I would say you are what is today being called a "Messianic Jew." You didn't say whom you believe to be your messiah. Is it Jesus (also called Yeshua) or Rabbi Shneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe or Rabbi Mordechai Tendler? There are a few self-proclaimed Messiahs in the Jewish world today although they do not have much of a following.
Jews have often believed that someone in some generation was a messiah. For a while it was Bar Kochba. He died. There was Shabbetai Tzvi. He converted to Islam taking along with him many of his following. There were four or five named Yeshu (Jesus), and no one is sure which one of them the Christians portray in their gospels.
Messianism of this kind is nothing new to Judaism. You are still a Jew although I will venture a guess that you were never an Orthodox Jew. After some generations (I think it is four or five of a line of women), your children will no longer be able to claim to be Jewish.
Showing posts with label Jewish values. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewish values. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Is the violence of the Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem on the Sabbath sanctioned by the Torah?
No it is not. And those Jews who do so are a small group of radical Jews. Please do not identify other Orthodox Jews with them.
To pick up a rock on the Sabbath is a violation of the Sabbath. It is an act of carrying. To throw that rock is an act of violence, and violence is forbidden by the Torah. That’s why Israel has shown such restraint in the face of the violence dealt them by Hamas when they were shooting shells and using suicide bombers against the Israelis.
The Torah teaches us that we must restrain our anger. The first example is that of Cain who murders his brother Abel. Like any child who lashes out, he did not use his words to negotiate what he wanted or thought he needed.
This is the sin of those who throw stones at other people on the holy day. Jerusalem does not belong to them alone, and while one can sympathize with them over seeing others desecrate the Sabbath, they have no right to do it themselves and to commit acts of violence in order to make their point. If they were to kill someone in a spree of rock throwing, that would be murder.
To pick up a rock on the Sabbath is a violation of the Sabbath. It is an act of carrying. To throw that rock is an act of violence, and violence is forbidden by the Torah. That’s why Israel has shown such restraint in the face of the violence dealt them by Hamas when they were shooting shells and using suicide bombers against the Israelis.
The Torah teaches us that we must restrain our anger. The first example is that of Cain who murders his brother Abel. Like any child who lashes out, he did not use his words to negotiate what he wanted or thought he needed.
This is the sin of those who throw stones at other people on the holy day. Jerusalem does not belong to them alone, and while one can sympathize with them over seeing others desecrate the Sabbath, they have no right to do it themselves and to commit acts of violence in order to make their point. If they were to kill someone in a spree of rock throwing, that would be murder.
Why do bad things happen to good people?
Nature is not always benign, and people can be cruel and nasty. If we caused no suffering during our lives, people would still suffer from droughts, floods, spoiled food and any number of things that can happen. Bad things happen, and they can happen to anyone.
Consider that when some bad things happen to people, others step in to help. We may be very good at relieving suffering, but we can all be very careless about causing it. The man or woman who hits a pedestrian isn't thinking if the person is good or bad.
Viruses do not know or care if a person is good or bad. The hurricane, the earthquake and the tornado don't think at all, either. So bad things do happen. As Jews, we hope that there is a plan of which all these things are parts. We trust that Hashem knows what is happening to us, and we just keep on living and fighting to live, no matter what happens to us.
Consider that when some bad things happen to people, others step in to help. We may be very good at relieving suffering, but we can all be very careless about causing it. The man or woman who hits a pedestrian isn't thinking if the person is good or bad.
Viruses do not know or care if a person is good or bad. The hurricane, the earthquake and the tornado don't think at all, either. So bad things do happen. As Jews, we hope that there is a plan of which all these things are parts. We trust that Hashem knows what is happening to us, and we just keep on living and fighting to live, no matter what happens to us.
Is sexuality part of our humanity? (from Chris Vaughan)
Just because we are human does not mean that sexuality is somehow separate from us. Adam and Eve were given sexuality as part of their physical being. “Male and female He created them.”
We humans were never meant to refrain from experiencing and enjoying our sexuality. The first commandment given to Adam is to be fruitful and multiply.
In Judaism, it is not a sin to stay single, but one is considered to have been “punished” if he has no children. No children are the consequence of not having a mate with whom to be sexual.
Priests in Christianity have traditionally been celibate, a state that has disturbed Jews, because it is considered a defiance of God’s charge to Adam and Eve to have children. Being sexual is part of our nature. To be celibate might appear to some to be an objection to nature.
