the Unofficial "Ask the Jew" thread...

[Kratos]

thanks for single-handedly fukking up my thread kratos

o, and the ash tray quip - classy

my bad scibble, you know how I like to whore and I had a few beers...I'll stop now and you can go back to important business

[higherdesire]

When you say WE does that include the Messianic Jews? Or do you mean just the Orthodox Jews? Additionally, sincce the prophetic text contained in the types and shadow writings of the Canonical texts point to a Messiah, do you (Orthodox Jews) then believe that is yet to pass? Why do you hide the middle loaf during the passover feast? THanks.

I didn't realize that I used "WE". I try to avoid that because it implies "all of us."

Anyway, i am referring to orthodox jews. The term messianic jews often refers to jews who believe in jesus, which...dont even ask, the concept is completely ridiculous to myself and most other jews.

but orthodox jews generally believe that the messiah will one day come and initiate the gathering of all jews in israel, then the resurrection of the dead and so on.

here is a cut n paste:" The afikoman (what the part of the middle matza that is hidden is called) custom is explained in various ways. Some say it commemorates the slave mentality of the Israelites in Ancient Egypt. Not knowing where his next meal will come from, a slave will hide away part of his food to eat later. Another interpretation is that the afikoman recalls the poverty of the Jews in Egypt. Like the poor, they always had only a piece of bread, never a whole loaf. According to one explanation, the middle matza is broken into two pieces to symbolize the bread of affliction that the Jews ate in Egypt versus the bread of freedom after the exodus. According to another, splitting the matza recalls the splitting of the Red Sea."

This is typical of Jewish customs. there are often many different interpretations, some of them mystical.

The following explanation is taken from Artscroll, Mesorah Publications, universally considered authoritative by orthodox jews:

"In the Seder [passover ritual] the eating of the afikoman is called Tzafun ["hidden"]. In its plain meaning, this title indicates that the afikoman had been safely hidden away so that it could be eaten at this oint in the meal [Sefer HaToda'ah - an authoritative treatise regarding passover ].

The medieval commentator Rokeach suggests that the custom for the head of the house to place the afikoman under his pillow is alluded to in the verse, How abundant is Your goodness which You have hidden away for those who fear You (Psalms 31:20). This refers to the reward "hidden away" for the God-fearing in the World to Come."[/QUOTE]


So there is no clear explanation for part of the Passover? I have studied a little myself from a different perspective perhaps. I heard one Rabbi explain it as it was to symbolize Jesus in the tomb for three days, and the breaking of it was to symbolize the prophesy that the His body would be broken for His people. Have you heard that theory? I am not asking if you believe it as I feel I know that answer to that, and this is not a challenge. I am just trying to see how well rounded your inforamtion giving will be or if there is an agenda. I truly appreciate the opportunity to ask this as I have never asked anyone since I heard it. Shaloam Alikhim.

[scibble]

So there is no clear explanation for part of the Passover? I have studied a little myself from a different perspective perhaps. I heard one Rabbi explain it as it was to symbolize Jesus in the tomb for three days, and the breaking of it was to symbolize the prophesy that the His body would be broken for His people. Have you heard that theory? I am not asking if you believe it as I feel I know that answer to that, and this is not a challenge. I am just trying to see how well rounded your inforamtion giving will be or if there is an agenda. I truly appreciate the opportunity to ask this as I have never asked anyone since I heard it. Shaloam Alikhim.

When it comes to Jewish LAWS, there are always clear explanations, even if sometimes the explanation is just simply "the bible says so".

But hiding this matza is a custom. As such, it does not have the same weight as a law. Many parts of the Passover have very detailed laws, but this is not one.

That which you speak of is an explanation given by a "Rabbi" of Jews for Jesus, that is not an actual rabbi. Believe me, I have heard of several groups who trick young people into thinking they are learning about jews only to really be invited to believe in Jesus. Those "Jews" are imposters who will use any means to attract unaffiliated Jews away from their faith.

[scibble]

Oh, and I should say that everyone has a bias. That is inevitable. But I certainly have no agenda other than to help people understand Judaism. I feel that I am being quite objective. If something I post gives you doubt, feel free to call me on it.

[higherdesire]

When it comes to Jewish LAWS, there are always clear explanations, even if sometimes the explanation is just simply "the bible says so".

But hiding this matza is a custom. As such, it does not have the same weight as a law. Many parts of the Passover have very detailed laws, but this is not one.

That which you speak of is an explanation given by a "Rabbi" of Jews for Jesus, that is not an actual rabbi. Believe me, I have heard of several groups who trick young people into thinking they are learning about jews only to really be invited to believe in Jesus. Those "Jews" are imposters who will use any means to attract unaffiliated Jews away from their faith.

