Questions On Judaism

[Draupadi]

Here I go.

1. Why do some rabbis refuse to convert people?

2. Why can't a child be a Jew if the mother is not? I think the father is equally important since he also has given his gametes.

3. I knew that the Jews had a common culture. But do you all want a common nation too like Israel? Can a Jew be say Bangladeshi? I think my question is silly but I hear that the Jews want to identify as one nation. I just wanted to verify it.

4. Is Israel the land that God had promised the Jews in the Bible?

5. Why don't the Jews consider Jesus Christ as the Messiah other than for the fact that His teachings were completely different?

6. Did the Bible specify any particular time for the arrival of the Messiah? Why is he/she so important?

7. The Bible says that working on Sabbath days are forbidden because He had rested on this day after creation. What other reasons are there? Please mention extra-Biblical reasons if any.

Thank you.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

 

[LuisDantas]

Woud it be out of line to offer my best guesses to the answers so that you may correct me? I promise to be respectful and to try not to sound authoritative.

 

[Draupadi]

Am I so infamous in this forum for rudeness:sad4:? I am not here to debate Dantas but only question. I may ASK why the answer doesn't seem right with reasons, right? But not oppose them because it's a DIR.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Woud it be out of line to offer my best guesses to the answers so that you may correct me? I promise to be respectful and to try not to sound authoritative.

Yes - mostly because it would set an unacceptable precedent.

 

[LuisDantas]

Your house, your rules.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Am I so infamous in this forum for rudeness:sad4:? I am not here to debate Dantas but only question

The problem is that you did not ask a respectful question but a number of disparate questions, each of which would easily warrant a thread of its own with each of these individual threads being reruns of previous discussions.

 

[xkatz]

I'll answer two of these for the time being (and maybe the others later).

Here I go.

1. Why do some rabbis refuse to convert people?

It's a tradition to turn away a potential convert 3 times before the rabbi accepts the converts request. It's to make sure someone is truly committed to conversion and not interested for other reasons.

4. Is Israel the land that God had promised the Jews in the Bible?

Yes, but there are many orthodox who do not accept the current Israeli state as being valid in terms of bringing about the messiah or third temple.

 

[Draupadi]

OK how does disparate equal to disrespectful? If details can't be given then I am sure short answers can be possible. If my concepts are wrong then clarification is necessary right?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

OK how does disparate equal to disrespectful?

Where did I suggest that it was disrespectful?

 

[metis]

Here I go.

1. Why do some rabbis refuse to convert people?

I gotta be very brief.

Rabbis will accept converts, but only if one is educated in Judaism and has good reason to convert.

2. Why can't a child be a Jew if the mother is not? I think the father is equally important since he also has given his gametes.

Pretty much all religions have rules as to whom may be considered a member, and we're not an exception.

3. I knew that the Jews had a common culture. But do you all want a common nation too like Israel? Can a Jew be say Bangladeshi? I think my question is silly but I hear that the Jews want to identify as one nation. I just wanted to verify it.

Israel is our promised homeland according to the Bible.

4. Is Israel the land that God had promised the Jews in the Bible?

See above.

5. Why don't the Jews consider Jesus Christ as the Messiah other than for the fact that His teachings were completely different?

We believe he didn't fulfill the messianic prophecies.

6. Did the Bible specify any particular time for the arrival of the Messiah? Why is he/she so important?

No. And in Judaism, the concept of the messiah is actually fairly minor. The Covenant and the Law are considered far more important.

7. The Bible says that working on Sabbath days are forbidden because He had rested on this day after creation. What other reasons are there? Please mention extra-Biblical reasons if any.

Thank you.

The Biblical reasons are all that's needed. Even though I'm non-theistic, I still observe the Sabbath because I think we all need as day of rest, plus this is part of our tradition whereas we gather together.

Take care.

 

[Draupadi]

But you said that I asked a disrespectful question. How is that? Can you point out that question?

 

[CMike]

Here I go.

1. Why do some rabbis refuse to convert people?

Rabbis do convert people. However, we don't seek out people to convert.

There are a lot of responsbilities in being a jew.

2. Why can't a child be a Jew if the mother is not? I think the father is equally important since he also has given his gametes.

Tribal lineage goes solely by the biological father.

Someone is jewish if their mother is jewish or if they convert.

This is why...

