the first century of the common era, while cavemen still stalked the North American continent. The Jews became known as the People of the Book, a title given them by Mohammed. Their love of the book is legendary and, no matter how intellectual other societies had become, they never achieved this zeal for the book.

Jewish tradition treats books as though they are living scholars themselves. The Torah is treated as a living Torah, not merely in the metaphoric sense. Jews do not leave books open, as though abandoned. That would be insensitive to their "feelings." Closed books are left face up and a lesser text is not placed on top of a more important one.

If a sacred book falls to the ground, Jewish people pick it up tenderly and kiss it, as though it were a bruised child. When the Torah is drawn from the Ark, everyone rises, as though in the presence of a great rabbi. As it passes by them, they kiss it, or throw it a kiss, in respect and affection.

If a sacred book falls to the ground, Jews pick it up tenderly and kiss it, like a bruised child.

If the Torah scroll is accidentally dropped, the entire congregation present at the time fasts on a chosen day and gives charity. When the Torah scroll ages and its letters begin to crack, it is reverently buried.

The reverence that was rendered the Holy Scroll eventually filtered down to everyday volumes. When Bibles and other religious books become old and unusable they are, like the Torah itself, buried in a grave close to a scholar, or deposited in a vault or separate room, called genizah.

Great authors were not called by their family name, but deferentially after the title of their books; they were more closely identified by their scholarship than by their families.

The rabbis of the second century debated over which was greater -- study or practice. They voted on the issue and decided that study was the greater, because inevitably it would lead to practice. Knowledge, they held, had to affect behavior. "The ignoramus is not a saint."

Indeed, study -- the process of learning itself-is the heart of Jewish religious practice.

Another debate in comparative religious values offers the choice of study or prayer. The Talmud makes short shrift of the subject. It records an incident of a rabbi who chastised a colleague for spending time praying when he could more profitably be studying. Praying, he held, should be considered materialistic -- natural to the temporal, material world, as one could pray for health, success, peace. But the study of Torah belongs to the eternal world, the world-to-come -- it is a spirited exercise in God-wrestling at the highest level of spiritual life.

Torah study is not just scholarship, it is an act of prayer.

Torah study is not simply a matter of punctilious scholarship and academic excellence, although it is surely that, too. It accomplishes two purposes: one is the accumulation of knowledge; the other is worship -- because the process itself is an act of prayer.

Study is the highest mode of worship. The act of praying;.. is regarded as "permitted" by God-He agrees to listen to the pleading of His creatures. But study is "required" by biblical mandate. Torah study is crucial to the survival of the Jews, and it has earned Jews the reputation of being one of the most educated peoples in the history of the world.

Maimonides writes:

Every man in Israel has an obligation to study the Torah, whether he is rich or poor, healthy or sick, young or old and without vigor. Even if he is poor and needs to beg from door to door, and even if he has a family to support, he is obligated to set aside time by day and by night to study Torah.​

​

LEARNING AS AN ACT OF LOVE

More than a law, more than a prayer, learning is an act of love.

Many study in order to know; many more study in order to utilize what they know; others study for study's sake -- they love to learn.

When the Greeks called Pythagoras sophos, "wise man," he answered that he was only philo sophos, a "lover of wisdom." There are scores of people in diverse cultures who are lovers of learning.

Among Jews, this is quite pronounced. The passion for learning being the heritage of generations and -- the Torah for millennia being the cherished democratic possession of the common folk -- the love of learning is natural.

But Torah to Jews is different, qualitatively different. Not only are they in love with learning; learning is itself love. It is the language adoration, the music of celestial spheres. It is the means and the goal.

Torah is both the arrow and the heart of Judaism.

More telling than the commandment to study and the importuning of the rabbis is the description of how the of Torah was integrated into the life-style of the Jews in the cities and shtetls of the diaspora.

An old book saved from the countless libraries recently burned in Europe, now at the YIVO Library in New York, bears the stamp, "The Society of Wood-Choppers for the Study of Mishnah in Berditchev."

Abraham Joshua Heschel describes the place of Torah in shtetl life:

There were many who lived in appalling poverty, many who were pinched by never-ending worries, and there plenty of taverns with strong spirits, but drunkards were rarely seen among Jews. When night came and a man wanted to pass away time, he did not hasten to a tavern to take a drink, but went to pore over a book or joined a group which -- either with or without a teacher -- indulged in the enjoyment of studying revered books. Physically worn out by their day's toil, they sat over open volumes, playing the austere music of the Talmud's groping for truth or the sweet melodies of exemplified piety of ancient Sages.

