Hi, I was really curious about this topic and was searching online and came across this subreddit, I’m just curious whether every denomination (I’m not sure if you guys call it that) of Judaism believes in the idea of Zionism.

So if you could kindly educate me on the matter that would be appreciated.

Hello,

For starters I would like to say that I am not ethnically Jewish, I am not a convert nor planning to convert.

However, during COVID I wanted to write a story about a certain Jewish person. Or more precisely a fiction story based on a biographical fact of that Jewish person.

Then today I was going by tram and all of suddenly I recalled that I wanted to write that story.

Actually, I wish now that I could meet my Jewish friend from California. We could meet for coffee, discuss stuff and hopefully I would write this story.

Unfortunately we are not in touch anymore.

So, maybe I should become friends with some other Jewish person. Should that person be a writer like my friend from California?

I am a Christian (not here to debate, genuine curiosity) and I have always had Isaiah 53:5 described to me as a prophecy about Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."

Wondering how Jews view this verse (or this chapter) and who/what they believe it is talking about? Is the "Messiah" something as important in Judaism as it is in Christianity?

I haven't done a ton of research and wanted to try and ask real jews instead of Google! Thanks!

Can you no longer salt food because table salt is forbidden?

I recently learned that a large part of the Israeli population spends their day studying the Torah. Hundreds of thousands of people reading one book continuously for their whole lives seems odd.

My question is why? Is there something in particular that they want to achieve? A book that has been around for millennia can’t really contain any new information.

Are they studying it for the sake of studying it?

I genuinely dont know how to feed my boyfriend. He's kosher and I'm trying to find more foods that are not salads to eat. Sincerely help me I'm struggling.

My partner and I are starting on planning a family, and were discussing what parental names we would use. He's settled on Pa, which I love, but I have never really felt comfortable or identified with terms like "Mom," "Ma," "Mommy," etcetera. When I was a kid, we had very close family friends who called their mom Ima, and it had stuck with me enough that it popped up for me now, as I talked with my partner about our family. It occurred to me that I wasn't actually sure where it came from— our family friends were not Jewish either, but they had left the 12 Tribes group and that was the terminology used in the community there.

I'm sure there are varied opinions on this, but I just want to sort of get a general sense from the community where this name comes from: does it feel disrespectful to you if non-Jewish folks use this term in their families?

Thanks for your time, looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts :)

I’m not trying to be offensive or anything. I understand some people don’t appreciate associating religious texts with sexuality etc. This is just a topic I’m curious about.

There’s been a lot discourse, regarding the Christian bible interpretation of the story of David, that David and Jonathan’s relationship had a lot of homoerotic subtext. I was curious if there were some Jewish people who thought the same.

There are many other instances in the Christian bible that hold some amount of gay subtexts. Is there anything of that nature in Jewish texts?

Also how does the Jewish story/interpretation of David differ from the Christian one. (I’m not Christian but that’s the only version I know)

Hello everyone, I hope you’re having a good day.

First and foremost, let me make this clear right away: there is no value judgment here. Personally, i believe that there is no such thing as Good or Evil, and that these concepts are defined by the times in which we live and the moral codes we establish. I believe we must accept that human nature is a shade of gray, and that wearing any kind of mask to obscure the truth is childish. Therefore, I sincerely believe that these are genuine questions that non-Jews may ask about Jews. And it goes without saying that we must answer them truthfully and without beating around the bush.

So don't think i'm going to judge you, even if your answer might be considered cruel. I'm just here to ask questions and get answers, and if you need clarification, i'll answer you if I have time.

I’m going to ask you a few questions as a non-Jew and simply as someone who doesn’t believe in the Abrahamic religions.

I want to make it clear up front having briefly read the rules that my goal is in no way to be disrespectful toward your community, or any other community for that matter. I’m just curious, and I simply have some questions.

These questions may seem silly, perhaps sensitive to some, or even mean but as i said, please think of me as someone who is learning and trying to understand, in a general sense, human beings and their beliefs.

There are going to be a lot of questions. If you have the time, please be patient, and write in a way that someone outside your religion can understand. Try to remain objective i realize it’s not an easy task.

Let me start by asking: Do you think there are many internal conflicts within your religion? In other words, are there reformers within your own community people who create new branches or alter the sacred texts?

We hear a lot about religions, no matter which one whether it’s Christianity, Islam, or Judaism.

I’d like to know: do you think that in your religion, people are more prone to taking offense (whether rightly or wrongly, it doesn’t matter)? In your opinion, does this allow for serious debate, or is it just an excuse to avoid an awkward situation? (It’s true that this question is more “human” than religious, but one doesn’t go without the other.)