Thanks. Yes there are many imposters in every religion. Most are trying to use the word of God to promote thier own belief as opposed to trying to sincerely seek the truth in Its fullness. By the way, isn;t Jewish a race not a religion? Like African or Caucasian? Good thread bro.

[higherdesire]

Oh, and I should say that everyone has a bias. That is inevitable. But I certainly have no agenda other than to help people understand Judaism. I feel that I am being quite objective. If something I post gives you doubt, feel free to call me on it.

I believe you are sincere. Thanks for the invite.

[scibble]

Thanks. Yes there are many imposters in every religion. Most are trying to use the word of God to promote thier own belief as opposed to trying to sincerely seek the truth in Its fullness. By the way, isn;t Jewish a race not a religion? Like African or Caucasian? Good thread bro.

thank you hd.

well, it's actually a religion. i cannot convert to become an african (though i could get a perm and take lots of melanotan LOL)

however, it is a religion started by a specific race of people who did not prosthyletize (sp?) and, conversion aside, is considered passed on through matrilineage. I know that is kind of paradoxical. I mean, some Jews have convert to other religions but they are still the same race. There are a lot of Jewish negros who converted to Judaism, but they are still black...you get my drift...

i think the racial interpretation is either used by some jews to validate their right to live in Israel, or alternatively but some racist groups.

[higherdesire]

Actually my question speaks to race specifically. i know you addressed that but what I am saying is that you can be Jewish and be an athiest or anything else, just the same as american or african. Isn;t the religion actually Judaism? believing in another religion doesn;t negate one's racial heritage. And if this is true, about the race part, then a jew has no faith to abandon and the statement you made earlier "Those "Jews" are imposters who will use any means to attract unaffiliated Jews away from their faith."
It is a very complex issue. If you have to be Jewish then you would have to be born into the faith throught the martilineage as you stated and there can be no converts. I can;t convert to Africanism. Or is it that one has to choose Judaism personally, no matter where they are born? It is confusing.

[scibble]

Actually my question speaks to race specifically. i know you addressed that but what I am saying is that you can be Jewish and be an athiest or anything else, just the same as american or african. Isn;t the religion actually Judaism? believing in another religion doesn;t negate one's racial heritage. And if this is true, about the race part, then a jew has no faith to abandon and the statement you made earlier "Those "Jews" are imposters who will use any means to attract unaffiliated Jews away from their faith."
It is a very complex issue. If you have to be Jewish then you would have to be born into the faith throught the martilineage as you stated and there can be no converts. I can;t convert to Africanism. Or is it that one has to choose Judaism personally, no matter where they are born? It is confusing.

you're right it is difficult. i suppose it depends upon who you ask since we are putting different opinions from different people together.

an orthodox jew would say that judaism is both a race and a religion and that when you convert, you effectively have joined the race (even though that's a head scratcher to be sure). the ortho jew would also say that a jew is always a jew. if he or she converts out it is invalid. he is still a jew, just non-observant. that's THAT perspective.

if you ask an unaffiliated Jew (and I mean someone who is born as a jew as considered by the community he was born into) if he/she is a Jew he will give the reponse based upon his own opinion. if very strongly anti-religious he will say he is an atheist. but if he feels an emotional or cultural attachment in spite of his views he may say he is "jewish".

I use the term in two ways: Jewish can mean someone born to a Jewish mother, i.e. Jewish law considers him Jewish. or (2) someone who considers himself jewish based upon conversion. I think clarifying which meaning one uses each time is the only way to remove the confusion.

[scibble]

In my statement above: "Those "Jews" are imposters who will use any means to attract unaffiliated Jews away from their faith," the first instance of "Jews" was placed in quotes to indicate that they appear to be but are not necessarily Jews at all, could be yes, could be no, but they dress and behave as orthodox to trick people. the second time i used the word Jews was in the sense of def. no. 1 in my previous post.

[higherdesire]

Last one, who was the man everyone calls Jesus? We know he existed, was he a prophet or just a rock star? Any beliefs in Judiasm? Is he acknowledged at all?

[higherdesire]

In my statement above: "Those "Jews" are imposters who will use any means to attract unaffiliated Jews away from their faith," the first instance of "Jews" was placed in quotes to indicate that they appear to be but are not necessarily Jews at all, could be yes, could be no, but they dress and behave as orthodox to trick people. the second time i used the word Jews was in the sense of def. no. 1 in my previous post.

word to da herd

[scibble]

Last one, who was the man everyone calls Jesus? We know he existed, was he a prophet or just a rock star? Any beliefs in Judiasm? Is he acknowledged at all?

Judaism generally believes there maybe was a real dude who was a rock star, but easily there was no such dude. Generally they dont acknowledge that concept. If there was, he was undeniably Jewish and observant; a lot of people dont know that. Afterall, people who believe that he existed look at the painting of the last supper and say that this is a picture of a passover meal. afterall, that's when he died.