"Once I noticed," writes a Christian scholar, who visited the city of Warsaw during the First World War, "a great many coaches on a parking place, but with no drivers in sight. In my own country, I would have known where to look for them. A young Jewish boy showed me the way: in a courtyard, on the second floor, was the shtibl of the Jewish drivers. It consisted of two rooms: one filled with Talmud volumes, the other a room for prayer. All the drivers were engaged in fervent study and religious discussion ... It was then that I found out and became convinced that all professions, the bakers, the butchers, the shoemakers, etc., have their own shtibl in the Jewish district; and every free moment which can be taken off from their work is given to the study of the Torah. And when they get together in intimate groups, one urges the other: "Zog mir a shtickl Torah -- Tell me a little Torah."

http://www.aish.com/literacy/mitzvahs/Day-to-Day_Judaism_Torah_Study.asp

 

[samah12]

Re: Palestinian-israeli Conflict - By Lamaggad & lavikor201

Unlike many of our fellow religion, we don't go out and mass convert people. It is not our duty. If you want to Join my amazing religion than it would be a great thing for you to do. But unlike many religions follow the seven laws of Noah and you will be in heaven.

QUOTE]

I hava a book called The Path of the Righteous Gentile and it states that Jews are the chosen children of God (not chosen as in special but chosen to be teachers of Gods laws). Is it then your duty as a Jew to teach gentiles?

Also, thank you so much for your openness and allowing us to question you so openly about your belief system. This is what everone needs to begin the process of understanding and accepting each other.

I agree with Woodrow about the prayer mat, as a woman I pray in the home, not in a mosque so I use my prayer mat but if I travel I use a clean towel to pray. When I visited the bank recently the men were praying, maybe 20 men together, they didn't each have a seperate mat, they have a large carpet they unroll for group prayer.

 

[Grace Seeker]

If the Torah scroll is accidentally dropped, the entire congregation present at the time fasts on a chosen day and gives charity. When the Torah scroll ages and its letters begin to crack, it is reverently buried.

hmmmm....

Gives me an idea. I think I'll see if I can institute this practice in my church, and then "accidently" drop the Bible when we need to receive a second offering. :-[

 

[lavikor201]

I hava a book called The Path of the Righteous Gentile and it states that Jews are the chosen children of God (not chosen as in special but chosen to be teachers of Gods laws). Is it then your duty as a Jew to teach gentiles?

Yes, we must teach you about the seven laws of Noah all gentiles should know so they have a place in the world to come.

 

[Grace Seeker]

Yes, we must teach you about the seven laws of Noah all gentiles should know so they have a place in the world to come.

I'm sure they are already listed someplace in this thread, but I haven't found them yet. Could you list them again, please? Thanks.

 

[lavikor201]

I'm sure they are already listed someplace in this thread, but I haven't found them yet. Could you list them again, please? Thanks.

There is actually a growing movement of noahides, in the USA and various places of people who wish to submit to the Torah, but not have to follow all 613 laws.

Great site is this:

http://www.wikinoah.org/index.php/Main_Page


Prohibition of Idolatry

1. No idolatry
2. To pray
3. To offer ritual sacrifices only to God

Prohibition of Blasphemy

4. To believe in the singularity of God, see, Monotheism
5. No blasphemy
6. No witchcraft
7. No soothsayers
8. No conjurers
9. No sorcerers
10. No mediums
11. No demonology
12. No wizardry
13. No necromancy
14. To respect father & mother

Prohibition of Homicide

15. No murder
16. No suicide
17. No Moloch worship (infant sacrifice)

Prohibition of Sexual Immorality

18. No adultery
19. Formal legal marriages
20. No incest with close relatives
21. No sodomy (i.e. homosexuality)
22. No bestiality
23. Not to crossbreed animals
24. No castration

Prohibition of Theft

25. No stealing

Prohibition of Limb of a Living Creature

26. Not to eat a limb of a living creature
27. Not to eat or drink blood
28. Not to eat carrion (for those recognised by a Beth Din)

Imperative of Legal System

29. To establish courts and a system of justice
30. No false oaths

The Sixty Six Noahide Laws (7 set up into categories)

Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein, following the general consensus of halacha, sees the Seven Laws as Categories. In Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein's opinion it is possible to look at all seven laws with the view towards establishing the extent to which they, severally, correspond to the Jewish law directed at Jews. His study seeks to resolve the question raised in the correspondence as to the categorization of the Laws of Noah. He sought to prove that the earliest sources on Noahism, and the writers who deal with these sources conscientiously, view the seven categories as subject heads for a mass of legal dicta.
His intention was not to define Noahide law in terms of an expanded list of sixty six laws, rather only to prove that the volume of Noahide Law is greater - when compared to the volume of Israelite Law - than a ratio of 7 to 613 would indicate. His book "The Seven Laws of Noah" demonstrates the breadth of Noahic legislation.[1]
Prohibition of Idolatry