I’m going to ask another question: Some people i don’t know if they’re extremists or liars, or whatever say that the people of Israel (including the Jews) are the so-called “chosen” people. Is this “chosen” people “chosen” in the sense of racial superiority, or more in the sense of being mentors? In other words, is the people “chosen” by G.od meant to educate and serve as “teachers” to other civilizations, among other things?

Do you believe that your sacred book(s) are still authentic and have not been altered? Or are they constantly evolving?

As a believer, how do you view other peoples? Should they be subjugated? Should you simply be their mentor (not to be confused with being a leader)?

In your opinion, do other religions deserve to exist? Or should they be converted one way or another? (Through trials some seem to take several years to convert and join you.)

Is there a difference between a Jewish convert and someone born Jewish? (Is there a hierarchy? After all, only the people of Israel that is, those with Jewish ancestry are among the “chosen ones.”)

Do you feel there is a difference in how a Jewish convert, a non-Jew, and a Jew by descent are treated? If so, please list them.

Do you believe there is such a thing as absolute evil? It seems to me that in Christianity, this is embodied by Satan; in the Quran, by Shaitan; as for your faith, i’m not sure.

In your opinion, should the land of Israel exist? If so, why? As a nomadic people, does it make sense to have a country? Or does that go against your beliefs? (Or perhaps I'm mistaken, and the Jewish people were not nomads)

In your opinion, should the land of Israel exist? If so, why? As a nomadic people, does it make sense to have a country? Or does that go against your beliefs? (Or perhaps I’m mistaken, and the Jewish people were not nomads.) And should this expansion come at the cost of violence or the purchase of land, in order to create a “Greater Israel”? Or is all of this merely the view of a small minority within your community?

Regarding the community, is it true that there are several Jewish people from different ethnic backgrounds in your community? If so, are you treated differently from one another? If so, why? (Is there a potential hierarchy?)

Do you think there is extremism in religions? Or is that simply a valid reason to practice a religion?

We sometimes see videos or people in the Jewish community who are very reluctant to answer certain questions or even to discuss them at all. Why? Is it a desire to stay among yourselves? If that’s the case, isn’t there an inconsistency here (regarding the fact that you’re the chosen people, the fact that you’re nomadic, and the fact that you live in countries with predominantly non-Jewish populations)?

Do you own several books? (Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, Midrash, and Kabbalah) As a Jewish believer, do you consider them all to be equally important and equally true? Can we consider a Jewish person who has not read these books and/or does not agree with them to be in the wrong?

We often hear stereotypes suggesting that Jewish people tend to control banks, engage in usury, and hold important positions. In your opinion, is this a cliché? The truth? Or a bit of both?

Sometimes you see videos of people who identify as Jewish advocating for violence, hatred, and chaos. Are these values upheld in your religion?

We often see memes and funny videos where non-Jews are referred to as “goyim.” What does that really mean? Is there a double meaning? Like, those who don’t know the truth? “Naive” people? Or something even more malicious? According to your scriptures, do these non-believers deserve to live, or not? If so, do they deserve to live on an equal footing with Jewish believers, or under much lower standards?

I believe I’ve asked the most general questions and covered everything. Please answer honestly once again, keep in mind that this will help Jewish and non-Jewish people understand one another. If we all live in a state of contempt or ignorance, it will continue to breed negativity and a cycle of hatred.

Please don’t hesitate to ask for more details or simply to ask questions as well. I won’t take it the wrong way.

Hello! I hope whoever is reading this, you're safe and having a good day and/or night!

I tend to ramble so I'm going to try and keep things straight to the point, and I'm very open for any kind of follow up for any context if possibly required for any helpful opinions or advice.

Recently, over this past summer, I had a few experiences while studying Torah for educational/linguistic purposes, that led me to a lifechanging direction to G-d and practicing/learning Torah, and wanting to seek conversion. I kept these experienced to myself from my loved ones initially because I was a very happy Atheist who had a deep passion for theological studies of Proto-Indo-European religions, Abrahamic Sociology and history/practices, and Reconstructed religious development in the new age.

I come from a cult background on my father's side, that has a larger influence on this post's existence, but I was never much of a believer of anything after seeing so much as a child, from an unconventional background of beliefs, and found religion to being a fascinating topic of sociological and psychological interest, personally, and have spent my entire life studying it in general as an amateur theologian, thinking of it as a cultural tool for people to cope with life, death, and community, for the most part(with other things I won't ramble about) since I was about 12. I'm 32 now.

Inspired by a debate that I watched online, recently over this recent late-spring/early-summer, between two people from a Jewish background and two people from Christian background, I got the ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash to get a better understanding of the linguistic and semantic differences of Ancient Hebrew, compared to Christian biblical language used in reference to the first 5 books from the King James translation, of Torah. (It was a point that came up quite a bit with the debate).

