Ask a Jew

[Olofelefant]

Is this a rhetoric question?

If this is not an answer. Something like that.

 

[Duruznik]

So how do you feel about the offering animals to god stuff ? I am assuming it was important until it was banned. (who banned it btw ?)

Also I remember reading before that some holiday you guys celibrate was actually a cover up for you siding with the Romans against the Greeks, then the Romans screwed you over is that true ?

The animal sacrifices were preformed during the old testiment times, up until the destruction of the second temple around 70 AD. Since then, no more scrifices were done. In theory, if a 3rd temple is ever built, the sacrifices would start again, though I doubt it will ever happen.

As for the Romans and the Greeks, I think you were misinformed. Hannukka is in celebration of the successful rebellion against the Greeks and the miracle of the oil lamp (it lasted 7 days longer than it should've). We also have a small holiday called Lag Ba'Omer, usually in May, during which we make bonfires. It's a way of marking the failed rebellion which happened against the Romans a long time down the line from the rebellion against the Greeks (I think it was more than a century, but I'm not sure).

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

I don't have a problem with religious jews, but the fact that some of the don't consider me a jew, because I'm not jewish is an issue
as for the second question look up a little and you'll get all the answer you'll need

This makes no sense. What is your affiliation and why do you consider yourself Jewish but others do not?

It complicated, but the same could be said for me. The OP said he didnt want to talk about it though. I has to do with being an ethinic Jew and one that constantly goes to Temple. Like people in America who say that they're Christian and then the ones who actually are. Except because of the smaller over all Jewish population, some feel that each Jew should do his best to preserve the race, and thus get angry at the cultral Jews because... You knwo what, Im not gonna get into it.

 

[crazypsyko666]

[small]I don't see this ending well, but what the hey.[/small]

Do you really receive multiple days of gift giving during Hanukkah?

How does that work compared to Christmas?

Most people forget the actual significance of Channukah was the invention of Guerilla warfare. The candle thing was just a 'miracle' to get the kids excited about it, but really it was about the Macabee's family (almost like a clan, really) going to war against a splinter faction of the Hellenist Greeks and winning.

 

[Duruznik]

[small]I don't see this ending well, but what the hey.[/small]

Do you really receive multiple days of gift giving during Hanukkah?

How does that work compared to Christmas?

Most people forget the actual significance of Channukah was the invention of Guerilla warfare. The candle thing was just a 'miracle' to get the kids excited about it, but really it was about the Macabee's family (almost like a clan, really) going to war against a splinter faction of the Hellenist Greeks and winning.

Actually, the original point was to celebrate the miracle of the oil lamp lasting for 8 days instead of 1. The heroic rebellion as a whole was there too, but it wasn't as big a deal until the Zionist movement wanted to give the holiday a more modern relevance during th eearly 20th century.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Do Jews have any respect for Islam??

In addtition to what the other guy said, according to the Bible the founder of the Arab tribes was the son of Abraham. Abraham had two wives, Sarah and Hecuba. Sarah was barren, so she told Abraham to have a child wuth Hecuba. This child was Ishmael (I think, not too sure on his name) Soon though, God gave Sarah fertility and she and Abraham had a child, Isaac. We all know Isaac's story. After that God told Abraham to cast out Hecuba and Ishmael. Abraham really didnt want to, but God said he would take care of them. So with a heavy heart Abraham sent them into the wilderness. Long story short, Hecuba and Ishmael almost die, God puts them near a well, Ishmael goes on to be the leader of teh first Arabs. While Isaac goes onto lead teh first Jews. This stroy is also present in the Koran (I believe, this next part was told to me by my Hebrew School teacher) but they say that Abraham kept Ishmael and cast out Isaac. Or somehting like that. So, with a rounding logic, Islam was created by an Arab, who we are technically blood cousins with. So we have a respect for Islam.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Can Jews really only find partners through a "matchmaker"? That seems terribly... restricting.

No. Matchmakers were common in pretty much all cultures at one point. They are still make a good business in the Orthodox community, and while not orthodox, I almost got talked into using one myself.

Jewish matchmakers are no different than a good dating service. The look into what you are looking for in a partner, and try to match you up. At least one in person meeting is required before an engagment may be considered (and of course you can meet/talk as much as you like, just like any other way of being set up).

Two of my observant orthodox cousins used a matchmaker. One was such a shy guy he'd have probably never meet a girl otherwise, and the other frankly did so because her standards were so high she couldn't find someone who met them within the community. Both marriages have worked out wonderfully and they really were people that completed each other.

Edit: Also, what's the deal with circumcision? Is it meant to represent your submission to God?

No. We are told it is simply an outward token/reminder of our contract with God.

That wasn't the only reminder we were given, we were told in several ways to use tokens to remind us (and the history of the Jewish people shows we need reminders lol), that's just the only one in our flesh.

But why circumcision in particular? I mean, I don't want to be offensive or anything, but is it backed up by some idea that next time you feel like beating your meat or sleeping with someone, you'll look down at the little guy and think "oh shit, that's right, god is watching me. Nearly forgot" because if not, then why can't, say, a tattoo or something like that fit the bill?