[higherdesire]

Judaism generally believes there maybe was a real dude who was a rock star, but easily there was no such dude. Generally they dont acknowledge that concept. If there was, he was undeniably Jewish and observant; a lot of people dont know that. Afterall, people who believe that he existed look at the painting of the last supper and say that this is a picture of a passover meal. afterall, that's when he died.

Absolutley Jewish. Hey thanks for putting up with me tonight. i am out on the thread from here on. Peace be unto you and mercy and blessings, so be it.

[JiGGaMaN]

I am jewish as well, shalom aleichem scibble.

[T_Own]

kratos wow hahaha

scibble, have you ever thought of chrismukkah?

[scibble]

Absolutley Jewish. Hey thanks for putting up with me tonight. i am out on the thread from here on. Peace be unto you and mercy and blessings, so be it.

it was great talking to you bro

I am jewish as well, shalom aleichem scibble.

aleichem shalom... lol, never would've guessed.

good night all, going to bed with my flu symptoms, chattering teeth, fever, bodyaches, hoping i can improve by the morning and get to work

[scibble]

kratos wow hahaha

scibble, have you ever thought of chrismukkah?

yeah, when i was a small child, we basically had chrismukkah LOL

had a tree and presents under the tree and a menorah, and i had a stocking with a cool santa doll popping out of it...i was three .

[FallenWyvern]

Is it possible to be anti Israel with out being anti semitic?

[scibble]

Is it possible to be anti Israel with out being anti semitic?

most def. there are VERY religious jews (certain sects) who are anti-israel, but i know they're not anti-semitic. like the nekunay karta (sp?) who actually met personally with achmajinazad (sorry, cant spell his name) in iran to show their support against israel.

so yeah, i'm not put off if someone is anti-israel. that's a political stance. i mean even many israelis are against israeli government actions.

[JDawg1536]

Why did some dooshbag named c**los delete the last thread I started discussing Judaism? And what are you, a race, religion, or ethnicity?

[scibble]

Why did some dooshbag named c**los delete the last thread I started discussing Judaism? And what are you, a race, religion, or ethnicity?

he did that to a lot of threads and now he's eased up on us....

i appreciate your question. look a few posts up and you'll see i attempted to answer that question; in short i stated that it depends on who you ask. since i am not a convert, i have the matrilineage extending to infinity (LOL) years ago, so orthodox jews would say i am racially a jew. i practice to an extent the religion, which again, orthodox jews believe is an obligation of every jew. it's that belief of obligation that blurs the line between relig and race. ethnicity? that description is only used by racial jews who do not observe the religion much but follow customs passed to them. so i say race and religion.

[Deltasaurus]

Do u have anymore good jewish jokes your willing to share?

and what is a great kosher or traditional Jewish dish u recommend?

-AJ

[scibble]

Do u have anymore good jewish jokes your willing to share?

and what is a great kosher or traditional Jewish dish u recommend?

-AJ

honestly, i dont know anymore that i can think of. i'm terrible at remember ANY kinds of jokes anyway. some of the funniest stuff in the world on jews is by Woody Allen. Jackie Mason brought me to tears with his schtick on youtube making fun of Starbucks.

food: nothing beats a well-cooked brisket with potatoes, nothing!
a well made cholent (beef and barley stew with a tradition at least since medieval times) is also excellent stuff. I cant afford to make brisket most of the time. Buying such a quality large piece of Kosher beef is very expensive.

turkish jews , moroccan jews, and other eastern varieties have different cuisines. i'm descended from central european call Ashkenazi, that's what people typically think of when they think jewish cooking.

(i cant sleep, i'm taking another xanax...)

[T_Own]

yeah, when i was a small child, we basically had chrismukkah LOL

had a tree and presents under the tree and a menorah, and i had a stocking with a cool santa doll popping out of it...i was three .

ahh yes haha, well if you've ever seen The OC, they do that.
described as: eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents

[scibble]

ahh yes haha, well if you've ever seen The OC, they do that.
described as: eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents

never saw it. but yeah, a lot of jews in mixed marriages dont want to deny their kids the pleasures of christmas that the other kids enjoy.

[BuffedGuy]

Hey Scibble,

You're doing a great job. Can you tell me: I have heard that one cannot convert to Judaism, but I read a Jewish book--written by a Reform Jew (at least I think he was)--which negates that idea.

So what's the deal? Can you convert to Judaism or not?

Thanks.

[scibble]

Hey Scibble,

You're doing a great job. Can you tell me: I have heard that one cannot convert to Judaism, but I read a Jewish book--written by a Reform Jew (at least I think he was)--which negates that idea.

So what's the deal? Can you convert to Judaism or not?