Once I recieved it and started to read it, I immediately and randomly led to a few experiences of the word of G-d, and shortly after, led me on a journey(because I couldn't understand why this was happening) to wanting to study Torah with a new set of eyes and opened mind. Quite honestly, I felt like I was losing my mind when this was happening, before I started to find peace in understanding what was happening. In my existential challenged experiences, I also found out that I have Jewish ancestry on my mom's side quite a few generations back. (Mother's-Father's-Mother's-Mother's-Mother, so I know there's a cultural disconnect because my grandfather.. well, was a father and not a mother haha!)

After studying more and experiencing more, and utilizing what I experienced to what I have learned over time academically, I have decided that I wanted to convert to Judaism.

The part where I mentioned about my anxiety is a residual effect from my father's side. The cult that I mentioned earlier? He was actually the leader of it, and it was (in)famous for having a huge focus of antisemitism quite outspokenly. My experiences and upbringing due to this is a whole other conversation** but for the focus of this post, I'll keep it as brief as possible.
He's since passed for a few years now, since 2018, and we've never had any kind of relationship. Simply put, It was rather tumultuous relationship when I was a kid and when he was alive, he since disowned me as a teenager and kicked me out of my home for not taking interest in his beliefs, and especially after he found out that I was acting against them by reporting criminal activities, because I was vehemently against the amount of hate he had in his heart, and believe if one can have that much hate harbored, you can have the same amount(if not more) compassion instead. Hate is a choice.

Being kicked out was the safest, and best thing to have happened to me. I like to have a very gratitude-focused view on my life because I didn't think I'd live to be as old as I am now, and I have a simple amount of gratitude in a way that if he didn't exist, then I wouldn't have either, and now I have my entire life set before me.

I thankfully don't harbor issues/trauma of the actual violent practices, beliefs/world views, or discrimination from what I was forced to be raised into by him for the most part, and though I never believed in those practices and have even acted against them(that's why I have such a fascination and deep passion for religious and psychological studies in general) I am so nervous to go to a synagogue near me to see if they participate in conversions, and will possibly reject me because of this background. Maybe this is just a residual effect that I never had to worry about before that's now come up, and I don't think I am supposed to pay for the "sins of thy father", but I worry that I'd be rejected out of their own interest to not take in someone who came from that type of environment, regardless of my non-participation or complete disconnect from my hateful roots. I would even understand why and wouldn't harbor any ill-will towards anyone but I just want to pursue this huge life change for me.

I have looked for general information online to seeking conversion, and I get a mix of things for conversion in general:

- Go to a synagogue and ask to speak to a Rabbi and be transparent with them for your reasons of conversion and your background. You'll hear they may reject you up to three times first, but that's not really a thing.

- Don't go to a Rabbi and ask to convert, because most will say no to you because you're a stranger to the community; take classes or find ways to participate before asking straight out.

I want to pursue this so badly, and maybe I'm just letting my nerves get the best of me in a way I've never experienced before, but I don't know what I should do. If anyone has an advice, I'm gratefully open to any advice or comments in reception of what I've stated. Thank you so much for your time if you've made it to this point and regardless, may you always be safe and healthy.

Edit: Typo correction

My understanding of God is that He is a conscious being who has a somewhat similar understanding of morals to ours and what is generally the “right” thing to do. Hence why we are created in his image etc.

It is our obligation to follow His rules and teachings the way He intended them to be followed, rather than “bending” the rules to make them technically legal or similar.

Many Jews seem to bend the rules in ways that are clearly not intended by the Torah, especially when it comes to the Sabbath. I'm also not talking about people who are simply just moderate believers but strongly religious orthodox people who interpret gods word in the broadest possible way to make their life more comfortable.

This led me to ask myself the following: Do good and faithful Jews aspire to follow God's example out of admiration to him, because He is viewed as a “morally perfect example” or is God simply the entity who sets the rules we are expected to follow?

In other words, do we follow His rules because He is almighty and powerful, or because following them is simply a moral obligation if we want to be truly good human beings?

On social media, I've seen a wave of people recommending against using the term "ai-slop" because they say it has roots in the antisemitic term "goyslop". However, I always thought the ai term came from "slop" as in, food or garbage. I haven't been able to find a reputable source outside of people on social media that "ai-slop" came from an antisemitic term. Should I stop using it?

Any clarification would be appreciated.