1. "Against entertaining the thought that there exists a deity except Hashem." (Negative 1)
2. "Against making any graven image [& against having anyone else make one for us]." (Negative 2)
3. "Against making idols for use by others." (Negative 3)
4. "Against making any forbidden statues [even when they are for ornamental purposes]." (Negative 4)
5. "Against bowing to any idol [& not to sacrifice nor to pour libation nor to burn incense before any idol, even where it is not the customary manner of worship to the particular idol]." (Negative 5)
6. "Against worshipping idols in any of their customary manners of worship." (Negative 6)
7. "Against causing our children to pass [through the fire] in the worship of Molech." (Negative 7)
8. "Against practicing Ov." (Negative 8)
9. "Against practicing Yiddoni." (Negative 9)
10. "Against turning to idolatry [in word, in thought, in deed, or by any observance that may draw us to its worship]." (Negative 10)

Prohibition of Blasphemy

11. "To acknowledge the existence of G-d." (Positive 1)
12. "To fear G-d." (Positive 4)
13. "To pray to Him." (Positive 5)
14. "To sanctify G-d's name [in face of death, where appropriate]." (Positive 9)
15. "Against desecrating G-d's name [even in face of death, when appropriate]." (Negative 63)
16. "To study the Torah." (Positive 11)
17. "To honor the scholars, and to revere one's teacher." (Positive 209)
18. "Against blaspheming." (Negative 60)

Prohibition of Homicide

19. "Against any person murdering anyone." (Negative 289)

Prohibition of Sexual Immorality

20. "Against [a man] having union with his mother." (Negative 330)
21. "Against [a man] having union with his sister." (Negative 331)
22. "Against [a man] having union with the wife of his father." (Negative 332)
23. "Against [a man] having union with another man's wife." (Negative 347)
24. "Against [a man] copulating with a beast." (Negative 348)
25. "Against a woman copulating with a beast." (Negative 349)
26. "Against [a man] lying carnally with a male." (Negative 350)
27. "Against [a man] lying carnally with his father." (Negative 351)
28. "Against [a man] lying carnally with his father's brother." (Negative 352)
29. "Against engaging in erotic conduct that may lead to a prohibited union. [That is, petting by persons whose marriage would be illicit.]" (Negative 353)

Prohibition of Theft

30. "Against stealing. [i.e., by stealth]" (Negative 244)
31. "Against committing robbery. [i.e., openly]" (Negative 245)
32. "Against shifting a landmark." (Negative 246)
33. "Against cheating." (Negative 247)
34. "Against repudiating a claim of money owed." (Negative 248)
35. "Against overcharging." (Negative 250)
36. "Against coveting." (Negative 265)
37. "Against desiring." (Negative 266)
38. "A laborer shall be allowed to eat of the fruits among which he works [under certain conditions]." (Positive 201)
39. "Against a laborer eating of such fruit [when certain conditions are not met]." (Negative 267)
40. "Against a laborer taking of such fruit home." (Negative 268)
41. "Against kidnapping." (Negative 243)
42. "Against the use of false weights & measures." (Negative 271)
43. "Against the possession of false weights & measures." (Negative 272)
44. "That one shall be exact in the use of weights & measures." (Positive 208)
45. "That the robber shall return [or pay for] the stolen object." (Positive 194)

Prohibition of Limb of a Living Creature

46. "Against eating a limb severed from a living animal, beast, or fowl." (Negative 182)
47. "Against eating the flesh of any animal which was torn by a wild beast which, in part, prohibits the eating of such flesh as was torn off an animal while it was still alive." (Negative 181)

Imperative of Legal System

48. "To appoint judges and officers in each and every community." (Positive 176)
49. "To treat the litigants equally before the law." (Positive 177)
50. "To inquire diligently into the testimony of a witness." (Positive 179)
51. "Against the wanton miscarriag of justice by the court." (Negative 273)
52. "Against the judge accepting a bribe or gift from a litigant." (Negative 274)
53. "Against the judge showing marks of honor to but one litigant." (Negative 275)
54. "Against the judge acting in fear of a litigant's threats." (Negative 276)
55. "Against the judge, out of compassion, favoring a poor litigant." (Negative 277)
56. "Against the judge discriminating against the litigant because he is a sinner." (Negative 278)
57. "Against the judge, out of softness, putting aside the penalty of a mauler or killer." (Negative 279)
58. "Against the judge discriminating against a stranger or an orphan." (Negative 280)
59. "Against the judge hearing one litigant in the absence of another." (Negative 281)
60. "Against appointing a judge who lacks knowledge of the Law." (Negative 284)
61. "Against incrimination by circumstantial evidence." (Negative 290)
62. "Against punishing for a crime committed under duress." (Negative 294)
63. "That the court is to administer the death penalty by the sword [i.e., decapitation]." (Positive 226)
64. "Against anyone taking the law into his own hands to kill the perpetrator of a capital crime." (Negative 292)
65. "To testify in court." (Positive 178)
66. "Against testifying falsely." (Negative 285)

 

[samah12]

Your prohibitions seem very similar to ours, we live and learn. What is said in Judaism about telling lies? Wouldn't the world be a wonderful place is we all followed Allah's prohibitions!!

What reasons are given in the Torah for not eating the meat of pigs?

 

[Skywalker]

-To behave justly in all relationships, and to establish courts of justice.

