The "Ask a Jew" thread (believe, religious, Sabbath)

[theflipflop]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker Soule

Thank you. I appreciate the clarification.

Would you mind reading the Wiki reference and letting us know if it in any way changes your opinion?

I read it, and I see that the Rambam said:

people who deny the divine authority of the Oral Torah are to be considered among the heretics.

And yet modern day posek and Gadol Hador Ha Rav Ovadia Yosef says:

Karaites are Jews "LeKhol Davar" (literally, for all purposes) and that it is permissible for Rabbanite Jews to marry with them.

But in what way are the Karaites equated with modern day Reform Jews? And in what way did my saying the Karaites were not Jewish equate with me saying (which I did not intentionally) that Reform Jews were not Jewish, when I explicitly said earlier in this thread, on multiple occasions, that non-religious Jew were every bit as jewish as Orthodox Jews. That's the pshat. Not what you read into a statement i made on a group of people who disappeared from the earth more than 1500 years ago.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by theflipflop

But in what way are the Karaites equated with modern day Reform Jews? And in what way did my saying the Karaites were not Jewish equate with me saying (which I did not intentionally) that Reform Jews were not Jewish, when I explicitly said earlier in this thread, on multiple occasions, that non-religious Jew were every bit as jewish as Orthodox Jews. That's the pshat. Not what you read into a statement i made on a group of people who disappeared from the earth more than 1500 years ago.

Again, thanks for the clarification. Now in what way are modern Karaites "just Christians wrapped up in a fancy exterior"?

[Jazzymom]

Originally Posted by theflipflop

Hold on, friends. I did no such thing, nor would I. The Karaites have absolutely nothing to do with Reform or other progressive Jewish movements. Yes, I disparaged the Karaites - but I DID NOT disparage any fellow Jewish groups.

Please, google Karaite before you go accusing me of anything. And Jazzymom, please don't be so quick to judge me and accuse me of something I did not do and do not feel. Just slow down here, ok? The Orthodox are not some nefarious Jew hating group. If you re-read my words in this thread, you'll see that quite the opposite is true.

You said:
>>I still prefer to think of Reform Jews as tinok shenishbra to help me avoid thinking reforming the religion is being done out of heresy.<<

Tinok shenishba (Hebrew: תינוק שנשבה, literally, "captured infant") is a Talmudical term that refers to a Jewish individual who sins inadvertently as a result of having been raised without an appreciation for the thought and practices of Judaism.[1][2] It's status is widely applied in contemporary Orthodox Judaism to unaffiliated Jews today.

We are not ignorant of Torah or mitzvot, we are not making our choices out of ignorance. In fact many in the progressive movements were raised in orthodox homes and are fully knowledgeable of halacha and have made the choice to be a part of progressive movements and to not be orthodox.


>>>Jazzymom hit the nail on the head. As an Orthodox Jew, I'm unable to see the difference between reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, etc. I really am only able to see Torah Oberservant (Orthodox) and non Torah Observant (everything else). It's all black and white to me (ha ha).<<


This comment is bothersome because you on the one hand say you know nothing about the other movements yet you have many opinions on them. I do not see how one can come to a knowledgable conclusion yet speak of knowing nothing about the other movements.


>>>80% of Jews who are non-religious have replaced Torah and mitzvahs with "tikkun olam," (repairing the world). That is the "religion" of their religion.<<<

Again I say how do you come to this conclusion. You surely do not know about all the people in the progressive movements, or their level of observance.


>>>For sure there were. The thing is, every group that came along to "reform" Judaism has perished from this earth after a century or two. A good example would be the Karaites (the historical Karaites have no relationship or connection to modern day Karaites, who are really just Chrstians wrapped up in a fancy exterior).

Sadly, all the statisical data points towards the same with the current day reforming movements in Judaism (chas v shalom they should perish from the Earth but rather find Torah and mitzvahs and return instead).<<<<


The progressive movements don't seek to replace orthodoxy they just seek to define Judaism and practice in a world where Jews no longer were forced to live in ghettos. In a ever changing world that allowed for Jews to be a part of the world.