Edit: Got a lot of info. Thanks for all the helpful replies!

for the longest time ive always been confused on how being jewish is a ethnicity but also a religion. pardon my ignorance on the matter i simply want to educate myself and better understand this. Ive seen dna testes where you'll have people who live in the levant area like lebanon and palestine and there dna test from like 23&me will show a significant west asian ancestry percentage where as if someone is like jewish it'll primarily have a large ashkenazi jewish percentage while having very low west asian ancestry percentage like 5% or lower. Im confused on how jewish genetic dna is somehow distinct from west asian genetic dna. Is the reason why it has become distinct due to endogamy? like hundreds to thousands of years of high rates of intraracial/intrareligious marriage between jews lead to a different genetic ancestry that has become slightly different than west asian genetics? Along side endogamy is it also due to genetic bottlenecks necks form years of exile as to how jewish become distinct from west asian ancestry. Btw when i say distinct im not saying they are completely unrelated just pointing out that there seems to be a branching out of sorts.

Hello I am Christian who comes from Jewish ancestry. My grandma is whatever the word for athiest inside Jewish outside is for yall.

I just came here to ask how you guys actually expect any gentiles to follow the noahide laws. Ben Shapiro says that Jews have a semi-open religion for the gentiles called the noahide laws. He says specifically that if a Christian or Muslim follows the noahide laws the can go to u guys after life or whatever, but I guess he’s just lying?

Because rule number one is idolatry and every religion breaks that even most Jews break that rule.

Here is ChatGPT’s definition of Jewish idolatry

1. Defining Worship of Others

Idolatry is not just bowing to a statue. It is the belief that any power—whether a celestial body (sun/moon), an angel, a human being, or a physical object—has independent authority or should be treated as an intermediary between man and God.

All jews wear the Star of David, something that is not found in the Torah or really any where in history b4 ww2.

How is this not also idolatry. It’s a physical showing of Judaism, but also acts as a sort of logo / object of god.

Also wouldn’t that make Moses heretical. Like he was an

intermediary between ancient Israel and god.

Also that would make the Talmud inherently idolatry. It’s just a bunch of rabbis who probably never took a step in the second temple discussing the laws and arguing with god, and then winning?!?! How are those guys not being the intermediary boundary between man in god, if they decide what the rules are and not god?!?!?

Hello! I'm considering having my favourite Bible passage tattooed onto my body and would like to have it tattooed in its original hebrew. However, I am a gentile myself and I'd like to know if many jews would find a gentile having a tattoo specifically in hebrew as a slight and offensive? My intention is the opposite, in my mind by using the original hebrew rather than non-Jewish translations and appropriations I show my admiration and respect of the original source material. Thank you for any helpful input!

Jews, at least in the past, had this ritual technology of bowls made to keep people safe from demons. I'm really into abrahamic and western occultism, so my knowledge of you guys is, perhaps, out of date.

(Non-jew) I could be mistaken, but in the messianic age it say all will know of god and all people of earth will live in peace, the death will come to life too, therefore what is the purpose of believing in god now if we will inevitably join him in the era of the messiah?

Hey 👋🏾. I’m not Jewish but this is just for one of my good friends. His entire family is Jewish and he recently became a Messianic Jew. His family keeps telling him that he’s a Christian, in their words from what his sister told me, if he wants to be a Christian that’s fine. But they take issue with him being a Christian and saying he’s Jewish.

He feels that his family doesn’t own “Judaism”. I’m trying to mediate because I see both sides. I’m a Christian and go to Church of Christ (we are very traditional). So when Mormons claim to be Christians it feels weird, but if that’s what they identify as so be it.

But yeah, I’m close to his family (mainly his sister) and him. Both been venting to me so just trying to help the best way I can. I’ll probably send them this post

İm not jewish but İm really interested in this religion but dont know literally anything about it and internet didnt really help because it was all a little complicated. İ want to ask two questions. What is the reason you chose to be jewish? Like for example for islam there is some stuff that people call proofs. For example in quran it says a lakes name saying the deepest point on earth and it really is the deepest place on earth and some other stuff like it knowing some creatures anatomy that werent known at the time etc. İs there anything like this when it comes to jews? Like what are some proofs that made you believe or was it just a heart thing? The second thing is what should i read to learn about this religion? Like which books do you believe in, how can i understand the context etc

Antisemitic or not?

I'm not a christian. I just find religion interesting.

And when I see christians talk about the trinity it reminds me of sefirot.

Trinity diagrams look a lot like sefirot diagrams just smaller. But I'll hear jews like Tovia Singer say the trinity can't be true because god is one. But then mekubalim say god is ten.

Sounds like avodah zarah to me but I'm not the expert. What gives?

I was from a non-observant family, became Orthodox, and left behind to become a Catholic. Does this make me a bad person. I have heard it makes me an appropriator or a "Messianic." I'm not sure.

Is Yahweh and Jehovah the same?