I think all religions agree on this one.

-To refrain from blaspheming Gods name.

I think all religions agree on this one too.

-To refrain from practicing idolatry.

This is where we get into technicalities. For example, are Christians practicing idolatry by praying to a man who they believe is the human embodiment of God? Then you have other issues like loving a celebrity, etc. But nevertheless, Islam at least is in complete agreement with this one.

-To avoid immoral practices, specifically incest and adultery.

No problems with that one. We even take it further by forbidding extra-marital sex of any sort.

-To avoid shedding the blood of ones fellow man.

This one has to be case specific. What if they shed your blood? Doesn't Judaism have an "eye-for-an-eye" policy? What if someone is coming to destroy you and your way of life? Can you spill their blood in self-defense?

-To refrain from robbing ones fellow man.

Agreed, like all religions I know of.

-To refrain from eating a limb torn from a live animal.

We're in agreement here. We even have rules on how to properly and humanely put the animal to sleep.

So from what I see, apart from the issue about "shedding blood", Muslims following Islamic law are going to heaven by Jewish standards.

Could you then shed some light on the shedding blood issue, lavikor?

 

[King David]

To skywalker:

Of course Islam is following the nohadites laws!!! That is why the Pagans of Arabia recieved the Quran through Mohammad!!! (plus rituals prescribed by god for Ishmaelites)

About the shedding blood issue and others if your life is in danger there are no laws!!! Staying alive is above all laws!!!

And yes by following the Qur'an properly Muslims are going to heaven!!!

But in the Qur'an you have a lot of warnings for the end of days when the children of israel are returning to The Land Of Israel and it Tells you that you should help Israel, but that you wont! And that you will enlist in the hordes of gog and magog!! As is also profeciesed in the Tanach!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE QUR'AN ACKNOWLEDGES THE AUTHORITY OF THE TANACH
"The Qur'an could not have been forged apart from G-d, but it is a confirmation of what was before it, and a distinguishing of the Book [Tanach] wherein is no doubt, from the Lord of all Being" (Qur'an, "Jonah", chapter 10:38. Also see "The Table", chapter 5:52; "Sand Dunes", chapter 46:11 "The Cow", chapter 2:172. Additional Qur'anic acceptance of the Tanach is given in "Night Journey", chapter 17:3; "Prostration", chapter 32:23; "The Believer", chapter 23:56. These references to "the Book" always refer to the Tanach in its original Hebrew, not to translations which are often unreliable).The Qumran Scrolls, written 2,000 years ago and discovered in 1947, provide dramatic proof that the Tanach in use today is faithful to the original text.

THE QUR'AN RECOGNIZES THE AUTHORITY OF THE RABBIS AND THE SPECIAL STATUS OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL
"Surely, We sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and light. Thereby, the prophets, who had surrendered themselves, gave judgment for those of Jewry, as did the masters and the rabbis, following such portions of God's Book as they were given to keep and bear witness to" [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:48].
"O believers, be not of those who hurt Moses, but God declared him quit of what they said, and he was high honored with God" [Qur'an, "Confederates", chapter 33:69].

"We gave the Children of Israel the Book, the Judgment and the Prophethood, and We provided them with good things, and We preferred them above all beings" [Qur'an, "Hobbling" , chapter 45:15].

THE QUR'AN RECOGNIZES THE RIGHT OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL

The Qur'an has Moses say to the Israelites about the Land of Israel:

"And when Moses said to his people. `Remember G-d's blessing upon you, He...gave you such as He had not given to any other being. Oh my people, enter the Holy Land which G-d has prescribed for you...' And the angels say, 'We settled the Children of Israel in a sure settlement" [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:23; "Jonah", chapter 10:93].
Israel was even meant to fight for the land:
"...They [the Children of Israel] said to a prophet of theirs [Samuel]: 'Raise up for us a king, and we will fight in G-d's way.' He said 'Might it be that, if fighting is prescribed for you, you will not fight?' They said: 'Why should we not fight in G-d's way?' Yet, when fighting was prescribed for them, they turned their backs, except for a few of them..." [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:246, 247].
"Pharoah sought to scare them out of the land [of Israel]; but We [Allah] drowned him, together with all who were with him. Then We said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the World to Come comes to pass, We shall assemble you all together" [Qur'an, "Night Journey", chapter 17:106 - which foresees the return of a "mixed multitude"].

The Qur'an speaks of the final return of the reunited House of Israel, both the Jews (House of Judah) and the Ten Lost Tribes (House of Ephraim), to the Land of Israel:

"Pharoah sought to scare them out of the land [of Israel]; but We [Allah] drowned him, together with all who were with him. Then We said to the Israelites: 'Dwell in this land [the Land of Israel]. When the promise of the World to Come comes to pass, We shall assemble you all together" [Qur'an, "Night Journey", chapter 17:106 - which foresees the return of a "mixed multitude"].

