Posted on 11/19/2005 3:40:09 PM PST by Alouette
#2. At least half those who belong to Reform congregations are not actually Jewish.
'Kabbalah' means 'that which is received'. Specifically, it usually refers to the collected teachings of Isaac Luria. Hassidism (Chabad/Lubavitch is the most well known branch of Hassidism) is practical applied kabbalah.
It is difficult to find traditional Jewish literature that does not make reference to kabbalistic concepts.
Kabbalah as an inseparable part of Judaism is not the same as the Hollywood mysticism which uses the same name.
Nice post.
Budziszewski and Johnson, both very good choices. I'd also toss in Charles Rice's book 50 Questions on the Natural Law: What It Is and Why We Need It along with pretty much everything on this fellow's Amazon list on the Moral Law .
Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism. Technically, though, because of the potential for spiritual corruption, you are not supposed to study it unless you are a 40 year old + religious male. It contains truths that are dangerous is improperly understood, or abused. It is an important part of Judaism, but not for the idly curious. At least in theory. Names of angels, or the nature of physical manifestations of evil are not appropriate for everyone to study.
If you want an example of the harm it can do in the wrong hands, just look at many occultist and New Age practices of sorcery. Many beliefs and practices stem from improper use and abuse of Kabbalah.
In the right hands, it's a very helpful, perhaps even critical, tool for a deep understanding of Judeo-Christian beliefs. So much so that the Catholic Church and many faithful Christians take a look at it to get a better grip on their own faith.
My favourite food. ;) BBQ beef ribs, Lexington style.
Well put. Karaites are rare. There's probably only about 50, 000 worldwide, if that. They are generally accepted as Jews, although outsiders may not see them as Jews (Nazis didn't, interestingly enough). There are a couple out there.
Another interesting example is that the Greek Jews use the Jerusalem Talmud, as opposed to the Babylonian Talmud.
But as rmlew said, if you believe Jesus was the son of G-d, or the Messiah, you are a Christian. Which is fine and good, but it's not the same as being a Jew.
Judaism's beliefs are very clearly laid out, and given there aren't that many of us anyways, and it's pretty flexible in terms of orthodoxy, the official branches just basically are classified by degree of orthodoxy.
This man is a liar. I don't know of any religous leader who has claimed to have a monopoly on God. He needs to be challenged and made to name names. Then, the fireworks would get interesting.
The audience of 5,000 responded to the speech with enthusiastic applause.
Numbskulls who have to be told what to think are always enthusiastic about being told what to think.
Most of the "hateful rhetoric" I've heard the last few years has been from the leftwing thugs and footsoldiers, including "liberal theologians."
And Orthodox Jews have some of the highest retention rates, and the congregations are actually growing. There's a simple reason for this... In my experience, nearly every reform Jew I know only participates because it's what their family's always done. I once asked my late uncle why he bothers to go to synagogue at all, since in his words, "religion is nothing but bulls**t!" He said that he went in honor of his mother and father, who were religious. My Aunt continues to go, but she seems to treat services as a social event, chatting with everyone around her. From some younger families, I would get an answer of "we go for our children, so they get a religious education." And once the children are grown, they often stop going (as mentioned in the article). Quite often, those children really aren't observant at all.
I guess my observations have shown me that in many cases, Reform Jews do not observe their religion for G-d, or for themselves, but for other people. I realize that this sweeping statement is NOT the case for all Reform Jews, but for many that I've known over the years. And they're the one's that this article seems to be mentioning in regards to losing interest in Judaism.
It's no wonder, since from this perspective that Judaism holds no interest for themselves, only for others.
Mark
They have abandoned Torah, although they might give occasional lip service
Rabbi Daniel Lapin had the best explanation for this that I've ever read, and it was posted in a thread here...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1519058/posts
Mark
My Grandfather, who was Orthodox, had nothing but contempt for Reform Jews. When asked why he didn't like them, he would simply answer, "why can't they just be honest Christians?"
Mark
From where did you get this notion that the Catholic Church has taken a look at Kabbalah in order to get a better grip Her faith?
I am sorry you found my words so offensive. I expected a lot of outcry from non-Orthodox Jews, but not from a Confederate.