We humans were never meant to refrain from experiencing and enjoying our sexuality. The first commandment given to Adam is to be fruitful and multiply.
In Judaism, it is not a sin to stay single, but one is considered to have been “punished” if he has no children. No children are the consequence of not having a mate with whom to be sexual.
Priests in Christianity have traditionally been celibate, a state that has disturbed Jews, because it is considered a defiance of God’s charge to Adam and Eve to have children. Being sexual is part of our nature. To be celibate might appear to some to be an objection to nature.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Is that line “sticks and stone’s…words will never hurt me” a Jewish value? What is the Jewish Value?
I don't know where a lot of those childhood rhymes we learn come from. A Jewish child was in my house and found some money I had dropped on the floor and not bothered to pick up. She said to me, "Finders keepers, loosers weepers." I told her that finding and taking anything in someone's house is stealing; I took the money away from her.
I suspect that her mother didn't teach her about theft, because twice, in my house, her mother took something of mine without asking me and gave it to someone else. She didn't think she was wrong because she didn't see any value to the things she gave away. That they were mine meant nothing to her.
I once watched as a Jewish woman picked up some money on the street. The man who had lost it was coming towards her, not seeing her but counting the money he was holding, clearly upset to be missing something. She put the money into her pocket and did not give it to him. These women were both unschooled in Judaism. One would never be schooled and the other woman was new to Torah Judaism.
As for words, not only can words hurt, they can kill. They have killed and even resulted in suicide; and in fact, we have recently had teen suicides in the news as a result of cyber bullying. One of those bullies turned out to be an adult, a mother--an example of how immature and dangerous some adults are. Sometimes, we say things that we think are constructive, but we hurt the people we think we are helping. We call this inappropriate use of words "lashon hara." There are various forms of it. When our words hurt others, we call that "Ona'at devorim."
We Jews try to learn not to be using our words this way. We are all of us sometimes guilty of using words that hurt others, hurt ourselves or cause embarrassment. We have to be careful not to repeat such mistakes. We can only do that if we keep learning and try to be the best we can be.
Speaking of values, those two lines remind me of another line: "Might is right." That is a value that is also opposed to Judaism. Might is right is the value of the ancient Romans, the more recent Nazis and the present day radical Muslims.
In contrast, the Jewish value is Justice is right. Having a Jewish homeland could only be possible if there is always a Jewish army. That does not mean that might is right in Israel today. But rarely if at all has Israel been the aggressor. True, those who settled overnight in the territories that were the homelands of non Jews for generations have trespassed on other's rights. For this reason, the move of the Israeli government to oust them is just.
I suspect that her mother didn't teach her about theft, because twice, in my house, her mother took something of mine without asking me and gave it to someone else. She didn't think she was wrong because she didn't see any value to the things she gave away. That they were mine meant nothing to her.
I once watched as a Jewish woman picked up some money on the street. The man who had lost it was coming towards her, not seeing her but counting the money he was holding, clearly upset to be missing something. She put the money into her pocket and did not give it to him. These women were both unschooled in Judaism. One would never be schooled and the other woman was new to Torah Judaism.
As for words, not only can words hurt, they can kill. They have killed and even resulted in suicide; and in fact, we have recently had teen suicides in the news as a result of cyber bullying. One of those bullies turned out to be an adult, a mother--an example of how immature and dangerous some adults are. Sometimes, we say things that we think are constructive, but we hurt the people we think we are helping. We call this inappropriate use of words "lashon hara." There are various forms of it. When our words hurt others, we call that "Ona'at devorim."
We Jews try to learn not to be using our words this way. We are all of us sometimes guilty of using words that hurt others, hurt ourselves or cause embarrassment. We have to be careful not to repeat such mistakes. We can only do that if we keep learning and try to be the best we can be.
Speaking of values, those two lines remind me of another line: "Might is right." That is a value that is also opposed to Judaism. Might is right is the value of the ancient Romans, the more recent Nazis and the present day radical Muslims.
In contrast, the Jewish value is Justice is right. Having a Jewish homeland could only be possible if there is always a Jewish army. That does not mean that might is right in Israel today. But rarely if at all has Israel been the aggressor. True, those who settled overnight in the territories that were the homelands of non Jews for generations have trespassed on other's rights. For this reason, the move of the Israeli government to oust them is just.
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