The Prophet Jeremiah, developing this theme, says:

"And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first, and will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me, and it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise of honor before all the nations of the world, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them, and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I shall procure unto it" [Tanach, Jeremiah, chapter 33:7-9].
The Prophet Zechariah, who lived in the Second Temple Period (after the return from the captivity of Babylon) said:

"Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I will save My people from the east country, and from the west country, and I will bring them and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be My people, and I will be their G-d, in truth and righteousness" [Tanach, Zechariah, chapter 8:7-8].

The Qur'an forbids making a division between the prophets before or after the Exile (Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:130,208, "The House of Imram", chapter 3:78), and before or after the Hegira. Furthermore, the Qur'an praises the Psalms of David, which are Songs of Zion. The Qur'an acknowledges David as God's viceroy and Judge on Earth [Qur'an, "Zad", chapter 38:16-19,25].

"We sent not any before thee except men to whom we revealed: Question the People of the Remembrance [Children fo Israel], if it should be that you do not know -- with the clear signs, and the Psalms, and We have sent down to thee Remembrance [Qur'an] that thou [Muslims] mayest make clear to mankind what was sent down to them [Israelites]" [Qur'an, "The Bee", chapter 16:45].
In his Psalms David speaks clearly of the return of the Children of Israel to the Land of Israel. Psalm 102 says:

"Thou (O Lord) shall arise, and Thou shall have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come, for the servants took pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. So the nations shall fear the Name of the Lord, and the kings of the Earth his glory. When the Lord shall build Zion, He shall appear in His glory. He will regard the prayer of the torn, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the last generation..." [Tanach, Psalm 102:14-19 (the Hebrew text says "the last generation", not "generation to come" as it appears in most English translations)]. "The Lord does build Jerusalem, He gathered the outcasts of Israel" [Tanach, Psalm 147:2, 69:35].

Jeremiah transmits the Lord's commandment to the nations:

"Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say: "He that scatters Israel will gather him and keep him, as a Shepherd does his flock. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob...therefore they shall come and sing in the heights of Zion..." [Tanach, Jeremiah 31:10].


The prophets, including David, speak clearly. They show that the Land of Israel is an entity of its own, distinct from the present concepts of Dar-es-Salam and Dar-el-Harb. It is the Land of the Lord God of Israel [Tanach, Jeremiah 2:7; Ezekiel 36:5; 38:16; Joel 4:2; and others].

Israel's enemies often claim that the Jews are a cursed people who are not entitled to the Land of Israel. Does the presence of confused and sinful men and women among the People of Israel justify this hostility? Was the hostility of the ancient Philistines justified by King Saul's weakness and sins? Were the hostilities of the Arabs against the Jews and their building of the Second Temple Justified? The Qur'an and the Tanach say no [Qur'an, "The Cow" chapter 2:245-253; Tanach, Nechemia 4:1].

"God took compact with the Children of Israel...for their breaking their compact. We cursed them and made their hearts hard...and you will never cease to light upon some act of treachery on their part, except a few of them. Yet pardon them, and forgive. Surely God loves those who do good" [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:15-17].


"We sent against you [Israel] our servants [the Romans] to discountenance you, and to enter the Temple, as they [the Babylonians] entered it the first time, and to destroy utterly what they ascended to. Perchance your Lord will have mercy upon you, but if you return [to the Land of Israel], We shall return...[to you]" [Qur'an, "Night Journey", chapter 17:8].God promised that He will forgive Israel at the time of its return:

"And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan [the biblical name for the Golan Heights], and his soul shall be satisfied upon Mount Ephraim [Samaria in the so-called 'West Bank'] and Gilead. In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none, and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve" [Tanach, Jeremiah 50:19, 20].

The Almighty will surely do what He has promised.

"The promise of God! God fails not His promise, but most men do not know" [Qur'an, "The Greeks", chapter 30:5, "Believers", chapter 23:76].

Were the Muslims not guardians and stewards until the rightful heirs (the Children of Israel) would return at the appointed time? The Land of Israel is assigned to the Children of Israel as an eternal inheritance (Tanach, Genesis, 17:8,21; Joel 4:3; Amos 9:15) notwithstanding the two foretold dispersions. The Qur'an acknowledges this, as we saw already.

King David, after conquering Jerusalem from the Jebusites, bought Mount Moriah from Ornan, the Jebusite King, and paid the full price requested by Ornan for it.