Why Is Jewishness Matrilineal? - Questions & Answers

Why Is Jewishness Passed Down Through the Mother? - Celebrating Jewish Womanhood

3. I knew that the Jews had a common culture. But do you all want a common nation too like Israel? Can a Jew be say Bangladeshi? I think my question is silly but I hear that the Jews want to identify as one nation. I just wanted to verify it.

Israel is the jewish homeland. There are jews all over the world though. Almost all jewish prayers include a prayer for Israel.

There are ethopian jews, russsian jews, etc. Yes, there are jews out of Israel. However, each jew should yearn to be in Israel.

4. Is Israel the land that God had promised the Jews in the Bible?

Yes.

5. Why don't the Jews consider Jesus Christ as the Messiah other than for the fact that His teachings were completely different?

He didn't fulfill the messianic prophesies. Some are in Michah 4:3 and Ezekiel 37.

Some of them are

• World peace
• All the jews wil come to Israel
• All the jews will stay in Israel
• A descendent of David (tribal lineage goes soley by the biological father)
• The temple in jerusalem will be rebuilt and stand forever
• All nations will worship one G-D.

6. Did the Bible specify any particular time for the arrival of the Messiah? Why is he/she so important??

Date of Mashiach's Coming - Mashiach in Jewish Law

The Messianic Era - Mashiach in Jewish Law

7. The Bible says that working on Sabbath days are forbidden because He had rested on this day after creation. What other reasons are there? Please mention extra-Biblical reasons if any.

Thank you.

What is Shabbat? - Shabbat

1: A Day of Rest - Shabbat Rest Wizard

 

[CMike]

Am I so infamous in this forum for rudeness:sad4:? I am not here to debate Dantas but only question. I may ASK why the answer doesn't seem right with reasons, right? But not oppose them because it's a DIR.

Your questions were very respectful.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

But you said that I asked a disrespectful question.

Where?

 

[CMike]

I'll
Yes, but there are many orthodox who do not accept the current Israeli state as being valid in terms of bringing about the messiah or third temple.

I wouldn't say many.

They are a small minority.

 

[CMike]

Woud it be out of line to offer my best guesses to the answers so that you may correct me? I promise to be respectful and to try not to sound authoritative.

Why make guesses?

 

[Draupadi]

Where?

Sorry I misunderstood your sentence. I do that occasionally. :sorry1:

 

[Flankerl]

1. Why do some rabbis refuse to convert people?

See xkatz's answer.

2. Why can't a child be a Jew if the mother is not? I think the father is equally important since he also has given his gametes.

The practical answer would be that you always know who the mother is but not always who's the father.

3. I knew that the Jews had a common culture. But do you all want a common nation too like Israel? Can a Jew be say Bangladeshi? I think my question is silly but I hear that the Jews want to identify as one nation. I just wanted to verify it.

Well we Jews, Israelites, members of the Tribes have been a nation far longer than the modern concept of Nationalism even exists.

So yeah we are a Nation but different from the modern idea of Nationalism.

4. Is Israel the land that God had promised the Jews in the Bible?

Depends what you mean by Israel as it refers to quite some things.
There was a dude named Israel.
Who had offspring which are called Israel.
Settled in an area called Israel.
Founded a Kingdom which was called Israel.
And of course the modern State of Israel.

So which do you mean?

5. Why don't the Jews consider Jesus Christ as the Messiah other than for the fact that His teachings were completely different?

The person called Jesus didnt fulfill the criteria to qualify as Moshiach.

6. Did the Bible specify any particular time for the arrival of the Messiah? Why is he/she so important?

Nope. There are those who think it will happen in the Year 6000(if i remember correctly), so just 226 years left. If remember again correctly the reasoning was/is that Hashem then realizes that we are all utter failures for not achieving Tikkun Olam that he just forces it upon us.

But i find that ridiculous.

7. The Bible says that working on Sabbath days are forbidden because He had rested on this day after creation. What other reasons are there? Please mention extra-Biblical reasons if any.

Shemot - Exodus - Chapter 20
9. Six days may you work and perform all your labor,

10. but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord, your God; you shall perform no labor, neither you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your beast, nor your stranger who is in your cities.

11. For [in] six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Sorry I misunderstood your sentence. I do that occasionally. :sorry1:

May I ask which sentence. Perhaps it was poorly worded.