Thanks.

that's an easy one! There is no doubt. Even in the bible and Talmud converts are mentioned profusely. I know many converts around my area of many original ethnicities and these conversions were accepted by very right-wing orthodoxy. orthodox jewish rabbis however will not accept a conversion as valid if performed by a non-orthodox rabbi.

and thank you!

[BuffedGuy]

that's an easy one! There is no doubt. Even in the bible and Talmud converts are mentioned profusely. I know many converts around my area of many original ethnicities and these conversions were accepted by very right-wing orthodoxy. orthodox jewish rabbis however will not accept a conversion as valid if performed by a non-orthodox rabbi.

and thank you!

It's truly amazing how many myths and misconceptions circulate, is it not?

Thanks for the clarification.

EDIT: Oh yeah, so--if someone converts to Judaism, then does he become one from the Chosen Race/People? Or is that only if you can trace back your lineage maternally?

[scibble]

happy to do it!

interestingly though, there is an accepted tradition not to prosthyletize. Jews do not try to make people convert. and when someone wants to convert, many orthodox rabbis kind of lightly discourage them from time to time, because during the process of learning and taking classes and so on , they want to make sure that the candidate is truly devoted to his goal of conversion, and so to weed out people who are not having the perseverance and dedication to stick with it.

[scibble]

Oh yeah, so--if someone converts to Judaism, then does he become one from the Chosen Race/People? Or is that only if you can trace back your lineage maternally?

they are viewed as joining the congregation of souls who were present when the torah was given by G-d, and therefore become one of the race.

there are many many mystical ideas like this in judaism...

[peachfuzz]

How has being an MD and the process of becoming one tested or strengthened your faith? certainly you have come across irrefutable science that has gone against your religous beliefs...

seems as tho the more i educate myself. the more my faith is tested...

[inky-e]

Why did your people kill Jesus?

[Dukkit]

are jewish girls the best at sex! ?

no

ive dated and banged a handful of them. and only one was amazing. after a year of teaching her to be that amazing.

the rest were nothing special

[run_n_fool]

never saw it. but yeah, a lot of jews in mixed marriages dont want to deny their kids the pleasures of christmas that the other kids enjoy.

Christmas in the US is more cultural than religious anyway.

Thanks for the replies on a kosher diet. back in the day my roomie basically answered in the same way but I just figured he didn't know (he was quite ignorant in a lot of respects).

[run_n_fool]

Is it common for ethnic jews (for lack of a better term) to look down or be prejudice against converts?

["Maximus"]

Why the name of God cannot be used by modern-day Jews, when one can find God's name (the Tetragramaton (sp?)) in the orgininal/older scripts? And how it became a custom by the majority of biblical scribes/copyist to basically ban His name and refuse to use it? For example, would you rather like to be known as "Scibble" or as the AR's MD? Which basically anyone could be categorized as you, as long as such person holds an MD degree.

[scibble]

How has being an MD and the process of becoming one tested or strengthened your faith? certainly you have come across irrefutable science that has gone against your religous beliefs...

seems as tho the more i educate myself. the more my faith is tested...

it can go the reverse way. learning about the human body unveils a world hidden from the eye which is so complex and wondrous, so unbelieveably miraculous, that the resulting awe lends credibility that such must have been brought about by forces greater than that found in worldly experience.

but because of my upbringing, i've never been really very faithful. i've always had an attitude of agnosticism regarding the fundamental questions. i does not make much sense in my mind to believe anything that can never be proven or disproven. so even when practicing i've just accepted certain ideas as premising upon which to practice. i also think that there are certain truths about human nature which cannot be explained scientifically - and therefore the spiritual paradigm is often better suited to incorporating facts of human nature and making some sense of them, and providing a direction for understanding and directing them into a meaningful life. i can therefore typify my own involvement in religion as racial-ethnic-identity maintenance and spiritual utilitarianism, a screwball term i just now made up to say that following the religion of my ancestors serves certain practical purposes and therefore i follow it even as a skeptic. make any sense?

nothing in becoming or being a doctor has hindered my spirituality, in fact, the reverse.

[scibble]

Why did your people kill Jesus?

i'm wondering whether your having fun at my expense or serious. i see you as a person who is more intelligent than this question suggests; and given that the several times i've communicated with you recently you've ignored me leans me to think the former is true.

but to be fair, i'll answer it. The saying that Jews killed Jesus is one of the many stories propagated by Jew-haters since medieval times to rile up crowds of peasants so they could run amuck and kill families of Jews living in or near their towns. There is no truth to it, but is very effective in manipulating the hatred of people. Many of the latin countries, including Cuba, are still rife with this popular belief.

[Dukkit]

scibbles back at it

ive been reading this thread with great interest my friend

lots of things i never knew

has changed my understanding of the jewish culture and specifically my attitude to the snobby, arrogant jews that run my town