King Solomon then built the Temple, the "Beth HaMikdash", upon this site. The title deeds, including their confirmation by the Persian Kings Cyrus and Darius, are documented in the Tannach [Tanach, I Chronicles 21:24,25; II Chronicles 3:1; Ezra 1:1-3, 6:11,12].
The Qur'an commands Muslims to give refuge and help to those who "have emigrated and struggled...in the way of God" [Qur'an, "The Spoils", chapter 8:73-76].
This should alarm those Muslims who heed the Prophet Ezekiel's words:

"Because you have had a perpetual hatred, and shed the blood of the Children of Israel by the force of your sword in the time of their calamity, in the time their iniquity had an end, therefore, as I live, saith the Lord G-d, I will prepare thee unto blood and will make Mount Seir most desolate and will make thee perpetual desolations, and thy cities shall not return, because thou hast said, these two nations shall be mine, and I will possess it" [Tanach, Ezekiel 35:5ff, Psalm 83].
__________________________________________________ __________________________________

The Qur'an and the Tanach tell us that in the eyes of God one thousand years are like a day [Tanach, Psalm 90:4; Qur'an, "Pilgrimage", chapter 22:47] and that the Six Days of Creation, or six thousand years of mankind, may well be shortened.
The Qur'an says in this regard:

"They will question you concerning the Hour...Say: 'The knowledge of it is only with my Lord, none shall reveal it at its proper time, but He..." [Qur'an, "Battlements", chapter 7:186-88]. "Nay, but they cry lies to the Hour, and We have prepared for him who cries lies to the Hour a blaze...Say: 'Is it better, or the Garden of Eternity that is promised to the God-fearing...?" [Qur'an, "Salvation", chapter 25:12-16].

Ongoing hostilities against Israel may lead to the war of "Gog and Magog", of which the Qur'an says:

"There is a ban upon a city [Jerusalem] that We have destroyed. They [the Jews] shall not return [to the Land of Israel] till when Gog and Magog are unloosed, and they slide down out of every slope, and nigh has drawn the true promise, and behold, the eyes of the unbelievers staring. 'Alas for us! We were heedless of this. Nay, we are evildoers" [Qur'an, "The Prophets", chapter 21:96, 97].

Who or what prompts you to enlist in the hordes of Gog and Magog?

In this context the Qur'an warns:

"Upon this day when their faces are turned about in the fire, they shall say: 'Ah, would we had obeyed God and the messenger!' They shall say: 'Our Lord, we obeyed the chiefs and great ones, and they led us astray from the way. Our Lord, give them chastisement twofold, and curse them with a mighty curse" [ Qur'an, "The Confederates", chapter 33:66].

The next verse admonishes:

"O believers, be not as those who hurt Moses, but God declared him quit of what they said, and he was high honored with God" [Qur'an, "The Confederates", chapter 33:68].

The Qur'an says Muslims must not harm Jews:

"Dispute not with the People of the Book, save in a fairer manner, except for those of them that go wrong; and say: 'We believe in what has been sent down to us, and what has been sent down to you, our God and your God are One, and to Him we have surrendered" [Qur'an, "The Spider", chapter 29:45].

"Have you considered? If it be from God, and you disbelieve in it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bears witness to its like, and believes, and you wax proud -- God guides not the people of the evildoers" [Qur'an, "Sand Dunes", chapter 46:8,9].
Consider also these words of Muhammed:

"The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr. Faith is a restraint against violence. Let no Muslim [believer] commit violence" [Quoted from "Thus spoke the Prophet Mohammed" by Dr. M. Hafiz, Madras, 1971].

The Qur'an says:

"It may be God will establish between you and those of them with whom you are at enmity, Love. God is all-powerful, all-forgiving, all-compassionate" [Qur'an, "The Woman Tested", chapter 60:7; "Counsel", chapter 42:14].

This tallies with Isaiah's prophecy:

"In that day shall Israel be third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying: 'Blessed be Egypt, My people, and Assyria, the work of My hands, and Israel, Mine inheritance'" [Tanach, Isaiah 19:24-25].
Interestingly enough, modern Syria sees itself as the heir of ancient Assyria.

Isaiah's prophecy explains the phrase "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates" [Tanach, Genesis 15:13].
"And We delivered him [Abraham], and Lot, unto the land [of Israel] We had blessed for all beings" [Qur'an, "The Prophets", chapter 21:71].

The phrase "the land We had blessed for all beings" parallels passages from the Psalms, which read:

"for there [in Zion] has the Lord commanded the blessings, even life for ever more" [Tanach, Psalm 133:3]. "Lift up your hands towards the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. May the Lord bless thee out of Zion, he that is the maker of heavens and earth" [Tanach, Psalms 134:2-3]. "Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, even He that resideth in Jerusalem" [Tanach, Psalms 135:21].

We, the children of Abraham, should unite in peace and build up a culture of our own, instead of fighting each other and feeding the war industries of foreign nations.
We are related by faith and by blood. The different rituals we observe should not lead to enmity between us. Quite the contrary.

The Qur'an says:

"If God had willed, he would have made you one nation, but he may try you in what has come to you. So be ye forward in good works, unto God shall you return altogether, and He will tell you of that whereon you were at variance" [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:53; "The Bee", chapter 16:95].
It is from God that we follow different rituals:

"We have appointed for every nation a holy rite that they shall perform" [Qur'an, "The Pilgrimage", chapter 22:66].