Judaism has not been stagnant in fact historically it has had to make huge changes in ways that those living in times of change may have said the same thing the orthodox say now about the progressive movements.

I imagine with the destruction of the temple and the development of rabbinic Judaism those Jews may have in fact said the same thing.

But as we have marched through history Judaism has not been unchanging and I suspect that will not change. It may be that the progressive movements will move back to the traditional they will not turn back time and go back into the insular and limited world of the Jewish ghetto.

Diversity in the Jewish world is not a bad thing, but the divisions because of intolerance and misunderstanding within Judaism is a bad thing.

Flip you are not being judged by me but you have come to many conclusions about the progressive movements and the Jews within those movements without much knowledge about them. That for me is the issue.

[Townandcountrygal]

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me why my posts are being deleted? I have some genuine questions. What's wrong, for example with asking if a person is considered Jewish when his paternal grandmother is Jewish (but his parents are not)?. And I wasn't trolling when I asked how a bald headed man can keep his "kippot" on his head (it's really windy down here in NM!!!). I'm a respectful person with honest questions.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Townandcountrygal

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me why my posts are being deleted? I have some genuine questions. What's wrong, for example with asking if a person is considered Jewish when his paternal grandmother is Jewish (but his parents are not)?. And I wasn't trolling when I asked how a bald headed man can keep his "kippot" on his head (it's really windy down here in NM!!!). I'm a respectful person with honest questions.

The question "who is considered a Jew" is a controversial one among Jews. All agree that one is Jewish if one's mother is Jewish. After that the guiding principle seems to be: two Jews, three opinions. So the simple answer to your first question is: not necessarily.

As for your second question, kipot come in various sizes and styles. See, for example ...

[JB from NC]

Originally Posted by Townandcountrygal

Would someone please be kind enough to tell me why my posts are being deleted? I have some genuine questions. What's wrong, for example with asking if a person is considered Jewish when his paternal grandmother is Jewish (but his parents are not)?. And I wasn't trolling when I asked how a bald headed man can keep his "kippot" on his head (it's really windy down here in NM!!!). I'm a respectful person with honest questions.

A person is Jewish if their mother is Jewish or if they have converted to Judaism, bit there are serious disagreements over what is a valid conversion. My rabbi would consider someone Jewish if their maternal grandmother was Jewish, even if the mother never identified as such or joined another religion. As has already been mentioned elsewhere, reform will accept paternal descent as well.

As for a bald man and his kippa, some style stay on very well by themselves, and a little bit of double-sided tape can work for those that don't.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by Juliet Bravo

A person is Jewish if their mother is Jewish or if they have converted to Judaism, bit there are serious disagreements over what is a valid conversion. My rabbi would consider someone Jewish if their maternal grandmother was Jewish, even if ...

I believe she was asking "if a person is considered Jewish when his paternal grandmother is Jewish". This is clearly more problematic. So, for example:

• Jewish parents Max and Sarah have a daughter named Rachel.
• Rachel marries Robert, a none too observant Protestant, and they have a son Michael.
• Michael, raised Christian, marries Jane and have a daughter which they name after Michael's mother.

I suspect that most Reform Rabbi's would want young Rachel to go through the conversion process before being considered Jewish.

[Aeroman]

From what the OP has written, this looks like where I should ask questions..

Was wondering . I have seen jews bowing or bobbing to the wailing wall.
What is this motion for?
Also , is there another name for the wailing wall?
And what’s on the other side of the wall?

Thanks,
Aeroman

[Jazzymom]

Originally Posted by Aeroman

From what the OP has written, this looks like where I should ask questions..

Was wondering . I have seen jews bowing or bobbing to the wailing wall.
What is this motion for?
Also , is there another name for the wailing wall?
And what’s on the other side of the wall?

Thanks,
Aeroman

The Kotel

Swaying/ bowing

Swaying in Prayer - My Jewish Learning

Physical Movement in Jewish Prayer - My Jewish Learning

[LittleDolphin]

Is there a Yiddiish word that translates into "little mischief maker" and is a word of affection? It sounds like Chachkilah? This is the phonetic spelling--don't have a clue how the real word is spelled--if it is a real word. Thanks!