Short answer:Abraham did it.

Long Answer:Abraham, at age 90 something, was wandering around in the desert. God spoke to him and said "You shall circumsize your self with a sharp rock" And so Abraham circumsized himself at age 90 something with a sharp rock. And it was a sign of his convenant with god. And what the other guys said about cleanliness and sand in the desert. Uggh... I shudder to think of it. I remember my younger brother's "Brisk", the ceremony of circumcision. It was rather like a house party.

EDIT:I'm not sure exactley where it is in the bible, but its in there. I havent looked at a text in the longest time, but I have a good memory. So, not to sling shit about the guy above me, but this is why we circumsize.

 

[rutger5000]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

 

[Pecoros7]

Yes. They are our brothers. Except for the last 60 years, we have gotten along better with them than pretty much anyone else in our history. We both have edicts telling us to respect each other. Our traditions are very close on the core religious beliefs. It is well established in Jewish law that converting to Christianity, even as a farce, is considered an (almost?) unforgivable sin, but the same is not true of conversion to Islam. One of our greatest thinkers commented that conversion to Islam is not a good thing, but is a forgivable sin. That's a rather stark difference.

I'm curious; is this because of lingering animosity between Jews and Christians over (often brutal) oppression or because Christianity is seen as heretical? Many Christians I know view Judaism as their spiritual heritage and presume a kinship with Jews. I can certainly see why Jews would not feel the same, I'm just wondering why they don't specifically.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

Depends. How dead do you want your enemy? Do you consider efficency an art? It depends on your definition. If you think art is killing your enemy in the most efficient, fastest, and least dangerous to you way possible, then yes it is an art. If you're thinking of techniques, forms, and other things like that, I cant really comment because I dont know Krav Maga but I think the answer is no.

 

[Kadoodle]

Do you consider yourself jewish through religion or ethnicity?
Do you consider other jews from differing nations to be of the same race or religion as you?

I ask because often you see jews portrayed as a race of people and not a group of people with the same beliefs like most other religions are.

You can be jewish through either, so, consider yourself jewish through whichever is true to you? If you are a black Christian, what do you consider yourself, a black Christian through race or through religion? You can have someone of jewish heritage and be a devout Hindu.

As Bioshocked has stated though, you need to define the difference between the race (ethnicity) and the religion. Its rare that the two are intermingled, and no other religion is so firmly intwined. But there is significant difference.

What's the meaning and significance of those little hats? They barely cover the top of the scalp and I've seen them being taken off more than I've seen them on heads.

I know there's a word for them...

The yarmulke (pronounced ya-ma-ka) is worn by Orthodox Jews to permenantly cover your head. It is to signify the separation between God and man (more or less, alot more to it than that). Its actually not that interesting. Whats more interesting is the squaring of the head with leaving hair uncut (those jewish curls people notice? Thats actually a thing). Where do you think middle-eastern turbans come from?

Yamulkah is the yiddish word. Also used is the word "Keepah" which is the hebrew term.

What do you feel - being a jew - on Israel blockading and ruthlessly killing innocent Palastinians? Also, what's your definition of zionism?

The media does a very bad job of portraying israel, largely due to the vast amount of subliminal anti-semitism in europe. This is why the BBC is notorious for bias reports against Israel.

Are you aware that the Palestinians send hundreds of missles each day into Israeli suburbs, killing innocent civilians? Are you aware that Hezzbolah, Hamas, and other palestinian terrorist groups want to eradicate Jews and Israel from the face of the earth?

The Palestinians are far from innocent. If they hadn't been backstabbing fucks back when Israel was shared, this situation wouldn't exist. Israel is doing what any good country would do.

I've been to Israel. The people there are not savages. It's actually more civilized than countries like America.

 

[Wildflowers]

[Massive wall of text

See, I dont have a problem with the questions being posed. I have a problem with how openly you attacked a contingent of people who were not personally responsible for it. Like blaming some person leaving in east side London for the generals of Gallipoli. I have issue with you attacking people who had nothing to do with it.

There are constructive and useful ways to post and expect a structured response. I responded (poorly) in kind. It may have been a bad choice on my part, but given how quickly these threads degenerate, I was attempting to end something that was in no way going to end well.

..also, odd that you capitolized the word 'jew' at the end. If you were looking for the non-racist dedication of the noun in the sentence, you would have said NOT, or YOUR. Just saying. I find it hard to believe that you are entirely unpartisan.

I am unpartisan, and in many ways, uneducated. I mostly know about the religious side of Judaism, and not the current political state of Isreal. Seems to me we should leave it at that, and stop attacking other people on the internet. It gets nowhere. If you need it, here is an official apology - Im sorry for calling you a racist in what I perceived to be an open attack on a race of people.

 

[Duruznik]

[small]I don't see this ending well, but what the hey.[/small]

Do you really receive multiple days of gift giving during Hanukkah?

How does that work compared to Christmas?

Most people forget the actual significance of Channukah was the invention of Guerilla warfare. The candle thing was just a 'miracle' to get the kids excited about it, but really it was about the Macabee's family (almost like a clan, really) going to war against a splinter faction of the Hellenist Greeks and winning.