The Qur'an even distinguishes between Abraham, Isaac and Jacob on the one hand, and Ishmael on the other:

"Remember also our servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, men of might they and of vision. Assuredly, We purified them with a quality most pure, the remembrance of the Abode, and in our sight, they are of the chosen, the excellent. Remember also our servants Ishmael, Elisha and Dhool Kifl, each is among the excellent" [Qur'an, "The Zad", chapter 38:45-48].

According to these verses, the three Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are described as purified, chosen and excellent, while Ishmael, although being counted among the excellent, is not mentioned as chosen. The chosen-ness of the three Patriarchs has to do with the Land Covenant which the Lord of All Beings made with them [Tanach, Genesis 15:18, 17:4-8, 26:4, 35:11-12].

While every nation has its own distinctive characteristics, it is exactly this Land Covenant which molds the People of Israel into something distinctive, unique in history.

The Qur'an stresses this repeatedly:

"[Allah] gave you such as He had not given to any being. O My People [the Israelites], enter the Holy Land [Land of Israel] which God has prescribed for you..." [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:24]. "Children of Israel, remember...that I have preferred you above all beings" [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:44].

Note also the distinction between the calls and levels of Abraham's son Isaac, grandson Jacob and son Ishmael:

"We gave him [Abraham] Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet, and We gave them our mercy, and We appointed to them a tongue of truthfulness, sublime...And Ishmael...was true to his promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet. He bade his people to pray and to give alms, and he was pleasing to his Lord" [Qur'an, "Mary", chapter 19:50-56; "The Prophets", chapter 21:72,85].
The Qur'an does say that Abraham "was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a Muslim of pure faith" (Qur'an, "The House of Imram", chapter 3:60). He "named you Muslim(submitted) aforetime" [Qur'an, "The Pilgrimage", chapter 22:77-78] and admonished you to "follow the creed of Abraham, a man of pure faith and no idolater" [Qur'an, "The Bee", chapter 16:124].
The expression "He named you Muslim aforetime" shows that the term "Muslim" is here applied in its etymological sense, meaning "one who submits to God", a God Fearer who followed the universal faith of Noah (Genesis 9) given to all mankind, rather than the member of a specific later religion.

It is in this sense that the Qur'an speaks of the prophets of Israel as those who have surrendered to God; i.e., as Muslims (God Fearers) [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:48], despite the fact that they and the People of Israel were commanded to observe ordinances and rites different from those of the descendants of Ishmael.
An example of such differences is the Sabbath. This day of rest and sanctification is for the Children of Israel also a sign of God's covenant with them [Tanach, Exodus 31:13-17].
The Qur'an confirms this and even ridicules Jews who do not observe the Sabbath as "apes" [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:63].
"Praise the Lord, all you nations, praise him, all you people, for his grace did prevail over us, and the Lord's truth is for ever. Praise you the Lord" [Tanach, Psalm 117].
"Have you considered? If it be from God, and you disbelieve in it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bears witness to its like, and believes, and you wax proud, God guides not the people of the evildoers" [Qur'an, "Sand Dunes", chapter 46:8-9].

The Qur'an says:

"God is our Lord and your Lord. We have our deeds, and you have your deeds, there is no argument between us and you. God shall bring us together, and unto Him is our homecoming" [Qur'an, "The Counsel", chapter 42:14].Repentance is always possible. According to the Qur'an, even Pharaoh, when he saw his army drowning, came to his senses and admitted:

"I believe that there is no God but He in whom the Children of Israel believe. I am of those that surrender" [Qur'an, "Jonah" chapter 10-90].


ABRAHAMS' PRAYER

When told by the Lord that in spite of their high age he would get a son from Sarah, Abraham prayed [Bere****/Genesis 17:18]

"O that Ishmael might live before thee!"

Abraham loved both Ishmael and Isaac, therefore he had to be told:

"Take now thy son, thine only whom you have loved, even Isaac..." [Bere****/Genesis 22:2]. The specification "even Isaac", was to tell him which one of the two beloved sons he should bring to Mount Moriah.

Abraham did not merely pray "that Ishmael might live". He was not concerned that Ishmael would be threatened by Isaac, and would need a special prayer for the protection from the latter.

Abraham was concerned that Ishmael, biologically the firstborn, might try to bring the whole heritage unto himself, and deprive Isaac of the Divine promise.

Abraham prayed that Ishmael might live before the Lord. This prayer should encourage and guide him to let his spiritual Abrahamic inheritance get the upper hand so that he would be alive in the Divine spirit, and consequently recognize also Isaac's call.

The two brothers and their descendants should not fight over the inheritance but "compete in good works" as the Qur'an, Ishmael's guide book, says so aptly.

In the spirit of our father Abraham, let us , the Children of Ishmael and the Children of Israel, pray together:

"O that both of us -- Ishmael and Israel -- might live before Thee!"