It is a simple fact that the Jews are a nation in exile, not a "religious denomination." If you will read your Bible (the front of it at any rate) you will see that G-d established a covenant with the Nation of Israel based on the Torah, and you will see that the Torah establishes a Theocratic government and mandates the death penalty for a wide number of offenses (even though the criteria for carrying it out are very stringent).
Up until the modern "enlightenment" nonsense of the past three hundred years the Jews were recognized as as sovereign nation in exile rather than just another "religious denomination" in a multireligious secular state (the multireligious secular state is a recent institution). During the Middle Ages the sovereignty of the Jewish community under its legitimate rulers was recognized, and with the permission of the host nation, those authorities still had the authority to execute the death penalty under certain conditions.
You are angry with me for being sick and tired of @$$holes like Yoffie and Foxman speaking as "rabbis" and "Jewish leaders" and wanting them subject to legitimate Jewish authority? What are you, some sort of Jacobin?
As to Baptists and Lutherans having such authority, I begin to suspect that you know very little about religion. The religion of Baptists and Lutherans, unlike that of Jews, is purely salvational with no legal element whatsoever. In fact, since the days of Martin Luther Protestants have been absolutely dependent on the secular authorities to execute G-d's laws in the state (and those laws have absolutely no bearing on salvation whatsoever according to Protestant theology), while the churches are devoted only to the salvation of the soul. This is one reason Protestants are so devastated by leftist governments--they have no mediating legal/communal structure to stand between them and the secualr state.
A Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or Halakhically converted to Judaism, regardless of belief or lack of it. If atheists, b*ddhists, and pagans can be Halakhically Jewish I see no reason why that adjective should be denied to "Hebrew chr*stians."
I am aware of all the other things you said. However, my point was that Qara'im and other small-o "orthodox" heresies are never included in the "branches of Judaism," which always consist of Orthodoxy smothered by liberals.
I once met a young man who believed the Written Torah was from Heaven but who rejected the rest of the Bible (as well as the Oral Torah) and even rejected the doctrine of an afterlife. While he certainly was not an Orthodox Jew, I fail to see why his belief system failed to qualify as a "branch of Judaism" just as much as "reform," "reconstructionism," and "secular humanistic Judaism."
I am not a chr*stian and I do not accept "Jews for J*sus" as orthodox Jews. I merely point out that being born of a Jewish mother makes one a Jew according to Halakhah, and to make apostasy to chr*stianity the one and only occasion when a Jew is "declassified" is not only hypocritical but feeds anti-Semitic stereotypes about "Jews not caring what you believe so long as you are not a chr*stian."
I am afraid that Jews will never understand why Fundamentalist chr*stians cannot see the parallel between Jews for J*sus and chr*stians for Mohammed. The Fundamentalist Protestant notion of Judaism and chr*stianity being in fact a single religion (with chr*stians as "completed Jews," G-d forbid) stems from the Protestant Bible. Because the only thing that separates the TaNa"KH from the "new testament" is the turn of a few pages, because the Bible has no commentary printed with it to explain anything, because this is the only bible the Fundamentalist Protestant has ever known, he simply cannot fathom the idea that the "new testament" doesn't really belong. He deals with the contradictions between "the two testaments" with the same attitude that devout Jews have with regard to "contradictions" between the Sages: 'Ellue va'ellu divrei-'Eloqim Chayyim. Chr*stians are "completed Jews" because they have the "completed Bible." "Why did you people tear the "new testament" out, anyway?" [/sarcasm]
Fundamentalist Protestants do not understand the comparsion with moslems being "completed chr*stians" because Mohammed didn't tack the koran onto the chr*stian bible to "complete it." If he had, all these "Bible-believing chr*stians" might be "bible-believing moslems" today.
Please see my responses to rmlew on the same issue.
If I were a chr*stian I'd be very, very confused to learn that being a chr*stian is "fine and good" but that no Jew must ever be one.
Why not just come out and say that Jews are supposed to be Jews and non-Jews are supposed to be Noachides and that chr*stianity and other religions invented by men aren't really that "fine and good" after all?
Interesting. Thanks.
Interesting, I’ve never studied Islam. Although ideological and religious differences form varying moral codes, Objectivists judge individuals by their actions rather than their thoughts.
Right on!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.