Actually, the original point was to celebrate the miracle of the oil lamp lasting for 8 days instead of 1. The heroic rebellion as a whole was there too, but it wasn't as big a deal until the Zionist movement wanted to give the holiday a more modern relevance during th eearly 20th century.

Actually if you read the Hunukkah story you will be hard pressed to find any mention of any miracle relating to lamp oil. That probably was a cultural add on at some point.

The 8 day festival is because the Temple had to be rededicated after it was retaken and that was traditionally an 8 day party.

I just did a bit of research, and it turns out the miracle was first mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud, which would date the story several centuries older than the actual event. Huh, turns out my teacher was talking out of her ass.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

What makes a marshal art a marshal art?

Krav Maga is hand to hand combat. Fighting dirty would make it sound like there was no strategy or method to it, and that isn't the case. It also makes it sound like you think in active combat someone trained in Karate wouldn't use every advantage they could find, which is probably not the case.

Off topic. Are you Jewish? Cause when you quoted me, you made it sound like you weren't.

OT:Yeah, in my martial arts class (American Kempo) we were taught that if youi stand there and preform nice little "hiyah!" kicks and stuff, you'll get beat into the ground. We fought to win.

 

[Kadoodle]

Can Krav Maga actually be considered as a martial arts, or is it just fighting dirty?

It's not a martial "art" per se, but it is exponentially more effective than oriental martial arts, primarily because there is no ranking system or "discipline" or "honor" bullshit.

The other secret is that about 90% of the techniques involve kicking your assailant in the balls. It's super effective.

On a separate note, a krav maga instructor once taught me a valuable factoid: It only takes 2 pounds of pressure to crush someone's eyeballs.

 

[Duruznik]

So how do you feel about the offering animals to god stuff ? I am assuming it was important until it was banned. (who banned it btw ?)

It was necessarily at the time, it was what people were used to.

It was never banned, but we can't currently do it by circumstance. The regular Temple offerings require the existance of a Temple and in some cases, a Kohanim Gadol (the "great" priest from the Kohanim tribe). We have neither. With the destruction of the 2nd Temple, we basically can't sacrafice until the 3rd Temple is built, and I'm not expecting that any time soon. I'm also hoping that the instructions we get at that time may indicate that such practices will not be needed in the 3rd Temple.

Why cant you just build a new temple ?

Also if it did come back how would you guys feel about it, its interestting imo becuase the west would look down on treating animals like that, yet you have people doing it becuas of their religion, its interesting to see how they would act with their morals and their religions.

I think the messiah needs to come first before the 3rd temple is built, but I'm not sure. Definitely some kind of religious prompt. Regardless, it's currently impossible because the El-Aksa mosque is in the way. I shudder at the reactions of the Muslim world (and the world at large) if it was torn down.

Personally, I'm in no rush to see a 3rd temple. It would bring back many practices I disagree with, such as the whole scrifice thing. Plus it would only happen in a pretty Theocratic enviroment, so no thank you.

 

[Kurokami]

[small]I don't see this ending well, but what the hey.[/small]

Do you really receive multiple days of gift giving during Hanukkah?

How does that work compared to Christmas?

The rich Jews, which aren't all of us, do tend to give a gift for every day, in my family we might get a dreidel or something, and that's not me bitching at all, it's still great fun. =]

 

[dagens24]

Why is it okay for Orthodox Jewish rabbis to suck on a baby's penis? Is this pedophelia? Shouldn't they jailed like any other pedophile?

For those who think I'm making this up; Mezizah, look it up.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

I tell holocaust jokes, it's a way to deal with a painful subject some people hate them and I can understand that but I don't see the harm of Jews telling them amongst themselves (kinda like the N word)

N? Nigel?

Through out your 5000 years of existence, what do you think provoked so many attempts of extermination (i'm counting at least 20 by the Romans, the Spanish ,the Russians, the French , the Babylonians, the Germans etc.) Is it jealousy, greed or simply wanting to kill and older more advanced race ?

I think there has been lots of conquering/murdering etc going on over the past 5000 years. The reason we hear the most about ones linked to Jews is because the last major extermination attempt was against them.

 

[Icarion (aka Stockholm)]

I tell holocaust jokes, it's a way to deal with a painful subject some people hate them and I can understand that but I don't see the harm of Jews telling them amongst themselves (kinda like the N word)

N? Nigel?

Through out your 5000 years of existence, what do you think provoked so many attempts of extermination (i'm counting at least 20 by the Romans, the Spanish ,the Russians, the French , the Babylonians, the Germans etc.) Is it jealousy, greed or simply wanting to kill and older more advanced race ?

I think there has been lots of conquering/murdering etc going on over the past 5000 years. The reason we hear the most about ones linked to Jews is because the last major extermination attempt was against them.

I think it might be because there are such extensive records of them. And because we happen to be the oldest surviving ethnicity/religion (thats debatable). But We have had a written language for thousands of years so we haev been able to chronicle many things. So I think it might be in part due to the many records kept of the prosecutions