MORE POINTS:

1. It stresses the continued validity of the "Book" - Jonah 38; Table 52; Cow 172; Believers 56; Bee 45-47; and others

2. It recognizes the teachings of the Prophets, even of the rabbis -- Table 48 (notwithstanding Repentance 30-35)
3. It recognizes the peculiarity of Israel and the unparalleled gifts to its people (including the land promise) -- Hobbling 15; Cow 60, 247

4. The Land of Israel is prescribed for the Children of Israel -- Table 23

5. Allah settled the Children of Israel in the Land of Israel -- Jonah 93

6. The Children of Israel are rebuked for not fighting for the Land of Israel -- Cow 60, 247
7. David's Kingdom (Zion) and Psalms confirmed, and he being acknowledged as Divine viceroy on earth - Zad 19,25; Cow 252 [cf Is. 28:16]

8. The Psalms and Prophets speak of Israel's return to the land and Jerusalem, and so does the Qur'an -- Bani Israel 8,105

9. Israel often harshly rebuked in the Qur'an, but there is no cancellation of the Covenant or of the Promises

10. On the contrary, the words of the Prophets shall surely be established -- Greeks 5; Hobbling 31; Believers 76

11. Abraham is called a true Muslim - Imram 60; Pilgrimage 77; Cattle 162; and so are the Prophets -- Table 48, notwithstanding their keeping Shabbat and their direction of prayer toward Jerusalem [cf. I Kings 8:30,42]

12. Abraham established a) Mount Moriah in Jerusalem for Israel -- Genesis 22:2, II Chronicles 3:1 b) The Kaaba in Mecca for Ishmael -- Cow 119, 123

13. Qiblah (direction of prayer) for Muslim to Mecca, and for Jews to Jerusalem -- Cow 140, 143 (cf. I Kings 8:29,30)

14. The Qur'an admits different religious rites, and urges all of us to compete in good works - Cow 143, Table 53, Pilgrimage 66

15. Allah wants to be honored by forgiveness and love - Table 15-17, Woman Tested 7, Counsel 14
Allah Himself is saying that Jerusalem is as important to Jews as Mecca is to Muslims.

In "The Cow" Allah says that Jews and Muslims have their own special directions of prayer (Jerusalem for Jews and Mecca for Muslims) [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:140].
"This day let not reproach be cast on you, Allah will forgive you, since He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy" [Qur'an, "Joseph", chapter 12:92].
"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his fellow", said King Solomon [Mishle/Proverbs 21:17].

 

[Abu Zakariya]

This is a Jewish Q&A Thread and should be kept as such. But once again someone has misrepresented Islamic beliefs in this thread so once again I will respond.

No the Qur'an doesn't recognize the authority of the Rabbis. Do you mean to tell me that the former Sephardic chief Rabbi of Israel is supported by the Qur'an?

It refers to the preivous learned worshippers and scholars as explained by the tafsir of ibn Kathir. Just like the ayat that mention the Children of Israel's right to the Holy Land, it can't be used in todays context because the right to the Holy Land, according to Islam, isn't bound to a certain ethnicity. The land belongs to the people of Monotheism and the followers of God.

I don't know if you are a Jew, "King David", but if you are then please stick with explaining your religion instead of trying to tell us what we should believe, misusing the Qur'an in the process (and also claiming that we will be the followers of Gog and Magog).

 

[lavikor201]

No the Qur'an doesn't recognize the authority of the Rabbis. Do you mean to tell me that the former Sephardic chief Rabbi of Israel is supported by the Qur'an?

Mistranslation. He said to wipe out all the Arabs who want to kill innocent Jews.

This is where we get into technicalities. For example, are Christians practicing idolatry by praying to a man who they believe is the human embodiment of God? Then you have other issues like loving a celebrity, etc. But nevertheless, Islam at least is in complete agreement with this one.

Depends which Rabbi's school of thought you follow. Is Christianity avoda zara (Idol worship) or ****tuf (Assosiation with the true G-d.) And are gentiles even aloud to do the later??

This one has to be case specific. What if they shed your blood? Doesn't Judaism have an "eye-for-an-eye" policy? What if someone is coming to destroy you and your way of life? Can you spill their blood in self-defense?

Not really, I mean self defense it different, but Judaism is heavily against the death penalty.

For a person to be killed, he would have to be seen by two witnesses and be told while doing the crime it was wrong and he could be killed and he would have to acknowledge it. Basically, it is G-d's choice when somone is killed and we almost always refrain from executing but instead imprisoing for life.

So from what I see, apart from the issue about "shedding blood", Muslims following Islamic law are going to heaven by Jewish standards.

If a Muslim tries to prevent a Jew from folloing the laws by being violent towards him, or doing something economically that will stop him from following the Torah, he will probably have no place in heaven.

Your prohibitions seem very similar to ours, we live and learn. What is said in Judaism about telling lies? Wouldn't the world be a wonderful place is we all followed Allah's prohibitions!!

No lieing unless it is a white lie that will make someone feel better.

What reasons are given in the Torah for not eating the meat of pigs?

There is no reason. G-d told us not to.